President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump face off in a historic debate on CNN on Thursday.
This is the first debate between a sitting president and a former president. The debate will be the first since 2020 to feature either Biden, who did not face a serious challenger for the Democratic nomination, or Trump, the Republican nominee who skipped every GOP debate during the primary season.
They last met on the same debate stage on October 22, 2020 in Nashville, Tennessee. As their first debate quickly turned into a famous shouting match, the Commission on Presidential Debates made a change without precedent: the candidates' microphones were cut off while their opponent answered the first question in each of the six debate segments.
Workers prepare the stage for the debate the day before the show. A last-minute agreement was reached to remove the Plexiglas barriers placed between the candidates. (Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
First lady Melania Trump joined the debate. (Credit: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images)
Biden's wife Jill, second from left, walks with some of Trump's children as they attend the debate. (Credit: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images)
The stage is set for discussion. (Credit: Eric Paradad/AFP/Getty Images)
Professional golfer John Daly, left, and musician Kid Rock take their seats in the debating area. Both supported Trump. (Credit: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images)
Biden and Trump take the stage at the start of the debate. (Credit: Jim Bourke/Reuters)
Biden answers a question during the debate. At the time, Biden held a larger lead in national polls than Hillary Clinton did in 2016. In a CNN poll, Biden leads Trump by 10 points nationally and has shown considerable strength in key battleground states in Pennsylvania. Trump narrowly won Michigan and Wisconsin in 2016.
Biden answers a question during the debate. (Credit: Julio Cortez/AP)
People watch the debate from their vehicles in San Francisco. (Credit: Jeff Chiu/AP)
Donald Trump speaks (Credit: Jim Borg/Pool/AP)
Trump spoke about his own experience battling Covid-19 and downplayed a resurgence that medical experts have been warning about for months as the country heads into fall and winter. “There are some spikes in other places that will disappear quickly,” Trump said
Biden wore a mask while Trump took notes during the Covid-19 portion of the debate. (Credit: Mori Cash/Pool/AP)
The debate took place on the campus of Belmont University in Nashville. (Credit: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images)
Both offered very different visions for the coming months. At the time, more than 30 states were seeing increasing cases of Covid-19. (Credit: Morry Gash/Pool/AFP/Getty Images)
The debate was more important and controlled than his first presidential debate, which turned into a shouting match. (Credit: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)
A stopwatch is displayed near Trump. Each candidate has two uninterrupted minutes to speak at the beginning of each debate segment. (Credit: Jim Borg/Pool/Getty Images)
Biden looks at the clock during the debate. It lasted for over 90 minutes. (Credit: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images)
The lecterns were more than 3 meters apart. (Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Welker asks a question. (Credit: Morry Gash/Pool/Getty Images)
Trump and Biden with their spouses at the end of the debate. (Credit: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images)
Many people watch the demonstrations at Belmont University before the debate. (Credit: Mark Humphrey/AP)
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