Getty President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden participate in the presidential debate.
Tonight is the second and final presidential debate for the 2020 election. President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden will face off again, but this time the moderator will have the ability to mute their mics. Read on below for more details on exactly when you can tune in tonight on Thursday, October 22, in different time zones.
The Debate Starts at 9 PM Eastern
Tonight’s debate begins at 9 p.m. Eastern time, but you may be interested in knowing exactly how this translates to your particular time zone. The debate will be simulcast live wherever you’re living here in the United States, so you’ll be able to watch live even if you’re in a different time zone.
This means that tonight’s second and final debate will begin at:
- 8 p.m. Central time
- 7 p.m. Mountain time
- 6 p.m. Pacific time
- 3 p.m. Hawaii time
- 5 p.m. in Juneau, Alaska
If you want to see what time it starts in a specific city, you can check out the TimeAndDate listings here. Here are a few examples below of the time the debate starts in different cities in the U.S. The debate itself is taking place in Nashville, Tennessee, so it will be starting at 8 p.m. Central time in the event’s location.
- Anchorage: 5 p.m.
- Boston: 9 p.m.
- Denver: 7 p.m.
- Detroit: 9 p.m.
- Honolulu: 3 p.m.
- Houston: 8 p.m.
- Los Angeles: 6 p.m.
- Miami: 9 p.m.
- Philadelphia: 9 p.m.
- Washington, D.C.: 9 p.m.
Tonight’s debate will last 90 minutes and end at 10:30 p.m. Eastern. You can watch it live in the stream below. There will be no commercial breaks tonight.
What to Expect Tonight
Kristen Welker is moderating tonight’s debate. She’s the NBC News White House correspondent and co-anchors Today Weekend. According to The Commission on Presidential Debates, the topics for tonight’s debate will include:
- Fighting COVID-19
- American Families
- Race in America
- Climate Change
- National Security
- Leadership
The Commission notes that the debate topics are subject to change based on news developments, and they may not be brought up in the order listed above. The Commission had originally announced that the debate’s topic would focus on foreign affairs, KIRO 7 reported, but Welker announced different topics. Trump’s campaign requested that the debate continue its original focus on foreign policy.
Our letter to the BDC (Biden Debate Commission)
Tonight’s debate will be in six 15-minute segments, according to the Commission on Presidential Debates. Candidates will have two minutes to answer the opening question and they will be able to respond to each other too. A technician will be able to mute an opposing candidate’s mic during the two-minute response time. The Commission announced: “The only candidate whose microphone will be open during these two-minute periods is the candidate who has the floor under the rules.” The mics will then open after that for discussion from both, NPR reported.
Tonight is now the second and final debate, after the original second debate was canceled when Trump was diagnosed with COVID-19 and the Commission and the candidates disagreed on how to handle that in a debate format.
Tonight’s debate is taking place at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee.
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