Trump vs. Harris Everything you need to know about the TV duel

Neither Kamala Harris nor Donald Trump has a decisive lead in the race for the White House. The first TV debate between the two could change that: Here's what you need to know about the important duel.

The first TV duel between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump will take place on Wednesday morning, September 11, at 3 a.m. CEST. The debate will take place on US broadcaster ABC News in Philadelphia in the swing state of Pennsylvania. blue News will be covering the event live on ticker and stream.

The whole thing will last until 4.30 am and will take place without an audience. David Muir and Linsey Davis will host the event. The candidates are not permitted to use notes or aids. They are only given a piece of paper, a pen and a bottle of water.

The two have two minutes to answer questions. Two minutes are also allowed for rebuttals. There is one minute for follow-up answers and clarifications. The candidates are not allowed to ask each other questions.

Who stands where and has the last word was decided by a virtual coin toss on September 3: Trump won and stands on the left side of the stage.

So much for the technical side: Here are the answers to four substantive questions about the important TV event.

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In the USA, the political camps are relatively irreconcilable: Can the TV debate make any difference at all when the country is so divided? The answer is a resounding yes.

While the polls on the nationwide popularity of the candidates are actually not very meaningful, surveys in the swing states are of great importance. According to CNN, the current status is that Harris is ahead in Wisconsin and Michigan. Trump is stronger in Arizona, and the two are tied in Georgia, Nevada and Pennsylvania.

However, according to CNN, 15 percent of voters in these states are still undecided. On the one hand, the candidates will hold many campaign events there in order to reach these groups. A second way is a convincing performance in the TV duel.

When Joe Biden competed against Donald Trump at the end of June, he "clearly lost" the TV duel, blue News wrote at the time: the president "came across as erratic, rickety and elderly". But now Donald Trump is the old man: if the 78-year-old is elected, he would be the oldest incumbent in US history.

While the New Yorker cut a good figure compared to the then 81-year-old Biden, it seems questionable whether he can perform similarly against his new 59-year-old rival: Harris will not do him the favor of distracting from him with his own gaffes, word-finding problems or mumblings.

Various blunders he has made in recent interviews suggest that this time it could be Trump who gets himself into trouble verbally. For example, Trump told his Fox News friend Sean Hannity that he could not imagine New Hampshire voting for Biden - even though he is no longer in the race.

"Who the hell would vote for this guy?" the New Yorker asks into the void. He also claims that Harris would get to see the questions in advance - which is not true. MSNBC is surprised that Trump's mental fitness is not being discussed in the same way as Biden's was weeks earlier.

"He just talks random stuff," summarizes host Chris Hayes - and shows clips to prove it. Sometimes Trump talks about schools ordering sex changes for pupils. Sometimes he says that Democrats want to "execute" babies after birth and sometimes he just talks confusedly - for example when it comes to childcare.

According to the US media, Kamala Harris has been preparing for the debate for some time: She plans appropriate meetings into her schedule between official commitments and campaign appearances, writes "NBC News". Her team is led by her long-time advisor Rohini Kosoglu.

Philippe Reines is available for test debates: The 54-year-old also prepared Hillary Clinton for duels with Trump in 2016. At the time, "CBS News" wrote that the advisor was known in Washington "for his boisterous, argumentative personality" - "characteristics that reflect Trump's personal debating style".

Donald Trump has an advantage when it comes to TV debates: this is his seventh duel. No politician has more. The New Yorker only has a few appointments in the week before the duel - and he is also preparing with someone who is taking on the role of his opponent: It's former Democrat Tulsi Gabbard, who defected to the Republicans in 2022.

Gabbard has excellent credentials: When she debated Harris in the Democratic primary campaign in July 2019, she was able to land a painful blow on the incumbent vice president. The 43-year-old accused Harris of giving 1500 people prison sentences for marijuana.

However, when asked if she had smoked, she just laughed, Gabbard said to applause from the audience. "[Harris] lost her cool. She was in trouble," an NBS News source recalled. Harris doesn't want to be caught on the wrong foot by her a second time.

However, Trump's spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt believes her boss does not need much preparation. He is "one of the best debaters in political history", as his knockout blow against Biden proved. "It wasn't Trump who knocked Biden out", says late-night host Steven Colbert. "Time did that."

For Trump's advisors, the direction of travel should be relatively clear: Their candidate must portray his opponent as an incumbent who is partly responsible for the areas that are hitting voters on the head: the economy, inflation and immigration are the issues in which the Republican is considered more competent than the Democrat in polls.

Especially with swing states like Pennsylvania in mind, Trump will also address the issue of fracking, where he is more liberal than his opponent. The big question is whether he will manage to stick to substantive issues or whether he will attack Harris personally.

Trump himself tells Fox News with regard to the last duel: "I let [Biden] talk - I'm going to let [Harris] talk. There are those who say that Biden is smarter than them. If that's the case, we have a problem."

Harris should prepare accordingly: She needs to stay calm and focused, even if her opponent hits below the belt. She must distance herself from Biden without stabbing him in the back. She will be blamed for the failed Afghanistan withdrawal and as Biden's "border czar".

But she can counter: With the latter, for example, by pointing to a new border law that was negotiated with the Republicans and sawed off by Trump. Harris will also go on the offensive herself: The former prosecutor will remind the audience of the New Yorker's many legal transgressions.

According to the White House, Harris will be accompanied by her husband Doug Emhoff, who will support her in public.

It remains to be seen whether Trump will be accompanied by his wife Melania at the debate. The former First Lady has hardly appeared in public since leaving the White House and has so far played a very reserved role in her husband's election campaign. She made a rare appearance at the Republican Party convention in Milwaukee in mid-July - but she did not give a speech and only appeared on the last evening.

Another TV debate is planned between the vice candidates Tim Walz (Democrats) and J.D. Vance (Republicans) on October 1. It will be hosted by CBS News. It remains to be seen whether and when there will be a second TV debate between Harris and Trump - or whether they will have the only opportunity to duel on stage on Wednesday night.