By Gromer Jeffers Jr., The Dallas Morning News

The rules for the Kamala Harris-Donald Trump presidential debate are similar to the guidelines used for the June showdown between Trump and President Joe Biden.

According to ABC, the microphones will be live only for the candidate who is speaking and muted when the time belongs to the other candidate.

The debate will be in Philadelphia at the National Constitution Center and will have no audience in the room. It starts at 6 p.m. PST/9 p.m. EST and is scheduled for 90 minutes with two commercial breaks.

Here are some other key rules:

Only the moderators — World News Tonight anchor and managing editor David Muir and ABC News Live Prime anchor Linsey Davis — will ask questions. Candidates cannot question each other.
Candidates have two minutes to answer a question, followed by a two-minute response. An additional minute can be granted for “follow-ups, clarifications or responses.”
No topics or questions will be given to the candidates before the debate.
Candidates will be given a pen, pad and a bottle of water but cannot have advance notes. They will stand at podiums opposite each other.
There are no opening remarks. Each candidate will have a two-minute closing statement.
Determined by a coin flip, Trump will make his closing statement last and Harris will occupy the podium on the right side of the screen.

©2024 The Dallas Morning News. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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