ST. LOUIS — The first presidential debate for the 2024 election takes place earlier than usual and interest is high. According to a new poll by Connecticut University, 73% of American voters plan to watch it.
5 On Your Side political analyst Anita Manion gives us a look at what we can expect.
Michelle Li: This is pretty unusual to have a debate this early, right?
Anita Manion: It's a first. So usually debates don't happen until September or October, but you have unique circumstances in this one because remember, normally we don't know who the candidates are. We haven't had the conventions yet. But with these two incumbents, we're able to know who the candidates are. And Biden really wants to set the tone to make this a face-off between Trump, and Trump really wants Biden to have a senior moment and say, 'Hey, this guy's not fit for presidency.' So that's one of the reasons we're having it so early.
ML: We're gonna be looking at those "unhinged moments" and those "senior moments."
Rene Knott: So when you think about this debate, can voters be swayed?
AM: You know, there is this small swath of persuadable voters, and part of it too is getting people to turn out. And so on the Democratic side, they're losing — Biden's losing — some of the younger voters of color, and some have concerns about his age. So, he really needs to show that he is on top of it, he's vigorous. He knows this. And same for Trump, he needs to show that he's in control, and he's presidential, and he's not some unhinged chaos agent.
ML: Isn't there a term now, people are calling them "double haters," like, no one really wants to vote for either of these candidates.
AM: These are historically old candidates and historically unpopular candidates. So they really need to do something to energize their voters to get them to turn out.
ML: What's that going to be?
AM: That's a good question. As as you said, a lot of people watch it, but they're also going for those viral moments, right? And we've seen those in past debates. So who's going to have one of those, and they can be good or they can be bad. It can be a fly on your head, or it can be a good zinger. And so we'll have to see what that'll be.
RK: I believe there's no audience, correct? So, normally former President Donald Trump likes to play up to the audience. Do you think this will play a role in how he behaves?
AM: So he really likes to play to an audience. And the other thing that's different is they will mute their mics when it's not their turn to talk. And Donald Trump likes to do that cross-talk. Even though that seems to be to Biden's advantage, it could help Trump if it kind of reins in some of those unconventional ways that he talks. So we'll have to see how that works.
ML: Anything that you're looking for tonight?
AM: I think we're going to see Trump wanting to focus on immigration and inflation, and Biden wanting to focus on abortion and democracy.
Tonight's debate will be hosted by CNN. Special coverage and analysis begins on 5 On Your Side at 8 p.m. And be sure to tune in to 5 On Your Side at 10 for a closer look at how the debate impacts the Bi-state. The next debate will happen in September.