DemDaily: Your Presidential Debate Guide

August 21st 2016

With the conventions over and the general election in full swing, we look next to the presidential debates!

On Thursday, the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) announced that on September 7th they will host presidential contenders Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, for a televised primetime forum focusing exclusively on issues the next president will have to confront as Commander-in-Chief.

In the Town Hall style forum each candidate will receive 30 minutes, appearing back to back, and will field questions on national security, military affairs and veterans issues from both NBC News staff and an audience of military veterans and active service members.

In Debates, by contrast, the candidates will both receive multiple questions in each segment (divided by topic). Each candidate will have about two minutes to respond to the question. Candidates will then have an opportunity to respond to each other (usually less than a minute). The balance of time will be allocated by the moderator for additional discussion of the topic.

The third party candidates are not expected to meet the required 15% standing in the polls to participate in the Presidential Debates.

While debates do not traditionally shift the polling numbers, between 30 and 70 million viewers are expected to tune in!

The foreign policy forum will be the first of five presidential debates and town halls to be televised to the public between now and the November 8th general election.

When	Wednesday, September 7, 2016
Time	TBD
Where	New York, New York
Network	NBC, MSNBC
Candidates	Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump
Format	Town Hall Format: 30 minutes each, back to back, questions from moderators and audience.

 

When	Monday, September 26, 2016
Time	9:00 PM - 10:30 PM
Where	Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York
Candidates	Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump
Format	Debate Format: Six 15-minute segments - topics selected by the moderator and announced ahead of the debate.

 

When	Tuesday, October 4, 2016
Time	9:00 PM - 10:30 PM
Where	Longwood University in Farmville, Virginia
Candidates	Senator Tim Kaine (D) and Governor Mike Pence (R)
Format	Debate Format: Nine 10-minute segments.

 

When	Sunday, October 9, 2016
Time	9:00 PM - 10:30 PM
Where	Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri
Candidates	Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump
Format	Debate Format: Where half of the questions will come from participants and the others from the moderator.

When	Wednesday, October 19, 2016
Time	9:00 PM - 10:30 PM
Where	University of Nevada, Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nevada
Candidates	Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump
Format	Debate Format: The same format as the first debate, with six 15-minute segments.