The Harris-Trump debate will find the decisive period of the election campaign

Tuesday night in Philadelphia will be the first and only planned tv debate between Vice president Kamala Harris and erstwhile president Donald Trump. This will be the first physical gathering of both candidates to find the decisive period of the election campaign.

Harris and Trump will execute at the National Constitutional Center at 21st local time (3 a.m. in Poland) and their duel will be held according to the same different rules as the Biden-Trump debate in Atlanta: a 90-minute skirmish will take place without the participation of the audience, candidates will only have microphones on erstwhile they are given a voice by the leaders, and they will only have a pen, clean cards and a bottle of water.

The debate is organised by ABC television, and the moderators will be the host of evening news by David Muir and Linsey Davis. Questions and topics of discussion according to established rules will stay a mystery to the end, but 1 can anticipate to include economical affairs, taxes and inflation, immigration, abortion, war in Ukraine and the Gaza Strip, or the future of democracy.

All of these topics were discussed during a duel of Biden and Trump organized by CNN, although both candidates were very frequently left the subject. For each of the questions politicians will have 2 minutes to answer, 2 minutes to repost and another minute to explain whether to answer additional questions. According to the rules, candidates can't ask each another questions.

These rules are the consequence of the conditions originally imposed by Biden's staff, who thus wanted to limit Trump's showmanic tendencies. The Harris staff tried to renegotiate the rules of the game – wanting for example the microphones to be on at all times, while Trump repeatedly questioned the integrity of the debate, accused ABC of bias and demanded additional duels, among others, in Fox News, its friendly station.

According to CBS television, Harris was preparing for a debate on a peculiar tv plan reflecting the phase plan in Philadelphia with an actor impersonating Trump's role. "Washington Post" stated that Trump's preparations consisted mainly of sessions focused on politics

According to Keith Nahigian, a Republican activist who prepared for the debate respective presidential candidates, the debate rate is higher for Harris, who is inactive comparatively unknown to a crucial condition of voters. As he stressed, at this phase of the campaign, the fight focuses on convincing undecided voters, who usually yet elect a candidate to warrant change. In addition, investigation shows that voters trust Trump more in matters considered by voters to be the most crucial – economy and immigration.

According to Nahigian, Trump besides favors experience: Harris has only participated in pre-election debates of Democrats and 2020 presidential candidates (against Mike Pence) and in the current run she has had very fewer media appearances.

"I remember that in her duel with Pence she showed that she could think on her feet. But this cannot be learned with a textbook and notebook, practicing with people who agree with you," said Nahigian PAP. "Her staff should have arranged her meetings with voters, any more hard interviews. This is the only way to get the right way of thinking, due to the fact that then your brain calculates completely differently: you see how what you say resonates with voters or journalists, whether it reaches them or you express yourself clearly," he added.

The debate falls at a crucial point in the campaign, just 5 days before the start of the first state vote – Pennsylvania, where the duel will take place. Pennsylvania is the most crucial state in this year's election that can decide which candidate will win more electorate votes and win the election.

The rate of Tuesday's clash is peculiarly high, due to the fact that it will most likely be the only debate before the elections, and polls present an highly balanced image of competition. According to the average of the polls calculated by the fresh York Times, in Pennsylvania Harris and Trump have 47 percent of their support. The draw is besides in 3 another of the 7 states, where the score is not almost predestined (Georgia, Nevada and Arizona), while in 2 minimal advantage is Harris (Wisconsin by 3pp, Michigan by 2pp).

The debate takes place little than 2 months before the electoral day, and 10 days later they will be able to start giving their votes to voters in the first 3 states allowing early voting – Virginia, Minnesota and South Dakota. In the following weeks, the vote will start in the following states, although not all of them allow.

According to the Constitution, the national election day is the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November; this year it will fall out on November 5. The votes must be formally counted – and the results in all states settled – by 11 December, so that the elected electors in each state can give their votes, formalising the result of the election.

Then, on 3 January, the fresh legislature will be sworn in (elections to the home of Representatives and 1/3 of the legislature composition are held together with the presidential election) so that he can formally number the electorate votes 3 days later on 6 January and approve the result. The winner will start his word with a solemn inauguration on 20 January.

From Washington Oskar Górzyński (PAP)