As the United States presidential election creeps closer to the fateful November 5 date, a long-awaited and anticipated rematch is set to begin in earnest.

For the second time in four years, Donald Trump and incumbent Joe Biden are to go head-to-head in the first of three presidential debates for the 2024 election cycle, in a televised event that will be front and centre in the eyes of the American people, and much of the global population at large.

Tonight (June 27), both Trump and Biden will be hosted in CNN‘s Atlanta studios in Georgia.

Here, they will make their case for themselves and against one another before the American people.

The event is to co-moderated by CNN anchors Jake Tapper and Dana Bash. Not only will the debate be broadcast live, but it will also be available on several other prominent American news channels, such as CBS and NBC.

It is expected to be one of the most-watched productions of the entire year.

The first time around, the debate between Trump and Joe Biden in 2020 brought in over 73 million viewers, according to the Nielsen Media analytics organisation.

This would rank it as the third most viewed US presidential debate in history, behind only the Jimmy Carter–Ronald Reagan debate of 1980, with 80 million views, and the Trump–Hilary Clinton debate of 2016, with 84 million views.

Tonight’s debate is estimated to be at least just as, if not a more highly watched event.

Many political analysts and spectators have awaited with bated breath for the upcoming clash, with
several thinking back on the first 2020 debate hosted by Fox News’ Chris Wallace. The 2020 debate was fraught with outbursts, interruptions, insults, and other ‘unbecoming behaviour for presidential candidates.’

In spite of Wallace’s best efforts, he was unable to successfully control the contest, leading to what was initially meant to moderated debate turn into a heated and uncoordinated shouting match between the Democrat and Republican nominees.

In a bid to prevent such a scenario from repeating itself, CNN has elected to introduce several new and
somewhat controversial policies and methods to better regulate the upcoming affair.

The upcoming debate is to occur without any live audience in the studio. Furthermore, CNN will turn off an opponent’s microphone when it is not their turn to speak, in a bid to prevent interruptions and interjections that encompassed Chris Wallace’s debate four years ago.

These initiatives were made clear to both Donald Trump and Joe Biden in advance, and both parties agreed to it. However, this has not prevented many in the Republican and pro-Trump camp from
claiming that there is an underlying bias at work against them. In the eyes of many, CNN is seen as a
leftist leaning News Network, with Trump himself having many times referred to them as ‘Fake News’.

Some have theorised that they may attempt to prop up Biden via their moderators through easy questions, less thorough implementations of the rules, and so on. CNN has flatly denied these claims,
and repeatedly promised to conduct itself fairly to both candidates.

CNN has not released what topics will be covered during the debate, but both Trump and Biden are expected to come out swinging in tonight’s clash.

In the run-up to this contest, both men have reportedly undergone extensive debate preparation and training, aiming to strengthen their own weaknesses and tear apart those of their rival.

It is expected that Biden will lash out at Trump for his recent 37 felony convictions. Trump is also
expected to keep onto the topic of crime, particularly in regard to Biden’s son, Hunter, who has also
been recently convicted for his purchase and possession of a gun while still suffering from a cocaine
addiction.

Other notable issues that may come up are the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe-V-Wade and its impact on abortion rights, the state of the economy, and age and cognitive abilities of both men
to run the country.

Trump, who has not yet selected anyone for his vice president spot, may also take the debate as an
opportunity to push forward his running mate into the limelight.

In a statement, the former president stated that his VP would be present at the debate in support of him, leading many rumours to run wild with speculation as to who Trump’s new number two will be. Trump’s former VP, Mike Pence, had on record denounced his former partner, and even unsuccessfully threw his hat in the ring for the Republican nomination earlier in the campaign.

Both Trump and President Biden are expected to be using these debates chiefly in a bid to win over swing voters and elements of the population that remain on the fence. These groups of individuals had been crucial to the victory of both Presidents in 2016 and 2020 respectively. Georgia in itself is expected to be a key battleground, having been the deciding state in the most recent presidential contest.

However, in spite of the excitement and interest this debate has generated across the media space,
many of these swing voters have instead expressed apathy at the upcoming showdown. According to
several interviews, polls, and other data, many of these individuals expect little new information that will change their minds on who to vote for, and instead expect little more than the same political bickering and drama that has plagued recent American politics.

Both Jake Tapper and Dana Bash have called the previous 2020 debate between Trump and Biden a ‘hot
mess’, and now all eyes are on them and their charges to see if today’s rematch shall be nothing but a
repeat.