Trump vs Harris debate on Sept 10: From muted mics to coin flip for last words, a look at rules

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The contest for the White House is heating up, with former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris finally agreeing on the ground rules for their first presidential debate. The showdown is scheduled for September 10 in Philadelphia and will be broadcast on ABC News. The American news outlet has confirmed that both the Republican and Democratic nominees "have qualified for the debate under the established criteria, and both have accepted the following debate rules"

For several weeks, Trump and the Harris campaign have been at odds over the debate guidelines. One of the rules that sparked the most disagreement was whether microphones should be turned off when it wasn't a candidate's time to speak.

The Harris campaign had previously pushed for live, or “hot”, microphones, which would allow substantive exchanges between the candidates. However, Trump’s campaign pushed for the microphones to be muted. Ultimately, ABC News released a statement in which they made it clear candidates’ microphones would be live only for the candidate whose turn it is to speak – and muted when the time belongs to another candidate.

What are the rules of the debate?

ABC News, the host of the debate, has outlined the following rules, which have been agreed upon by the Harris and Trump campaigns.

The debate is scheduled to last 90 minutes and will feature two commercial breaks.

The moderators for the debate are ABC News’ David Muir and Linsey Davis. They will also be the only people asking questions.

A virtual coin toss was held on September 3 to decide the podium arrangement and who would have the final word. Trump won the toss and opted to deliver the closing statement at the debate. Meanwhile, Harris selected the right podium position on screen.

Neither the opening nor closing statements may exceed two minutes per candidate.

The participants must remain standing behind their podiums for the entirety of the debate.

Props and handwritten notes will not be allowed on stage.

The candidates have been granted 2 minutes to answer questions posed to them, 2 minutes for a rebuttal, and 1 additional minute for any follow-ups, clarifications, or responses.

The topics or questions will not be shared in advance with the campaign or candidates.

The participants’ microphones will remain muted if it is not their turn to speak.

Candidates will not be permitted to ask questions of each other.

Campaign staff will not be permitted to interact with the candidates during the entire debate, even during breaks.

There will be no audience in the room.

The debate will be held at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, a facility dedicated to the study of the U.S. Constitution. Pennsylvania, which holds 19 electoral votes, is considered one of the most important swing states.

With inputs from agencies.