1st Presidential Debate, Trump Vs Biden In Ohio: What To Know

Chris Mosby
Updated ·2 min read

CLEVELAND — Donald Trump and Joe Biden will have their first presidential debate Tuesday, amid national tension and upheaval in Ohio and across the U.S.

With protests likely to form in advance of Tuesday night's debate in Cleveland, security has been stepped up in the University Circle neighborhood. The Ohio National Guard, the U.S. Secret Service, and many local police departments have been called to the area to ensure a smooth, peaceful event.

The debate will begin at 9 p.m. ET be moderated by Fox News' Chris Wallace. The debate will last about 90 minutes and will cover six topics.

What: The first presidential debate

Who: Incumbent President Donald Trump and challenger Joe Biden

Moderator: Fox News' Chris Wallace

When: 9 p.m. ET Tuesday

Where: The Sheila and Eric Samson Pavilion at the Health Education Campus of Case Western Reserve University and the Cleveland Clinic

How to watch: The debate will air on nearly all major TV networks, including ABC, CBS, CNN, C-SPAN, Fox, NBC and MSNBC.

How it will work: The debate will be divided into six segments. Each segment will be about 15 minutes, beginning with a question from Wallace. Each candidate will then have two minutes to respond to the question, and then two minutes to respond to each other. Wallace can use the remaining time to further explore the segment.

The topics to be debated Tuesday include:

  • The Trump and Biden records

  • The Supreme Court

  • COVID-19

  • The economy

  • Race and violence in our cities

  • The integrity of the election

Dealing with COVID-19

Case Western Reserve University and the Cleveland Clinic will host the event after the University of Notre Dame, originally slated to hold the debate, decided to pull out because of the risks posed by COVID-19.

Cleveland Clinic leaders were more willing to take on the challenges created by the virus.

"As we continue to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic, safety precautions remain in place to keep the hospital safe for caregivers and patients and help limit the spread of the virus," the hospital system said in a statement. "These efforts include temperature checks, mandatory masking, social distancing, hand hygiene and frequent cleaning. Access to hospital facilities is limited to patients, approved visitors and caregivers."

Subsequent presidential debates between Trump and Biden will be held Oct. 15 and Oct. 22. A vice presidential debate between incumbent Mike Pence and challenger Kamala Harris will be held Oct. 7.

This article originally appeared on the Cleveland Patch