ABC News announced on Friday that the September 10 debate — the first between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris — will take place in Philadelphia, one of the largest Democrat bastions in the U.S.
The debate will be held at the National Constitution Center and will begin at 9:00 p.m. ET, Deadline reported. ABC News revealed in May — when it scheduled the September 10 debate between Trump and President Joe Biden — that David Muir and Linsey Davis would moderate. Muir and Davis, who have never moderated a general election debate, are still set to moderate.
Philadelphia, while located in a swing state, has been a major Democratic stronghold for decades. In Philadelphia County in the 2020 election, 81% of voters picked Biden compared to 18% who voted for Trump. The results were similar in 2016 when Democrat Hillary Clinton won 82% of the vote compared to just 15% for Trump. The sixth-largest U.S. city, Philadelphia has a population of more than 1.5 million people and has not elected a Republican mayor since 1947.
Numerous major events for Democrats have been held in the ‘City of Brotherly Love.’ Harris picked Philadelphia as the first place to rally with her running mate Tim Walz earlier this month, and Biden chose the city to officially launch his 2020 presidential campaign. President Biden also gave his 2022 “Battle for the Soul of the Nation” speech in Philadelphia, where he labeled Trump and his supporters as enemies of the Constitution.
ABC News has not said if there will be an audience for the debate. The June 27 debate between Trump and Biden on CNN in Atlanta did not have a live audience, and the participants’ microphones were cut when their time to speak had ended.
Trump also proposed a September 4 debate hosted by Fox News and a debate on NBC on September 25, but Harris rejected both of those offers, saying earlier this week that she will appear for the ABC debate and potentially a second debate in October. Vice presidential candidates JD Vance and Tim Walz will also debate on October 1 on CBS.
“The debate about debates is over,” the Harris campaign said on Thursday. “Donald Trump’s campaign accepted our proposal for three debates – two presidential and a vice presidential debate. Assuming Donald Trump actually shows up on September 10 to debate Vice President Harris, then Governor Walz will see JD Vance on October 1 and the American people will have another opportunity to see the vice president and Donald Trump on the debate stage in October.”
During a press conference at Mar-a-Lago earlier this month, Trump saidhe was “look[ing] forward to the debates because we have to set the record straight.” He also blasted Harris for seemingly avoiding the media, calling her “barely competent.”
“She hasn’t done an interview. She can’t do an interview,” he said.
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