President Trump and Joe Biden both tested negative for COVID-19 as they gear up for their final faceoff before Election Day.
Trump and Biden departed Washington, D.C., and Delaware, respectively, on Thursday en route to Tennessee, where they will have their final debate later in the evening. White House chief of staff Mark Meadows told reporters that the president tested negative for COVID-19 while aboard Air Force One.
The Biden campaign also confirmed to the press that the former vice president tested negative for COVID-19 after undergoing a test on Thursday.
The final 90-minute debate, which will have no commercial breaks, is scheduled to begin at 9 p.m. EDT on Thursday at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee.
The last debate was noted for its chaotic nature, including both candidates interrupting each other and Trump speaking over Biden frequently. Fox News moderator Chris Wallace struggled to maintain control over the slugfest. This time around, the Commission on Presidential Debates announced new rules designed to help rein in the interruptions.
The debate, which will be moderated by NBC’s Kristen Welker, will feature the microphones for the candidates being cut off during the opposing speaker’s opening two-minute response to questions. The debate has six 15-minute topics that were pre-picked. Each candidate will have two minutes to address the topic uninterrupted before the microphones are turned back on for the remaining 11 minutes.
The topics that will be addressed are national security, leadership, race in America, fighting COVID-19, climate change, and American families. The Trump campaign has expressed disdain about the topic selection after they were announced and argued that the debate was supposed to be centered around foreign policy.
Thursday’s showdown was set to be the third presidential debate, but the second one was canceled after Trump tested positive for COVID-19 and was briefly treated at the hospital for his illness. He later declined to participate in a virtual debate with the former vice president.
