They have traded barbs for months, but Joe Biden and Donald Trump will soon have a chance to face off as the United States prepares for the first debate of the 2024 presidential election campaign.
The presumptive nominees of the Democratic and Republican parties will take the debate stage in Atlanta, Georgia, on Thursday night, less than five months before the Nov. 5 vote.
Opinion polls show President Biden and former President Trump remain locked in a tight race that experts say could come down to a handful of key states.
Here's what you need to know about the debate and its potential impact on the campaign.
Who participates in the debate?
Biden, the Democratic incumbent, and his Republican rival Trump will face each other for the first time in the 2024 election cycle. They last debated on October 22, 2020, as part of that year's presidential race.
To participate in the debate, presidential candidates had to meet a series of criteria established by the American news network CNN, which organizes the event.
This included having his name on enough state ballots to meet the Electoral College threshold needed to win the presidency and having received at least 15 percent support in four separate national surveys of registered and likely voters.
Where does the debate take place and at what time?
The debate begins at 9:00 p.m. local time (01:00 GMT) at the CNN studios in Atlanta.
Who organizes the debate?
The debate will be hosted by CNN anchors Jake Tapper and Dana Bash.
What is the format of the debate?
The debate will last 90 minutes, with two commercial breaks, CNN said.
Biden and Trump have agreed to appear behind podiums, rather than seated, and their microphones will be muted unless it is their turn to speak.
“While no props or pre-written notes will be allowed on stage, candidates will be provided with a pen, notebook and water bottle,” the network said.
There will also be no hearing, CNN said, to “ensure that the candidates can maximize their allotted debate time.”
How important are televised debates in the US presidential election?
Experts have said that most voters already know who they plan to vote for in November, so it is unclear to what extent the debate will turn the dial in favor of either candidate.
Still, a 2016 Pew Research Center survey found that 63 percent of voters said the presidential debates were very or somewhat helpful in deciding which White House candidate to vote for.
That means Biden and Trump will try to use the event to attract a small group of “influenceable voters,” explained Alan Schroeder, professor emeritus of journalism at Northeastern University and author of the book Presidential Debates: Risky Business on the Campaign Trail.
With Biden and Trump locked in a tight race, those undecided voters could prove critical, Schroeder told Al Jazeera. “Any time it’s that close, a debate can be important simply because it has the potential to break that stalemate.”
Is the debate happening earlier than usual? How?
Yes. Biden and Trump had called for the 2024 presidential debates to be held earlier in the campaign, saying they wanted to make their pitches to American voters before the early voting period opens.
The first presidential debates are usually held in the fall months (September and October), after the Republican and Democratic parties have held conventions to officially name their candidates.
It has also been a tradition since 1988 that the dates are set by the Commission on Presidential Debates, a nonprofit organization sponsored by both major parties. Late last year, the commission announced it had selected three dates: one in mid-September and two in October.
But last month, the Biden campaign announced plans to bypass the traditional schedule and push for the first debate. He also reduced the number of debates to two.
“The Commission’s schedule has discussions that begin after the American people have the opportunity to cast their ballots early, and do not conclude until tens of millions of Americans have already voted,” the Biden campaign wrote.
He also said the commission's model of holding debates with large in-person audiences “is simply not necessary or conducive to good debates.”
What topics will dominate?
Many polls indicate that the U.S. economy remains Americans' top concern heading into the election, and candidates will no doubt be asked about their economic platforms.
Immigration, public safety and reproductive rights will also likely be topics of debate, as they also rank high among voters' concerns.
Foreign policy is also a topic of interest in this year's election, with candidates expected to be asked about their positions on Israel's war in Gaza, continued support for Ukraine and competition with China.
Additionally, the state of America's democratic institutions is high on voters' radars and is expected to come to the fore Thursday night. Biden has accused Trump of being a threat to democracy, after the former president's supporters stormed the US Capitol on January 6, 2021 to prevent Congress from certifying the results of the 2020 election.
The Democrat could also try to bring up Trump's legal cases. The Republican was found guilty last month of falsifying business documents in a bribery case in New York, making him the first former president in US history to be convicted of a crime.
But pressing Trump about his conviction and legal troubles (the former president faces three other criminal indictments) could be risky, according to Northeastern University's Schroeder.
“Do you try to remind the audience over and over that he is now a convicted felon and that other trials are coming, or does that seem like an exaggeration? Would that be something the public might not want to hear about? -Schroeder asked.
How many people are expected to tune in?
This is not yet clear.
The new debate schedule for 2024 means the first event comes at a time when relatively few Americans are paying attention to the race, which could translate into low viewership.
Viewership also fluctuates greatly depending on interest in the race and the attractiveness of the candidates. In April, the Pew Research Center found that nearly half of all registered voters said they would replace both candidates on the ballot if they could.
After all, this year's race is a rematch of 2020, when Biden defeated Trump to win the White House, and some voters have expressed fatigue with the two candidates.
Still, Schroeder said he thinks Americans will tune in to the June debate. “Traditionally, the presidential debates in the United States are the second best-watched program after the Super Bowl.”
For example, more than 73 million people tuned in across broadcast and cable networks to the first 2020 presidential election debate between Trump and Biden.
Aside from policies, what else will people be watching for?
Elaine Kamarck, a senior fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution think tank in Washington, D.C., told Al Jazeera's Inside Story in mid-May that many Americans would be watching “how vigorous each of these candidates is.”
Kamarck noted that both Biden and Trump, who are 81 and 78, respectively, have faced questions about their age and ability to serve another term as president.
“I think the debates will show the ability of each of these men, both older than anyone we've had in the race,” he said.
Schroeder added that he would also be interested to see how the two are treated in the debate.
“They are rude? Do they try to get a little closer and show some kindness or at least some humanity towards the other party? “They are interesting things to observe,” she said.
How can you watch Thursday's debate?
The debate will be broadcast on CNN channels and on CNN.com. In the US, it will also be available on streaming platform Max. Other American television networks are also expected to broadcast the event.
When is the next debate?
Biden and Trump have agreed to hold a second debate on September 10, hosted by ABC News.
