On June 27, 2024, Donald Trump and Joe Biden met on the debate stage for the first time in almost four years, and not a single person walked away satisfied.
Neither candidate performed well in the debate, and audiences were left with a growing pit in their stomachs, as the reality of the American situation set in. We were, following the debate, left with two choices for president, one whose expiration date in the office passed years ago, and another whose qualifications fall so short of the office, despite having held it, as to be laughable.
Then the unthinkable happened — Joe Biden dropped out of the race, and his replacement, current Vice President Kamala Harris, lit a fire in Democratic voters. All that apathy vanished in the wake of her ascension to candidate, and suddenly the political arena is looking far less frightening.
It also changed up the strategies of both camps, as the Trump team scrambles to rework its planned attacks, and the Harris camp rushes to establish talking points, policy goals, and a unified direction. With so much left to do, and so little time to do it in, the issue of debates becomes even more muddied. People most certainly want to see these candidates face off, but when will they find the time to do it?
In a typical election year, as many as a half-dozen debates are common, so that voters get a good solid look at the candidates and ample opportunity to make up their minds, but in 2024, only two debates were confirmed. The first occurred on Thursday, June 27, and the other will follow right around three months later.
Will there be a second presidential debate in 2024?
Harris and Trump will, in fact, engage in a debate of their own this election cycle, but not for a few weeks still. Most presidential debates happen late in the season, so as to give people a good glimpse, not too far ahead of voting, of what their options are. The June debate diverted from this trend, but its followup will not.
The second 2024 presidential debate is scheduled for Sept. 10, just under two months ahead of the election. It’s late enough in the game to be a far more relevant stand-off between the candidates, providing voters with their first proper opportunity to see how Trump and Harris measure up to one another. Chatter about several other debates, including one moderated by Fox News, continues to swirl, but with so little time left to squeeze them in, its uncertain if they’ll come to pass. We may well only get a single debate between Trump and Harris, so let’s hope the candidates make it count.