Everything You Need to Know About the First 2024 U.S. Presidential Election Debate

Joe Biden, the President of the United States, and his Republican rival, Donald Trump, will face off for the third time on television in the first debate of the 2024 election, encouraging American citizens to participate in voting against their opponent. This televised debate is set to take place on the evening of Thursday, June 27 (early morning of July 8) in the state of Georgia in the southeastern United States, where Trump will challenge the current Democratic President to attract more votes and attempt to return to the White House after a four-year hiatus. Biden, however, must convince the television audience in the current challenging circumstances to prevent the return of the 45th President of the United States to power and instead vote for another four-year term for Biden in the White House. What is the significance of the first debate? The first televised debate in the upcoming U.S. presidential election is scheduled for 9 PM local time - Eastern Time - which corresponds to 4:30 AM Tehran time on Friday. Trump and Biden will face each other in Atlanta, Georgia, and CNN will host the first debate between the current President and the former President. The importance of the location of this debate is that Georgia is one of the states whose electoral votes play a key role in determining the next President of the United States. Citizens of this state have not consistently voted for a Republican or Democratic candidate in previous presidential elections. The first debate between Trump and Biden during the 2020 presidential election was controversial. The duration of this televised event is 90 minutes; during this time, the two candidates must answer questions from the program host and simultaneously challenge each other. Dana Bash and Jake Tapper from CNN will host this program. For now, the two candidates have agreed to hold only two debates, as was the case four years ago. The second televised debate will be hosted by ABC in September. Trump's campaign has proposed that a third debate be held, hosted by his preferred network, Fox News, which the President's campaign team has not yet agreed to. A debate is also scheduled between the two candidates' vice-presidents. Since Trump has not yet revealed his vice-presidential pick, it is unclear who will face Kamala Harris. To participate in these debates, each candidate must obtain at least 15% of the votes in four national polls of registered or potential voters. Robert Kennedy, despite all efforts, could not reach this threshold, and as a result, the usual two candidates from the Republican and Democratic parties will participate in the debate. A distinctive feature of this debate is the absence of an audience at the event venue; unlike previous times, it has been decided that there will be no audience in the studio to prevent cheers and possible noise from affecting the conduct of the debate. Biden and Trump have agreed on the regulations for the first debate without an audience. Additionally, at the request of Biden's campaign to prevent incidents that occurred during the two debates in 2020, the microphone of the other candidate will be cut off while one candidate is speaking, so they cannot interrupt each other. No specific topic has been designated as the focus of the first debate. However, it is expected that the two rivals will mainly address issues that are currently the main concerns of American citizens. According to a report recently published by the Pew Research Center, nearly three-quarters of American voters have identified 'strengthening the economy' as their top electoral concern. Therefore, a significant portion of the debate on Thursday night is likely to focus on the presidential records of Trump and Biden in the economic sector and their plans for the next four years. It is also anticipated that Biden will focus on Donald Trump's criminal cases and his convictions during this debate, thereby increasing pressure on his opponent. Conversely, Trump is likely to maneuver on Hunter Biden's conviction, Joe Biden's son, regarding the gun purchase while using drugs, and respond to Biden's attacks in this way. Social issues, domestic policy, and foreign policy approaches are also likely to form other parts of the first debate; the war in Gaza and the ongoing military invasion of Ukraine by Russia, along with the challenges facing Washington with Beijing, are among the important foreign policy issues for the U.S. at this time. The latest polls indicate that American voters consider Donald Trump a better candidate for the economy but prefer Joe Biden's approach to preserving democracy. This poll, the results of which were published on June 26, was conducted jointly by Reuters and Ipsos and shows that Biden's approval rating has increased from 36% in May to 37%. Additionally, an analysis of the aggregate polls in recent months shows that Biden has managed to close the gap with Trump, and now the competition between the two candidates is neck-and-neck. In most polls conducted in recent weeks, the two candidates have a relatively equal standing nationally. In such circumstances, the first debate could have a significant impact on public opinion in the United States, which will be reflected in the results of polls following this 90-minute program. The primary concern of American voters regarding the 81-year-old Joe Biden is his age. This concern is less evident regarding the 79-year-old Donald Trump. Regardless of the results of the upcoming presidential election in November (November 15), the eventual winner will set the record for the oldest President in U.S. history.