The event, hosted by ABC News, will be the only debate between presidential candidates scheduled for this fall.
WASHINGTON — The first presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and President Donald Trump will be held Tuesday night.
Tuesday’s debate, hosted by ABC News at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, will be the only scheduled debate between the presidential candidates this fall.
The 90-minute event will be broadcast and streamed by multiple media outlets, including ABC. The debate will be produced solely by ABC News, unlike last year’s, when it was organized by a bipartisan committee. There will be no live audience.
Who will moderate the debate?
David Muir
ABC’s “World News Tonight” topped the evening news ratings for eight years, making Muir virtually the most popular news anchor in the U.S. Many nights, “World News Tonight” draws larger viewers than any other primetime television show.
Part of Mr. Muir’s success is due to ABC’s efforts to cast him as apolitical — Tuesday’s audience is expected to be its biggest ever, including from people who barely know Mr. Muir because they look for their news elsewhere — and this is a political event in polarized times.
Lindsay Davis
Lindsey Davis is the host of ABC’s nightly streaming news show.
She has often filled in for Muir and has moderated past presidential debates, though Tuesday will be the first time many will see her host.
The network had a rule that hosts Muir and Davis were the only two to ask questions, perhaps aiming to avoid random attacks between the candidates.
The ABC debate was scheduled for last spring when President Joe Biden was the leading Democratic nominee. After Biden withdrew, it was unclear whether the debate would go ahead. Harris and Trump ultimately agreed to the debate, but questions about it resurfaced last month after Biden, a Republican, repeatedly criticized ABC.