The recent debate between US President Donald Trump and Democratic candidate Joe Biden is taking place at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, the university that witnessed the last debates in 2008 between former President Barack Obama and former Republican candidate John McCain.
It was agreed to divide the debate into 6 parts, each part 15 minutes, and each candidate will have two minutes at the beginning of each part without interruption.
What are the debate topics?
1. Confronting the Coronavirus
2. American families
3. Racial differences in America
4. Climate change
5. National security issues
6. American leadership and personality
Avoid first debate mistakes
The Presidential Debating Committee worked to avoid the mistakes of the first debate, and last Monday announced that the microphones were muted during some parts of the debate.
Under the new rules, Biden and Trump will each have two minutes of uninterrupted time at the start of each 15-minute segment.
Then, they can discuss the issues between them with both mics open.
This does not mean that the other candidate cannot speak when he is not supposed to speak, just whatever they say will not be broadcast to viewers in their homes.
Trump and his campaign accuse NBC debate director Christine Walker of bias, without providing clear evidence.
For his part, Trump campaign manager Bill Stebian said in a statement after the announcement of the new debate rules, "President Trump is committed to discussing Joe Biden regardless of recent changes from the biased committee in their recent attempt to provide an advantage for their preferred candidate."
Stephen sent the debate committee a letter on Monday, criticizing her for not including a section on foreign policy, which the campaign considers Biden's weakness.
Stebian asked the committee to "rethink and release a set of topics" for discussion with a focus on foreign policy.
New precautionary measures
The Presidential Debating Committee confirmed that President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden will be tested for the Corona virus before confronting them in the last presidential debate, and the public will also be required to wear masks throughout the event.
These assurances announced Tuesday are in stark contrast to previous actions by Trump and his family, who ignored the requirement to wear a face mask in the September 29 debate.
Belmont University Theater will have a small audience of about 200 journalists, debating committee officials, university, public health professionals, and guests invited by each candidate, including his or her family.
And attendees will have to adhere to a set of precautionary measures advocated by the federal health institutions, such as the necessity to adhere to social distancing and wear a face mask.
Trump's decline in the polls was clearly anchored in the first debate, in which Trump was criticized for his reckless and chaotic performance during it.
With 43 million voters already voting by early ballot or mail vote, and less than two weeks before Election Day, time is running out for Trump to bridge the gap with Biden.
Hot and funky topics
In addition to touching on the six main topics, the debate is expected to deal in one way or another with two issues that concern millions of Americans:
Hunter Biden's computer puzzle
The first debate was quickly hit by Hunter Biden's business dealings abroad, when Biden appeared to be getting increasingly nervous in repelling Trump's attacks, but the (unconfirmed) allegations that Joe Biden used his position as Vice President during Barack Obama's administration to help his son were an important point in the discussions. The last debate.
Biden barely addressed the unconfirmed and often disputed reports on a laptop case allegedly owned by Hunter, which housed what his father condemned and politically condemns.
It will be difficult for Biden to ignore or underestimate the importance of this topic, which Trump is expected to address whenever he has an opportunity, and Biden must prepare to answer these questions related to the behavior and corruption of his son Hunter.
The Biden campaign says the laptop could be part of a Russian disinformation campaign, and denies what some press reports say that Biden supported his son's business and financial interests through his position.
Peaceful transition of power?
Four years ago, most opinion polls indicated candidate Trump lost the election, but in his recent debate against his then-rival Hillary Clinton, Trump stunned observers by saying he might not accept the election results if he lost.
Trump said at the time, "I will tell you at the time, I will keep you in suspense," and Clinton responded by saying, "This is terrifying, this is not the way our democracy works."
These concerns have become the subject of controversy again with Trump's repeated lack of assertion of the commitment to hand over power.
This situation is radically different from its predecessor, as Trump is already the president, and he has all the powers that come with the office of president.