As former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris prepare for their first — and likely only — presidential debate Tuesday in Philadelphia, the Harris-Walz campaign and its supporters will organize about 280 debate nights across the state.
Harris-Walz Observation Events Include almost all 67 counties of Pennsylvaniaand follow the statewide get-out-the-vote weekend campaign that included polls and phone meetings.
A Trump campaign spokesman told the Capital-Star in an email that he had no details about any open press debates as of Sunday afternoon. TrumpForce 47 of the Republican National Committee grassroots organization website lists several debate events scheduled for Tuesday in Pennsylvania.
The debate at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia will be broadcast live on ABC at 9 p.m. Tuesday and will also be streamed live on ABC News Live, Disney Plus and Hulu. ABC anchors David Muir and Linsey Davis will moderate; there will be no live audience, and the candidates’ microphones will be muted when it is not their turn to speak.
5 Things to Know About the Harris-Trump Presidential Debate
The June 27 debate between Trump and President Joe Biden, who was then the Democratic nominee, went poorly for the incumbent. Biden gave hesitant, unclear answers to some questions and seemed disoriented. The performance prompted Democrats to call on Biden to concede in favor of another candidate, which he did on July 21. He immediately endorsed Harris.
The candidates and their entourage have spent significant time in Pennsylvania as the campaign enters its final stretch, with the 19 electoral votes considered crucial for each candidate. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the Democratic vice presidential candidate, was in Lancaster and Pittsburgh on Wednesday and Erie on Thursday, while second gentleman Doug Emhoff campaigned in Allentown on Saturday. Trump was last in Pennsylvania on Wednesday, when he taped an interview with Fox News in Harrisburg.
Harris was working on preparing for the Pittsburgh debateand on Saturday I stopped at Penzeys Spices in the Strip District, where she talked to voters and bought spices. Trump held a campaign rally Saturday in rural Wisconsin, where he promised tariffs and claimed, without evidence, that undocumented immigrants posed a threat to Wisconsin.
New Times-Siena poll released Sunday showed Harris with a slight lead over Trump in Pennsylvania, but Trump has an advantage nationally.
This article was updated at 6:25 p.m. on September 8, 2024, with information from the Trump campaign.
