WASHINGTON — The first presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and Donald Trump got underway Tuesday night.
Tuesday's event is being hosted by ABC News at the National Constitutional Center in Philadelphia, in what is the only scheduled debate between the presidential candidates this fall.
The 90-minute event is being broadcast and streamed by a number of outlets, including ABC. The debate is solely produced by ABC News, unlike previous years when a bipartisan commission organized them. A live audience will not be present.
Who is moderating the debate?
David Muir
ABC's “World News Tonight” has led the evening news ratings for eight years, making Muir effectively America's most popular newscaster. Many nights “World News Tonight” has a bigger audience than anything on prime-time television.
One secret to his success has been ABC's efforts to craft an apolitical image for him. Tuesday's audience will be his biggest ever — including people largely unfamiliar with Muir because they seek news elsewhere — and it's for a political event in polarized times.
Linsey Davis
Linsey Davis hosts ABC's nightly streaming newscast.
She often fills in for Muir and has moderated presidential nominating debates in the past. Many will be seeing her in action Tuesday for the first time.
The network laid out specifications that moderators Muir and Davis “will be the only people asking questions,” perhaps hoping to avert a free-for-all between the candidates.
The ABC debate was set last spring, when President Joe Biden was the likely Democratic nominee. When he dropped out, it was unclear if the debate would go on. Harris and Trump eventually gave the go-ahead, although the Republican’s repeated criticism of ABC last month raised questions about it again.
