2020 United States presidential debates
The 2020 United States presidential debates are a series of debates for the 2020 United States presidential election. Debates sponsored by the Commission on Presidential Debates are scheduled to take place between September 29 and October 22, 2020.[1]
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![]() 2020 U.S. presidential election | |
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Republican Party | |
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Democratic Party | |
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Commission on Presidential Debates-sponsored debates
On October 11, 2019, the Commission on Presidential Debates announced it would host four debates, including three presidential debates between incumbent president Donald Trump and presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden and a single vice presidential debate[1] between incumbent Vice President Mike Pence and presumptive Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris.
In late 2019, Trump claimed the 2016 debates were "biased." After meeting with his campaign manager, the commission co-chairman said "that the president wanted to debate, but they had concerns about whether or not to do it with the commission."[2] Trump did not press the issue further publicly. Trump also pushed for additional debates to the traditional three, which Biden's campaign resisted.[3] At the end of June, representatives of the Biden campaign announced that they had agreed to the original schedule.[4]
In August, the CPD rejected a request by the Trump campaign to shift the debates to an earlier date, or to add a fourth debate.[5]
Qualification of candidates
In order to qualify for the debates sponsored by the Commission on Presidential Debates, candidates must meet the following criteria:[6]
- Be constitutionally eligible to hold the presidency
- Appear on a sufficient number of ballots to have a mathematical chance of winning a majority vote in the Electoral College
- Have a level of support of at least 15% of the national electorate as determined by five selected national public opinion polling organizations, utilizing the average of those organizations' most recently-reported results at the time of determination
Debate list
Three presidential debates and one vice presidential debate have been scheduled:[7]
2020 United States presidential election debates | |||||||||||||||||||||
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N° | Date | Host | Location | Moderator | Participants | ||||||||||||||||
P Participant. N Non-invitee. A Absent invitee. TBD To be determined | Democratic | Republican | |||||||||||||||||||
Former Vice President Joe Biden of Delaware |
President Donald Trump of Florida | ||||||||||||||||||||
1 |
September 29, 2020 | P | P | ||||||||||||||||||
2 |
October 15, 2020 | P | P | ||||||||||||||||||
3 |
October 22, 2020 | P | P | ||||||||||||||||||
= Officially sanctioned and sponsored by the Commission on Presidential Debates | |||||||||||||||||||||
2020 United States vice presidential debate | |||||||||||||||||||||
N° | Date | Host | Location | Moderator | Participants | ||||||||||||||||
P Participant. N Non-invitee. A Absent invitee. TBD To Be Determined | Democratic | Republican | |||||||||||||||||||
Senator Kamala Harris of California |
Vice President Mike Pence of Indiana | ||||||||||||||||||||
VP |
October 7, 2020 | P | P | ||||||||||||||||||
= Officially sanctioned and sponsored by the Commission on Presidential Debates |
First presidential debate (Case Western Reserve University)
First presidential debate | |
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Date(s) | September 29, 2020 |
Venue | Health Education Campus (HEC) Samson Pavilion at Case Western Reserve University |
Location | Cleveland, Ohio |
Participants | Donald Trump Joe Biden |
The first debate is scheduled to be held on Tuesday, September 29, 2020, at the Health Education Campus (HEC) Samson Pavilion at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.[8][9]
This debate was originally scheduled to take place in the Phillip J. Purcell Pavilion located within the Edmund P. Joyce Center at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, but Notre Dame withdrew as a host site on July 27, 2020, due to concerns stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.[8][10]
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Donald Trump
Florida
Vice presidential debate (University of Utah)
Vice presidential debate | |
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Date(s) | October 7, 2020 |
Venue | Kingsbury Hall at University of Utah |
Location | Salt Lake City, Utah |
Participants | Mike Pence Kamala Harris |
The vice presidential debate is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, October 7, 2020, at Kingsbury Hall at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City.[11]
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California
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Mike Pence
Indiana
Second presidential debate (Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts)
Second presidential debate | |
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Date(s) | October 15, 2020 |
Venue | Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts |
Location | Miami, Florida |
Participants | Donald Trump Joe Biden |
The second debate is scheduled to take place on Thursday, October 15, 2020, at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami.
This debate had originally been scheduled to be held at the Crisler Center at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan, but the University of Michigan withdrew as a host on June 23, 2020, over public health concerns stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.[12][13]
Third presidential debate (Belmont University)
Third presidential debate | |
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Date(s) | October 22, 2020 |
Venue | Curb Event Center at Belmont University |
Location | Nashville, Tennessee |
Participants | Donald Trump Joe Biden |
The third and final debate is scheduled to take place on Thursday, October 22, at the Curb Event Center at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee.[14]
Free & Equal Elections Foundation-sponsored debate
The Free & Equal Elections Foundation is scheduled to host a general election debate on October 8, 2020 in Denver, Colorado.[15]
References
- Goldmacher, Shane (October 11, 2019). "2020 Presidential Debate Schedule Announced for General Election". The New York Times. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
- Haberman, Maggie; Karni, Annie (January 24, 2020). "Trump May Skip Debates, or Seek New Host, if Process Isn't 'Fair'". The New York Times. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
- Sarah Mucha (June 22, 2020). "Biden campaign agrees to 3 debates with Trump and slams push for more as 'distraction'". CNN. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
- Goldmacher, Shane (June 22, 2020). "Biden Campaign Commits to 3 Presidential Debates Ahead of November Election". The New York Times. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
- Stevens, Matt (August 6, 2020). "A 4th Presidential Debate? Commission Says No to Trump". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
- "CPD: Commission on Presidential Debates Announces Sites and Dates for 2020 General Election Debates and 2020 Nonpartisan Candidate Selection Criteria". www.debates.org. Commission of Presidential Debates. Retrieved August 16, 2020.
- "Media". The Commission on Presidential Debates. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
- Edelman, Adam (July 27, 2020). "Notre Dame withdraws as 2020 presidential debate host citing coronavirus threat". NBC News. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
- Releases, News (July 27, 2020). "Case Western Reserve and Cleveland Clinic to Host First Presidential Debate Tuesday, Sept. 29, in Health Education Campus' Samson Pavilion". Cleveland Clinic Newsroom. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
- "Notre Dame readies to host first 2020 presidential debate | Stories | Notre Dame Magazine | University of Notre Dame". Notre Dame Magazine. Winter 2019. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
- "The University of Utah will host a vice presidential debate next year". The Salt Lake Tribune. October 11, 2019. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
- Haddad, Ken (June 23, 2020). "University of Michigan will no longer host 2020 presidential debate due to public health concerns". WDIV. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
- Jesse, David; Gray, Kathleen (October 11, 2019). "University of Michigan to host presidential debate in 2020". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
- Milton, Immanual John (November 17, 2019). "Behind the decision for Belmont to host their second Presidential debate in twelve years". The Vanderbilt Hustler. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
- "Free & Equal | Welcome to Free and Equal Elections and United We Stand Festivals". Free and Equal Elections Foundation. Retrieved 16 August 2020.