DETAILS of the three television debates between President Donald Trump and his Democrat opponent Senator Joe Biden have been released.
The news came a day after Trump’s visit to the city of Kenosha in Wisconsin, which will also be visited by former vice-president Biden, right, later today.
The Commission on Presidential Debates, the bipartisan group that has organised the television debates since it was founded in 1987, announced the lineup of moderators and the format of the three debates, plus that of the vice-presidential debate between incumbent Mike Pence and challenger Kamala Harris.
The line-up of moderators is being seen in the US as a blow to Trump’s campaign, as none of the names his team suggested was selected.
Instead, the format and moderators will be as follows, with each lasting from 9pm to 10.30pm Eastern Time (2am to 3.30am the following day in the UK):
The first presidential debate will be moderated by Chris Wallace, anchor on Fox News Sunday, on Tuesday, September 29 from the Case Western Reserve University and Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio. That will be followed by the vice-presidential debate, moderated by Susan Page, Washington Bureau chief for USA Today, on Wednesday, October 7, in the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah.
The second presidential debate will be in a town meeting format hosted by Steve Scully, senior executive producer and political editor for C-Span Networks, on Thursday, October 15, at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, Miami, Florida.
The third and final presidential debate will be moderated by Kristen Welker, co-anchor on Weekend Today and White House correspondent for NBC News on Thursday, October 22, at Belmont University, Nashville, Tennessee.
The Commission on Presidential Debates said: “We are grateful to these experienced journalists, who will help ensure that the general election presidential debates continue to serve their unique educational purpose of helping the public learn about the candidates. Each individual brings great professionalism to moderating and understands that the purpose of the 2020 debate formats is to facilitate in-depth discussion of major topics.”
Biden says he will hold a community meeting involving both black and white citizens in Kenosha today. The city has been hit by rioting and looting after the police shooting of black man Jacob Blake, who has been left paralysed. Trump did not meet
with the Blake family during his visit to Kenosha.
Meanwhile, betting exchange firm Betfair reports that after a huge bet of £50,000 to win £104,000, Trump is now favourite to win the election on November 3.
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