US presidential debate live updates: Trump and Biden face off in Atlanta | US elections 2024

We’re still more than an hour away from the start of CNN’s presidential debate in Atlanta, but variously dressed, well-coiffed, it seems all the male politicians are already in the network-created room where they’re…well, they’re spinning reporters.

We’re talking about people like the Democratic governor of California Gavin Newsomwho is believed to be a presidential candidate someday:

And a congressional Republican Byron DonaldsTrump’s potential VP pick:

As well as Corey Lewandowskiwho was Trump’s campaign manager for part of his first bid for the White House:

There are several aspects of this debate that are different from previous meetings between Biden and Trump, which were organized by the non-profit Commission on Presidential Debates.

For this election, the two campaigns chose to ditch the nonprofit and attend an event hosted by CNN, and the network’s rules are slightly different than in previous years.

For one thing, there will be two commercial breaks during the event, but Biden and Trump staffers can’t interact with them while the cameras are off (one wonders if there will be small talk between the two adversaries).

And then there’s the fact that CNN’s control room has the option to mute one man’s microphone if he interrupts the other — which could change things for Trump, in particular, since he likes to talk to people.

Finally, there will be no studio audience, meaning if Trump or Biden manage to land or fail a line, you won’t hear cheers, gasps or laughter.

Here’s more from CNN on how tonight’s debate will work:

The presidential debate begins at 9:00 PM ET and takes place at CNN’s studios in Atlanta.

Almost every major broadcaster will air it – or you can watch it on the home of OG politics lovers, CSPAN:

Good evening, readers of an American political blog. All eyes are on the CNN studios in Atlanta tonight where Donald Trump and Joe Biden will hold the first of two debates scheduled before the Nov. 5 presidential election. Surveys show that candidates are almost neck to neck in the race for the White House and that many Americans are not happy that he has to settle for a rematch from the 2020 election, where Biden defeated Trump. Since then, the Democratic president has seen his job approval plummet as Trump faces criminal charges four separate timesas one of these cases leads to his belief 34 crimes last month. There will be plenty to see in tonight’s 90-minute showdown, but both campaigns are hoping for one particular event: a breakthrough moment that captures the public’s attention and gives either Trump or Biden another boost. We’ll see if that happens.

Here’s what else we look out for:

• Make no mistake: Biden can sometimes still gave a good speech. But at 81, he is also the oldest president to ever serve and is trend to confuse his words and mix up the facts. Will it undermine him on the debate stage?

• Trumpwho at 78 is just as old can also fail when it comes to making a speech – just look at how he I was struggling after he was convicted in his secret money trial in New York last month. How can he stand up to Biden, who always strives to stick to the message?

• The format of this debate is unique in several ways in that CNN is hosting instead of the nonprofit Commission on Presidential Debates, which was rejected from both campaigns. There will be commercial breaks, for example, and in a break from previous Biden-Trump meetings in 2020, when then-Pres. did him no favors, CNN has the power to turn off their microphones if they start arguing. What can this lead to when the two men who don’t like each other at all are in the same room for the first time in four years?