Harris-Trump presidential debate: Live updates as candidates prepare to face off

Supporters of former President Trump told NBC News that they hope tonight's debate will allow his campaign to reset its focus on policy and turn the page on Vice President Kamala Harris's post-nomination "honeymoon" phase, NBC News reports.

Following the debate, the spin room offers an opportunity for campaign supporters and political pundits to hold court with journalists and further argue for their candidates.

The Harris campaign’s spin room will include Govs. Gavin Newsom of California, Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, Roy Cooper of North Carolina and Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico. Mini Timmaraju, the president of Reproductive Freedom for All, is also expected to be there.

As for Trump's spin room, vice presidential nominee JD Vance is expected to make an appearance alongside Florida Sens. Marco Rubio and Rick Scott, Gov. Doug Burgum of North Dakota, Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida, Vivek Ramaswamy and RNC Chairman Michael Whatley and co-chair Lara Trump. Former Democrats Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard will also be there to offer their support for the former president.

Tonight's presidential debate will be held at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia's historic Center City. The venue was established by Ronald Reagan in 1988 and features 42 life-size bronze statues of historic figures like Alexander Hamilton, George Washington and Benjamin Franklin, who signed the Constitution in its Signers’ Hall.

But Tuesday's event is not the first time the venue has made history for presidential candidates and other notable figures, USA Today reports.

The Trump and Harris campaigns released a small batch of videos attacking each other on a host of issues ahead of tonight's debate.

Among the ads is a television spot from the Harris campaign featuring former President Barack Obama's Democratic convention jab at the "78-year-old billionaire who has not stopped whining about his problems," including his "weird obsession with crowd sizes."

According to the Harris campaign, the ad will run on Fox News "as well as locally in media markets like West Palm Beach and Philadelphia," two locations meant to target Trump himself.

Harris also posted a debate-focused video on X repeatedly calling Trump a liar.

Meanwhile, the Trump campaign released a video of its own titled "Day One." The spot features news clips highlighting what the Trump campaign claims are issues Harris failed to address in her current role in the Biden administration, including inflation and border security.

Because Trump is such a familiar figure at this point — and because views of him are so fixed, Yahoo News' Andrew Romano reports on what Trump needs to accomplish.

Let Harris beat Harris.

The best-case scenario for Trump is that Harris stumbles … and that he doesn’t do anything to draw attention away from her mistakes. Less is more.

Don’t be weird.

If Trump spends Tuesday night on saying odd things, he will help Harris seem normal in comparison.

Race and gender are explosive topics, and if Trump decides to “go there” Tuesday night — the way he did when he recently accused Harris of “turning Black,” for instance, it will overshadow the rest of the debate. And that’s unlikely to be good news for Trump.

Stop flailing on abortion.

If the former president can clarify his position Tuesday night, perhaps he can neutralize Harris’s advantage to some degree. If he further muddies the waters, however, that will only strengthen her hand.

Trump is in his element when he’s pushing the envelope. So far, Harris has resisted the temptation to tangle with him. Yahoo News' Andrew Romano reports on what Harris needs to accomplish.

What Harris needs to accomplish

Make a moment.

In the past, Harris has shown a knack for making viral moments — particularly when she’s in prosecutor mode, grilling Republicans. Do the same to Trump Tuesday night — perhaps on abortion, an issue on which he’s recently tied himself in knots — and Harris could be well on her way to a “win.”

Connect on policy.

The vice president would do well to provide viewers with a few concrete, memorable examples of a detailed economic agenda designed to lower the cost of groceries, health care and housing for working- and middle-class Americans, and a plan to tax capital gains and small businesses at lower rates than Biden.

Be the bigger person.

Trump hasn’t been shy about attacking Harris — her competence, her intelligence, her appearance and even her biracial heritage. But as Trump’s previous opponents can attest, it doesn’t pay to mud wrestle with him on the debate stage. An above-the-fray approach Tuesday night could help solidify Harris as the more “presidential” option.

How to watch

You can watch it across ABC News’ properties, which include ABC News Live’s online streaming, Disney+ and Hulu. Yahoo.com will also feature real-time coverage and analysis from our editorial team right here.

Rules

No live audience in the debate room, nixing any opportunity for cheers or jeers during the event.

• The candidates will not give an opening statement.

• Moderators will be the only ones to ask questions.

• Candidates will have two minutes to answer a question, with a two-minute rebuttal, as well as another minute to follow up for clarification. Microphones will only be switched on for the candidate who is answering a question.

• A coin flip determined the order of closing statements, which will be two minutes per candidate, as well as the placement of the candidates’ podiums onstage. Trump won the toss, and he chose to give the last closing statement. Harris chose to have her podium appear on the right side of the screen (stage left).

Future debates?

There are no other scheduled debates between Harris and Trump. On Oct. 1, CBS News will also host a vice presidential debate featuring Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Republican Sen. JD Vance from Ohio.

Tonight's debate will be moderated by ABC World News Tonight anchor David Muir and ABC News Live Prime anchor Linsey Davis.

Here's more about each of them.

David Muir

Muir, 50, has been with ABC since 2003 and the anchor of ABC World News Tonight since 2014. He moderated presidential primary debates for the network in 2016 and 2020.

Muir has also done interviews with politicians from both sides of the political aisle, including a June interview with President Biden for the network’s D-Day coverage. Muir had the first joint interview with then-Vice President Biden and his running mate, then-Sen. Kamala Harris, weeks before the 2020 election.

He was also the first journalist to interview Trump as president in the White House in 2017.

Linsey Davis

Davis, 46, has been with ABC since 2007 and moderated Democratic presidential primary debates in 2019 and 2020.

But she is lesser known than Muir, hosting ABC News Live Prime, the network’s nightly streaming newscast, and ABC World News Tonight on Sundays.

Davis has interviewed dozens of politicians, including Harris and former Vice President Mike Pence, and numerous celebrities. According to her official bio on ABC’s website, Davis “got the only interview with comedian Bill Cosby in the wake of dozens of sexual assault allegations.”