The entire country is bracing for what is expected to be the most watched television event in history: the first presidential debate of 2016, in which Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton and Republican candidate Donald Trump will take the same stage simultaneously for the first time since becoming their respective parties’ official nominees. What time should you tune in? What can you expect from the debate? Who will be moderating? Below, a breakdown:
What time does the debate begin? 9pm EST and it will last exactly 90 minutes. There will be no commercial breaks.
Where can I watch it? All the major news channels, including ABC, CBS, CNN, C-SPAN, Fox, Fox News, MSNBC, NBC and Univision. You’ll also be able to live-stream the event on Facebook Live, YouTube and on Twitter.
Where is the debate actually taking place? Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York. The University is the only one to have ever hosted three consecutive presidential debates (2008, between Barack Obama and John McCain and 2012, between Obama and Mitt Romney).
Who is moderating? Lester Holt, an NBC News veteran. Holt is the first black journalist to moderate a presidential debate since 1992 (Carole Simpson was the last one) and he is a registered Republican in the State of New York.
How does this whole thing work? The debate is split into six different segments of 15 minutes each. Holt will begin by asking Clinton a question and she will have two minutes to answer. Trump will then have two minutes to answer as well. The following 10 minutes will be filled with an open debate and a discussion. That one extra minute takes into account the seconds needed to ask the question and the extra time that each candidate will certainly utilize to respond to the initial prompt.
Why does Clinton go first? She won a coin toss. Trump will answer first in the second segment, Clinton in the third and so on.
Was any other part of the debate up to a coin toss? Yes, the placement of the candidates on stage. Clinton will stand stage left (on the audience's right) and Trump will stand stage right (on the audience's left).
How are the segments split? The first two segments will focus on "America's Direction." The following two will deal with "Achieving Prosperity" and the final two segments revolve around the theme of "Securing America."
Who came up with the topics? Holt.
What happens once the debate is over? Expect lots of polling, analyses, memes and breakdowns to take over your day tomorrow. Everyone will then begin to discuss the vice presidential debate that is scheduled for October 4 between Clinton's VP pick Tim Kaine and Trump's running mate Mike Pence. That will take place at Longwood University in Farmville, Virginia.
So is this the only debate between the two candidates that we will see? Definitely not. On October 9, Trump and Clinton will face off in a town-hall-style debate at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. The third and final debate between the two candidates will take place on October 19 at the University of Las Vegas in Nevada.
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