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Former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden.
CNN
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Former President Donald Trump will debate President Joe Biden on CNN next week, but he will make the final remarks after a coin toss that will determine where he will sit at the podium and the order in which he will deliver the final remarks.
The coin landed on heads, which was Biden’s choice, meaning the Biden team could choose either the president’s podium position or the order of closing remarks.
The Biden campaign picked the right location for the podium, meaning the Democratic president will stand on the right side of the TV audience’s screen, and his Republican rival on the left.
The Trump campaign then opted to let the former president make the final closing remarks, meaning Biden would be the first to speak at the end of the debate.
Biden and Trump are set to make history on June 27 in the first presidential debate between a sitting president and a former president. It will also be the first since 2020 to feature either Biden, who never faced a serious challenge for the Democratic nomination, or Trump, who skipped debates during the Republican primary.
CNN’s Jake Tapper and Dana Bash will host the 90-minute debate in Atlanta. Both candidates accepted the network’s invitation and agreed to abide by the debate rules and format outlined in a letter the network sent to the campaigns in May.
For Trump, making closing statements at the CNN debate marks a major difference from his criminal trial and conviction in New York last month, when he was upset that his lawyers would not make closing statements in his hush-money lawsuit, despite the common practice of the prosecution making the closing statements in court.
“Why is a corrupt government being allowed to make closing arguments in the case against me? Why can’t the defense make closing arguments? They have a huge advantage and it’s very unfair. It’s a witch hunt,” the former president wrote on Truth Social.
The deadline for qualification to take part in the debate expired just after midnight on Thursday, leaving only Biden and Trump to meet the constitutional, polling and voting eligibility requirements laid out by CNN in May.
According to the network, the debate will include two commercial breaks during which campaign staff will not be allowed to interact with the candidates. The candidates have agreed to stand at a unified podium. During the debate, microphones will be muted except for the candidate who is speaking. No props or pre-written notes will be allowed onstage, but candidates will be provided with pens, notepads, and bottles of water.
