4 key issues for Tuesday’s presidential debate

All eyes are on the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection ahead of Tuesday night’s presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump. The two candidates will meet on stage at the National Constitution Center at 9 p.m. for what is likely to be the only forum where the two will square off before the November election. 

Here are a few things to watch for tonight: 

Mic’d Up

One of the critical pre-debate storylines was the potential muting of microphones between questions and responses – a move the Harris campaign finally agreed to, in accordance with the rule prevailing during the June 27 debate between Trump and then-candidate President Joe Biden: that each candidate’s microphone would be muted while their opponent is speaking.

Harris’ team had sought to keep the mics unmuted throughout the debate, which would have allowed the candidates to challenge each other – and potentially opened the door for Trump to have an outburst on national television. 

The Trump campaign refused to agree to the change, breaking with its 2020 call to keep the mics hot. Instead, each candidate will have two minutes for their answers, two minutes for rebuttals and one minute for follow-ups, responses to rebuttals or clarifications. 

‘Bad things’ Part II

Trump, who famously said “Bad things happen in Philadelphia” in reference to baseless claims of widespread voter fraud in 2020, is once again casting doubt on the election before ballots are even cast. 

Trump, who is facing criminal charges for his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, made a false claim on Truth Social on Sunday that 20% of Pennsylvania’s mail ballots are fraudulent, citing an interview conducted by former Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson.

There is no evidence of widespread cheating or voter fraud in Pennsylvania’s mail voting or election administration, which Trump has targeted since he lost the state to President Joe Biden in 2020.

Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro, who was the commonwealth’s attorney general in 2020 while election fraud cases were being brought forward, responded to Trump on Monday via X, formerly known as Twitter. Shapiro noted that ballots had not yet been sent out and that the state audits every election to ensure votes are legitimate.

“If Trump really wants to start this again, let me remind him of 2020: We beat him in court 43 times,” Shapiro said, referring to his work defending the results of the last presidential election, when he was Pennsylvania attorney general. “We’re ready to defend our democracy again.”

Keystone issues

Given the debate’s location and how each candidate’s path to victory runs through the state’s 19 Electoral College votes, there is bound to be a focus on issues impacting the commonwealth.

Potential topics include fracking and energy policy, health care, organized labor and inflation. Each candidate is expected to continue hammering home the points they have emphasized on the campaign trail, with Harris anticipated to hit Trump on abortion access and reproductive rights, while Trump is likely to continue to emphasize immigration and inflation.

Polls in PA

As of Tuesday morning, the latest polls show Harris leading Trump by nearly 1 point in Pennsylvania – 46.6% to 45.7% – well within the margin of error for all major polls. Some polls show Harris with a lead as large as 3 points, while others show Trump with anywhere from a 1- to 2-point lead. 

Where to watch

The debate can be caught on screens and streams nationwide. ABC is hosting and televising the debate, but the event will air live on all major broadcast channels, including CBS, Fox, NBC and PBS, and on cable news networks, including CNN, MSNBC, Fox Business and Fox News. 

It will also be available on some streaming services, including YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, DirecTV Now, and FuboTV, and will be livestreamed on C-SPAN’s YouTube page here.