Trump and Harris are set to debate for the first time in Philadelphia

Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are gearing up to take the stage for Tuesday night’s debate in Philadelphia, where they’ll fight to sway 2024 election voters on the biggest stage in U.S. politics.

The event, at 8 p.m. CT., will offer Americans their most detailed look at a campaign that’s dramatically changed since the last debate in June. In rapid fashion, President Joe Biden bowed out of the race after his disastrous performance, Trump survived an assassination attempt and both sides chose their running mates.

Abortion rights could be an important topic in Harris-Trump debate

Democrats want Trump’s role in overturning Roe v. Wade to be front-and-center in the debate, especially after President Joe Biden missed a chance to hammer Trump in their lone debate in June.

“Trump owns every single abortion ban in the country,” the Democratic National Committee said in a statement Tuesday.

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Harris brings up Trump’s position on abortion in every campaign speech, reminding voters that Trump has bragged that his three Supreme Court nominees were instrumental in the 2022 Dobbs decision that overturned Roe after nearly a half-century of women having a constitutional right to terminate a pregnancy. Republican-run states across the country have since implemented near or total bans on surgical abortions.

Harris proved effective as an advocate on the issue ahead of the 2022 midterms, and Democrats relish the chance she will have as just the second female presidential nominee of a major U.S. party to confront Trump on the matter face-to-face.

Walz says the debate will show she is the most qualified for the job

Democratic vice presidential nominee and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz says Kamala Harris is the most qualified person for the job, and Tuesday’s debate will show it.

Walz was speaking at a fundraiser in Las Vegas ahead of the debate between Harris and Trump.

He said Trump might be a “showman” with a lot of experience debating — “no one in modern times has done more of these. The good news is that this is his seventh debate, and we know exactly what to expect.“

A look at the rules for the debate

The debate between Harris and Trump won’t have an audience, live microphones when candidates aren’t speaking, or written notes, according to rules ABC News, the host network, shared with both campaigns last month.

The parameters in place for the Tuesday night debate are essentially the same as they were for the June debate between Trump and Biden, a disastrous performance for the incumbent Democrat that fueled his exit from the campaign.

It’s the only debate that’s been firmly scheduled and could be the only time voters see Harris and Trump go head to head before the November general election.

Hundreds gather to watch the debate on a huge screen

At Salem Baptist Church of Abington, a historically Black church in the Philadelphia suburbs, hundreds of people gathered outside on the church’s football field to watch the debate on a 33-foot screen.

It was a festival atmosphere beforehand, with food trucks, Boy Scouts playing cornhole on American-flag themed boards, the Montgomery County voter services department offering to register voters and a DJ blasting music at the event dubbed “Vote-A-Palooza!”

“How’s this for Americana?” said the church pastor, the Rev. Marshall Mitchell.

Tonight’s debate could be longer than planned

Tonight’s Harris-Trump debate is set to go 90 minutes, but don’t be surprised if it goes a little long.

Trump and Biden’s debate in July hosted by CNN was also scheduled for 90 minutes, but ended up running about eight minutes long.

ABC says that tonight’s debate includes two commercial breaks, so it might not be a bad idea to make that bathroom pit stop now.