Watch Live At 9:00pm: Here We Go Again – Biden, Trump To Debate on Thursday 

By FrumNews.com 

President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump are set to face off in the first presidential debate of the 2024 election season this Thursday in Atlanta. CNN will host the early debate—less than five months before Election Day. 

The 90-minute debate will start at 9 p.m. ET on Thursday and will take place at CNN’s studios in Atlanta. It will be moderated by CNN’s Jake Tapper and Dana Bash.

Polls indicate that the race remains tight. Biden and Trump stand virtually tied, according to the FiveThirtyEight polling averages.

Independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. didn’t qualify for the debate, even with 9.5% support in polls. Candidates are required to poll at 15% or higher in four national surveys and appear on enough state ballots to theoretically surpass the needed 270 Electoral College votes to secure the presidency.

The debate breaks the usual campaign tradition, sideling the Commission on Presidential Debates, which traditionally organized the debates. The debates are occurring months earlier than usual, and with a new set of rules, both candidates have agreed to, including no live audience and a mute button. 

Instead, Biden and Trump will take part in Thursday’s debate on CNN and then a second in September hosted by ABC News.

Biden and Trump have agreed to the special rules:

• Microphones will be muted unless a candidate is directed to speak.
• Candidates are not allowed to bring prewritten notes or props. They will receive a pen and paper, as well as a bottle of water.
• A coin toss determined podium positions and the order of closing statements. CNN said Biden’s campaign won the coin toss and chose the podium to the viewers’ right. As a result, Trump’s campaign chose to deliver the final closing statement of the debate.

FrumNews.com will bring live coverage of the debates on Thursday.

WATCH LIVE AT 9:00 pm: