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Presidential Candidate Joe Biden Delivers Remarks In Wilmington, Delaware

The first 2020 presidential debate

President Trump and Vice President Biden will share the debate stage for the first time in Ohio.

Contributors: Vox Staff

The Covid-19 pandemic has made this an election season unlike any other, but one constant will be the debates. President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden will face off onstage for the first time on September 29 in Cleveland, Ohio.

Fox News Sunday anchor Chris Wallace will moderate the debate, which will run from 9 to 10:30 pm ET. He has selected six topics for the debate: Trump’s and Biden’s records, the Supreme Court, the ongoing pandemic, the economy, race and violence in cities, and the integrity of the election.

The fifth topic, “Race and Violence in our Cities,” drew some objection — it appears to focus more on urban unrest than the struggle for racial justice. Bend the Arc, a liberal Jewish group, said the language “reinforces anti-Black fear mongering.”

Trump has repeatedly raised questions about the last topic: the election’s integrity. On Wednesday, he refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he loses, something no previous president has refused to do.

This will be the first of three debates between Biden and Trump. The two will meet again in Miami on October 15 and in Nashville on October 22. The vice presidential nominees, Vice President Mike Pence and Sen. Kamala Harris, will debate in Salt Lake City on October 7.

Follow along below for Vox’s debate coverage, including how to watch, breaking news updates, analysis, and more.

26 Total Updates Since
Aug 28, 2020, 9:30am EDT
  • October 7, 2020

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    His plan was inspired by it, but is not the same.

  • October 1, 2020

    The Proud Boys, explained

    By Jane Coaston

    The far-right street fighting group has embraced violence — and Donald Trump.

  • September 30, 2020

    The debate’s segment on race was doomed before it even began

    By Fabiola Cineas

    The first presidential debate of the 2020 general election, which featured a segment on "race and violence in our cities," centered Donald Trump’s racism.

  • September 30, 2020

    The world already had low views of the US due to Trump. The debate didn’t help.

    By Alex Ward

    The debate didn’t tarnish America’s reputation. Trump already had.

  • September 30, 2020

    Trump promised 200,000 Covid-19 vaccinations a day. That’s 5 to 9 years to vaccinate the US.

    By German Lopez

    Despite Trump’s debate promises, experts say vaccines will take months or years to roll out.

  • September 30, 2020

    The growing concerns over Trump and a peaceful transition, explained

    By Zack Beauchamp

    It’s unlikely that Trump will steal the election. But unlikely doesn’t mean impossible.

  • September 30, 2020

    CNN fact-checked the presidential debate. It was almost all about Trump’s lies.

    By German Lopez

    "We had an avalanche of lying from President Trump."

  • September 30, 2020

    Joe Biden smashed his single-hour fundraising record after the first presidential debate

    By Ella Nilsen

    Biden raised nearly $4 million in one hour after the debate.

  • September 30, 2020

    The reviews are in: The first presidential debate was a disaster

    By German Lopez

    "What a dark event we have just witnessed."

  • September 30, 2020

    Joe Biden’s most surprising, and possibly important, answer of the debate

    By Ezra Klein

    Biden disavowed a lot of ambitious progressive policies on Tuesday. But there were two he refused to reject.

  • September 30, 2020

    The emergency is happening right now

    By Zack Beauchamp

    Trump’s Proud Boys and voting comments in the first 2020 debate reveal a country in the midst of a democratic crisis.

  • September 30, 2020

    Vote-by-mail is not full of fraud, despite Trump’s debate claims

    By Jen Kirby

    But his unfounded assertions are still dangerous.

  • September 30, 2020

    The first post-debate polls say Biden won

    By Andrew Prokop

    To get a better picture of how this will affect the race, though, we’ll have to wait longer.

  • September 29, 2020

    3 debate moments that showed how unsuited Trump is for the presidency

    By Aaron Rupar

    Don’t let Trump’s debate bullying distract you from his ignorance and malevolence.

  • September 29, 2020

    It’s true: 1 in 1,000 Black Americans have died in the Covid-19 pandemic

    By Dylan Scott

    Biden cited a horrific statistic to make his case against Trump. The worst part is it’s true.

  • September 29, 2020

    Trump was asked to denounce white supremacy. He wouldn’t.

    By Fabiola Cineas

    The president not only didn’t condemn white supremacy, he actively stoked it by telling the Proud Boys to "stand by."

  • September 29, 2020

    3 winners and 4 losers from the first 2020 presidential debate

    By Matthew Yglesias, German Lopez, Alex Ward, Li Zhou, and Zack Beauchamp

    Not America’s finest hour.

  • September 29, 2020

    The K-shaped economic recovery, explained

    By Emily Stewart

    Joe Biden and Donald Trump offer up two visions of economic recovery.

  • September 29, 2020

    When is the next 2020 debate? The vice presidential debate is on October 7. 

    By Nicole Narea

    Kamala Harris and Mike Pence will face off.

  • September 29, 2020

    Biden to Trump: “Will you shut up, man?”

    By Zack Beauchamp

    An absurd moment from an absurd night.

  • September 29, 2020

    Trump says murders are up in Democrat-run cities. They’re up in Republican-run cities, too.

    By German Lopez

    Trump’s comments at the presidential debate paint a misleading picture about crime and violence in the US.

  • September 29, 2020

    How to watch the first presidential debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump

    By Ella Nilsen

    Biden and Trump will face off on Tuesday night.

  • September 29, 2020

    The Trump campaign spent months portraying Biden as senile. That might be a mistake.

    By Jane Coaston

    Trump lowered the bar for Biden’s debate performance. Why?

  • September 29, 2020

    Trump’s adversarial relationship with presidential debate moderator Chris Wallace, explained

    By Aaron Rupar

    Trump expects total loyalty from Fox News. He doesn’t like Chris Wallace because Wallace won’t give it to him.

  • September 2, 2020

    When is the first presidential debate? September 29.

    By Cameron Peters

    Joe Biden and Donald Trump will meet onstage in Cleveland for the first debate of the general election.