The first debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump will take place in Philly
It will be held at the National Constitution Center on Sept. 10.
Philadelphia is once again back at the center of the political universe.
The first presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump will take place at the National Constitution Center on Sept. 10, ABC News announced Friday.
The debate will begin at 9 p.m. and air live on ABC, ABC News Live, Disney and Hulu, the network said. It will be moderated by Linsey Davis — an anchor on ABC News Live’s Prime — and David Muir, the managing editor and anchor of World News Tonight.
“We are honored to be selected,” the National Constitution Center’s President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen said in a statement on Friday. “The National Constitution Center’s mission is to model civil dialogue ... Presidential debates are a meaningful opportunity for all Americans to learn more about the principles that define American democracy.”
This is not the first time a presidential debate has been held on Independence Mall. The National Constitution Center hosted the Democratic primary presidential debate between former President Barack Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2008, as well as ABC News Town Halls for Trump and President Joe Biden in 2020.
The announcement of the debate’s location comes after Trump claimed it would take place near the National Constitution Center at Independence Hall. At the time of Trump’s comments, ABC told The Inquirer a venue had not been confirmed.
» READ MORE: Philly was not yet confirmed to be the site of the first presidential debate, despite Donald Trump’s comments
The debate will mark the first time Trump and Harris will face off since Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed Harris, following his own disastrous debate performance in June. Harris formally secured the Democratic presidential nomination earlier this month.
Trump initially backed out of the proposed Sept. 10 debate, citing Biden withdrawing from the race and his legal conflicts with ABC. He instead proposed a Sept. 4 debate hosted by Fox News in front of an audience.
“I’ll see her on September 4th, or I won’t see her at all,” Trump posted to his social media platform Truth Social on Aug. 3.
He then recommitted to the debate at a news conference held at his Florida country club Mar-a-Largo where he pushed for the Sept. 4 debate, as well as a third faceoff on Sept. 25 on NBC.
» READ MORE: Donald Trump, Kamala Harris agree to presidential debate on ABC next month
The Harris campaign told ABC News that she would not debate Trump on Sept. 4 and that future debates are contingent on Trump actually showing up to the first one.
Trump is suing ABC News and George Stephanopoulos for defamation after the Good Morning America anchor said a jury concluded Trump had “raped” E. Jean Carroll. The Manhattan jury had found Trump liable for sexual abuse but not rape in the 2023 trial, which has a narrower definition under New York state law.
During a recent appearance on Fox & Friends, Trump said that the ongoing legal proceedings would not affect his ability to debate on ABC since Stephanopoulos would not be hosting.
» READ MORE: Tim Walz and JD Vance agree to CBS vice presidential debate on Oct. 1
“You can use that as an excuse, I could use that,” Trump said. “My preference would be Fox ... the most important thing is we get to debate.”
As for the vice presidential nominees, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Sen. JD Vance will debate in New York City on Oct. 1, hosted by CBS.