Democratic President Joe Biden and his Republican predecessor, Donald Trump, square off on Thursday at a highly anticipated debate, offering voters a rare side-by-side look at the two oldest candidates ever to seek the country’s highest office.
The 90-minute televised debate, the first between a sitting president and a former one, will air at 9 p.m. ET (0100 GMT on Friday) on CNN and is expected to draw a huge audience.
Both men enter the debate in Atlanta with political vulnerabilities that present a mix of risk and opportunity. The debate takes place far earlier than normal – more than four months before the Nov. 5 Election Day – and against a backdrop of national opinion polls showing the two men in a dead heat.
The clash also arrives at a moment of profound polarization and deep-seated anxiety among voters about the state of American politics.
Aaron Kall, a University of Michigan professor and an expert on presidential debates, said this “might be the most highly anticipated and important” one ever, given the closeness of the race, the country’s deep political polarization and the potential for a lasting gaffe.
For Biden in particular, he said, a moment of confusion or forgetfulness would prompt “endless news cycles” about his age and refuel speculation about a possible replacement ahead of the Democratic National Convention in August.
While national polls show a tied race, Biden has trailed Trump in polls of most battleground states and recently saw his financial edge erased after Trump was convicted in connection with hush money payments made to a porn star.
“Biden needs a change in the status quo, and this debate is his best opportunity yet to do it,” said Jacob Rubashkin, an elections analyst at the nonpartisan website Inside Elections.
“Right now, voters are looking at this race more like a referendum on Biden than a choice election, and that’s dangerous territory for him to be in. But in the debate he can drive home the contrast angle – and Trump will be in the spotlight as well.”
Neither Biden nor Trump is popular with many Americans. About a fifth of voters say they have not picked a candidate, are leaning toward a third-party candidate or may sit the election out, the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll showed.
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