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The First Presidential Debate: When Is The Debate, What Are The Debate Rules And How Prepared Are Trump And Clinton?

By Daniel Ketchum
Published on: 08:53 PST, Sep 23, 2016

The first presidential debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton takes place next week, and anticipation is high for this initial confrontation between the Democratic and Republican nominees. In addition to all the other questions people have concerning the timing, rules and other details of the debate, many are wondering just how well prepared Trump and Clinton are for this first clash.

According to ABC News, it was decided that neither Jill Stein or Gary Johnson were pulling sufficient numbers in the polls to qualify for a place on the stage. This will allow for a direct face-off between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton on the issues.

When Is the Debate?

The first debate between Trump and Clinton takes place on Monday at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York. It airs at 9 PM EST and is scheduled to last 90 minutes. The moderator is Lester Holt of NBC, who will divide the debate into six 15 minute segments.

The overall Presidential debate schedule was agreed to in late August, with the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates announcing the format for the three presidential debates, as well is the one vice presidential debate. These debate schedules are often a major source of contention in any election year, and this year was no exception.

What Are the Debate Rules?

The presidential debate rules can have a big impact on the outcome. This debate will be no different. The Oxford Eagle reports that, during the first debate, both candidates will be required to stand at the podium the full 90 minutes – except for bathroom breaks. Clinton’s health issues – if any – could play a role here.

Under this Monday’s presidential debate rules, the moderator will offer up a question before each of the six 15 minute segments. Trump and Clinton will both have two minutes to reply to the question posed. After this, each of the two candidates will have a chance to respond to or rebut the comments of the other. With any remaining time in the segment, the moderator can expand on the topic.

How Prepared Are Trump and Clinton?

Trump and Clinton appear to be preparing very differently for the presidential debate. While Clinton is practicing her debating style and focusing on policy details, Trump seems to be spending most of his time doing other things unrelated to the debate. His objection to “fact-checking” by Holt might be related to this.

As has been demonstrated before, Donald Trump’s grasp of policy issues – from economics and international relations to military matters – is extraordinarily limited. During the primary debates, Donald Trump was sharing the stage with a multitude of others, which made his defects less obvious.

Republican presidential candidates Ben Carson, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), Donald Trump, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Ohio Gov. John Kasich (L-R) stand on stage for the Republican National Committee Presidential Primary Debate. [Image by Joe Raedle/Getty Images]

In these earlier debates, Trump was able to jump in with a quick snarky comment and then jump back out before revealing his lack of knowledge. In a one-on-one debate with Hillary Clinton, it’s not entirely clear that this approach will work. It also wouldn’t seem very “Presidential,” and the AP reports that Trump’s advisors are worried about this.

Presidential debate topics often cover a wide range of issues, from economic policy to nuclear weapons. In this case, the announced first presidential debate topics are fairly broad, with “America’s Direction,” “Achieving Prosperity” and “Securing America” being the subjects that Trump and Clinton will have to address.

Within these broader topics, almost anything could be discussed. For instance, the Wells Fargo scam – which affected millions of Americans – could well come up. This would be a difficult subject for Trump, given his opposition to strong regulation of the banking and financial industries. Clinton has already written an open letter on this topic.

Both Trump and Clinton could encounter questions about their respective foundations. But while the Clinton Foundation has released documents making it fairly clear that what they have done has been largely above board, Donald Trump is in a much more vulnerable position in this area.

There has been an ongoing Trump Foundation investigation for months now. But recent revelations concerning Trump’s misuse of foundation funds for things like legal fees or the purchase of artwork to hang in his hotels make this a particularly delicate topic for the Republican nominee.

When Trump goes into attack mode – which he almost certainly will – one of the topics he will probably bring up is Benghazi. Republicans have hounded Hillary Clinton about Benghazi for years now, and Donald Trump is unlikely to ignore such an easy target.

The issues of terrorism and Muslim immigration into the United States could work against either candidate in this first presidential debate. While many Americans view Donald Trump’s opinions about terrorism as extremist and un-American – he’s a proponent of torturing suspects and killing their families – many others have been frightened by recent terrorist attacks and might lean toward his side of the argument.

The presidential debate on Monday will begin the process of answering lingering questions the American people have about both Trump and Clinton. We will see whether Trump can restrain himself sufficiently to seem presidential, as well as whether Hillary Clinton can overcome the aloofness she sometimes shows and really reach out to the American people.

[Featured Image by Tomohiro Ohsumi/Getty Images]

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