Key debate between Harris and Trump set to shape campaign outcome

The first scheduled televised debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump will take place on Tuesday evening in Philadelphia. This could be a decisive moment in the election campaign.

This will be both candidates' first physical meeting. Harris and Trump will appear at the National Constitution Center at 9 PM Eastern Time (2 AM GMT on Wednesday), and their showdown will follow the same unusual rules as the Biden-Trump debate in Atlanta: a 90-minute clash without an audience. Candidates will have their microphones on only when granted permission to speak by the moderators, and they will have only a pen, blank sheets of paper, and a bottle of water with them.

ABC television organizes the debate, with evening news anchors David Muir and Linsey Davis acting as moderators. According to established rules, the questions and discussion topics will remain secret until the end, but it is expected that they will include issues of the economy, taxes and inflation, immigration, abortion, the war in Ukraine and Gaza, and the future of democracy.

All these topics were addressed during the Biden-Trump showdown organised by CNN.

For each question, politicians will have two minutes to respond, two minutes to rebut, and another minute to explain or answer follow-up questions. According to the rules, candidates cannot ask each other questions.

The debate comes at a key moment in the campaign, just five days before voting begins in the first state—Pennsylvania—where the showdown will take place. Pennsylvania is the most important state in this year's election, and it could decide which of the candidates wins more electoral votes and the election.

The stakes of Tuesday's clash are particularly high because it will likely be the only debate before the election, and polls present an extremely close race. According to an average of polls calculated by "The New York Times," Harris and Trump each have 47% support in Pennsylvania. There is also a tie in three of the seven states where the outcome is almost not predetermined (Georgia, Nevada, and Arizona). In comparison, in two states, Harris has a slight lead (Wisconsin by three percentage points, Michigan by two percentage points).