Topzle Topzle

2020 United States presidential debates

Updated: 5/20/2026, 7:37:15 PM Wikipedia source

The 2020 United States presidential debates were a series of debates held during the 2020 presidential election. The Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD), a bipartisan organization formed in 1987, organized three debates among the major party candidates, and sponsored two presidential debates and one vice presidential debate. Only Republican nominee Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden met the criteria for inclusion in the debates, and thus were the only two to appear in the debates. The vice presidential debate took place between their respective vice presidential running mates, Mike Pence and Kamala Harris. There were three initially planned scheduled presidential debates. The first presidential debate took place on September 29, 2020. The next presidential debate was scheduled to take place on October 15 but was later canceled due to Trump's COVID-19 diagnosis and refusal to appear remotely rather than in person. As a result, 2020 had the fewest debates since 1996. The final presidential debate took place on October 22, 2020. Additionally, a vice presidential debate took place on October 7, 2020.

Infobox

Nominee
Mike Pence
Party
Republican
Home state
Indiana

Tables

· Debate list
No.
No.
2020 United States presidential election debates
No.
2020 United States presidential election debates
Date and time
2020 United States presidential election debates
Host
2020 United States presidential election debates
Location
2020 United States presidential election debates
Moderator
2020 United States presidential election debates
Participants
Key:  P  Participant
Key:  P  Participant
2020 United States presidential election debates
Key:  P  Participant
2020 United States presidential election debates
Republican
2020 United States presidential election debates
Democratic
President Donald Trump of Florida
President Donald Trump of Florida
2020 United States presidential election debates
President Donald Trump of Florida
2020 United States presidential election debates
Vice President Joe Biden of Delaware
1
1
2020 United States presidential election debates
1
2020 United States presidential election debates
Tuesday, September 29, 2020 9:00 p .–10:30 p . EDT
2020 United States presidential election debates
Case Western Reserve University
2020 United States presidential election debates
Cleveland, Ohio
2020 United States presidential election debates
Chris Wallace of Fox
2020 United States presidential election debates
P
2020 United States presidential election debates
P
2
2
2020 United States presidential election debates
2
2020 United States presidential election debates
Thursday, October 15, 2020 9:00 p .–10:30 p . EDT
2020 United States presidential election debates
Arsht Center
2020 United States presidential election debates
Miami, Florida
2020 United States presidential election debates
Steve Scully of C-SPAN
2020 United States presidential election debates
Canceled
3
3
2020 United States presidential election debates
3
2020 United States presidential election debates
Thursday, October 22, 2020 9:00 p .–10:30 p . EDT
2020 United States presidential election debates
Belmont University
2020 United States presidential election debates
Nashville, Tennessee
2020 United States presidential election debates
Kristen Welker of NBC
2020 United States presidential election debates
P
2020 United States presidential election debates
P
2020 United States presidential election debates
No.
Date and time
Host
Location
Moderator
Participants
Key: P Participant
Republican
Democratic
President Donald Trump of Florida
Vice President Joe Biden of Delaware
1
Tuesday, September 29, 2020 9:00 p .–10:30 p . EDT
Case Western Reserve University
Cleveland, Ohio
Chris Wallace of Fox
P
P
2
Thursday, October 15, 2020 9:00 p .–10:30 p . EDT
Arsht Center
Miami, Florida
Steve Scully of C-SPAN
Canceled
3
Thursday, October 22, 2020 9:00 p .–10:30 p . EDT
Belmont University
Nashville, Tennessee
Kristen Welker of NBC
P
P
· Debate list
No.
No.
2020 United States vice presidential debate
No.
2020 United States vice presidential debate
Date and time
2020 United States vice presidential debate
Host
2020 United States vice presidential debate
Location
2020 United States vice presidential debate
Moderator
2020 United States vice presidential debate
Participants
Key:  P  Participant
Key:  P  Participant
2020 United States vice presidential debate
Key:  P  Participant
2020 United States vice presidential debate
Republican
2020 United States vice presidential debate
Democratic
Vice President Mike Pence of Indiana
Vice President Mike Pence of Indiana
2020 United States vice presidential debate
Vice President Mike Pence of Indiana
2020 United States vice presidential debate
Senator Kamala Harris of California
VP
VP
2020 United States vice presidential debate
VP
2020 United States vice presidential debate
Wednesday, October 7, 2020 9:00 p .–10:30 p . EDT
2020 United States vice presidential debate
University of Utah
2020 United States vice presidential debate
Salt Lake City, Utah
2020 United States vice presidential debate
Susan Page of USA Today
2020 United States vice presidential debate
P
2020 United States vice presidential debate
P
2020 United States vice presidential debate
No.
Date and time
Host
Location
Moderator
Participants
Key: P Participant
Republican
Democratic
Vice President Mike Pence of Indiana
Senator Kamala Harris of California
VP
Wednesday, October 7, 2020 9:00 p .–10:30 p . EDT
University of Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah
Susan Page of USA Today
P
P
· September 29: First presidential debate (Case Western Reserve University) › Reception and aftermath
Outlet
Outlet
Debate winner
Outlet
Debate winner
Biden
Debate winner
Trump
Debate winner
Not sure
CNN/SSRS
CNN/SSRS
Debate winner
CNN/SSRS
Debate winner
60%
Debate winner
28%
Debate winner
12%
CBS News
CBS News
Debate winner
CBS News
Debate winner
48%
Debate winner
41%
Debate winner
11%
Debate winner
Outlet
Biden
Trump
Not sure
CNN/SSRS
60%
28%
12%
CBS News
48%
41%
11%
broadcast network
broadcast network
cable news network
broadcast network
cable news network
broadcast network
FNC
FNC
Network
FNC
Viewers
17,812,000
ABC
ABC
Network
ABC
Viewers
12,620,000
NBC
NBC
Network
NBC
Viewers
9,666,000
CNN
CNN
Network
CNN
Viewers
8,287,000
MSNBC
MSNBC
Network
MSNBC
Viewers
7,189,000
CBS
CBS
Network
CBS
Viewers
6,379,000
Fox
Fox
Network
Fox
Viewers
5,436,000
Network
Viewers
FNC
17,812,000
ABC
12,620,000
NBC
9,666,000
CNN
8,287,000
MSNBC
7,189,000
CBS
6,379,000
Fox
5,436,000

References

  1. Trump's official state of residence was New York in the 2016 election but changed to Florida when his permanent residenc
  2. Politico
    https://www.politico.com/news/2019/10/31/trump-florida-residence-063564
  3. "What will happen to the debates? Trump's diagnosis throws schedule into limbo"
    https://fox2now.com/news/national/what-will-happen-to-the-debates-trumps-diagnosis-throws-schedule-into-limbo/
  4. Deadline Hollywood
    https://deadline.com/2020/10/donald-trump-joe-biden-debate-1234594925/
  5. Politico
    https://www.politico.com/news/2020/10/07/vp-debate-2020-what-to-watch-427305
  6. debates
    https://www.debates.org/about-cpd/overview/
  7. The Commission on Presidential Debates
    https://www.debates.org/2019/10/11/commission-on-presidential-debates-announces-sites-and-dates-for-2020-general-election-debates-and-2020-nonpartisan-candidate-selection-criteria/
  8. The New York Times
    https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/24/us/politics/trump-presidential-debate.html
  9. "Biden campaign agrees to 3 debates with Trump and slams push for more as 'distraction'"
    https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/22/politics/biden-trump-debates/index.html
  10. The New York Times
    https://www.usnews.com/news/elections/articles/2020-06-22/joe-bidens-campaign-commits-to-3-presidential-debates
  11. The New York Times
    https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/06/us/politics/presidential-debates-trump-biden.html
  12. The Hill
    https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/513944-pelosi-says-there-shouldnt-be-presidential-debates-in-2020
  13. debates
    https://www.debates.org/2019/10/11/commission-on-presidential-debates-announces-sites-and-dates-for-2020-general-election-debates-and-2020-nonpartisan-candidate-selection-criteria/
  14. debates
    https://www.debates.org/2020/08/28/commission-on-presidential-debates-announces-polls-to-be-used-in-2020-candidate-selection-criteria/
  15. "Media"
    https://www.debates.org/media/
  16. The Washington Post
    https://www.washingtonpost.com/elections/2020/08/14/presidential-debates/
  17. NBC News
    https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/notre-dame-withdraws-2020-presidential-debate-host-citing-coronavirus-threat-n1235029
  18. Cleveland Clinic Newsroom
    https://newsroom.clevelandclinic.org/2020/07/27/case-western-reserve-and-cleveland-clinic-to-host-first-presidential-debate-tuesday-sept-29-in-health-education-campus-samson-pavilion/
  19. Deadline Hollywood
    https://tvline.com/2020/09/02/presidential-debate-moderators-chris-wallace/
  20. The Washington Post
    https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-tested-positive-for-coronavirus-before-first-debate-with-biden-former-chief-of-staff-says/2021/12/01/a728d080-52b7-11ec-8769-2f4ecdf7a2ad_story.html
Image
Source:
Tip: Wheel or +/− to zoom, drag to pan, Esc to close.