JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump will debate tonight. It's the first time the two will face off against each other. And right now it's the only time. And it's only been a few months since the last presidential debate, but, obviously, a whole lot has happened since then, with President Biden dropping out of the race. We're joined now by NPR political reporter Elena Moore, who's at the debate site in Philadelphia. Hi there.
ELENA MOORE, BYLINE: Hey.
SUMMERS: So, Elena, playing field looks a lot different now. How does that change what viewers might see tonight?
MOORE: Yeah. Well, Harris had a pretty strong - you know, she's had a pretty strong run so far. She made up the ground Biden lost in swing state polls, and she's been benefiting from a wave of support and enthusiasm. You know, still, the race remains extremely close, virtually tied in the latest NPR/PBS News/Marist poll out today. And it'll all kick off at 9 p.m. Eastern from Philadelphia, which is, of course, in the crucial battleground state of Pennsylvania. ABC will be hosting tonight, and NPR will be providing live coverage of the ABC News Presidential Debate simulcast both online and on the radio.
SUMMERS: That's right. So when President Biden and former President Trump agreed to this debate, they did so, and they broke from tradition as well as traditional rules. Those new rules that they agreed to - are they still in place now that Harris is the Democratic nominee?
MOORE: Yeah. Well, it's largely similar to a few months ago - stuff like no live audience. Candidates can't have any prewritten notes or props. And notably, mics will be muted unless a candidate is directed to speak. And that's something the Harris campaign lobbied for getting rid of. But, you know, they ultimately agreed to it kind of because they had to. You know, last time around, mic-muting helped Trump appear more controlled than in past debates, where he repeatedly, you know, has interrupted. And that's something, you know, that has been to his campaign's detriment in the past.
The Harris campaign wanted that on show again. But, alas, there's still a chance we catch some of those off-mic moments tonight. The Harris campaign told NPR that if there's a lot of crosstalk, the network may unmute the mics, but that's on them to decide. And, you know, also, a pool of reporters will be there to try to catch those moments, too, which wasn't a thing last time.
SUMMERS: Right. Elena, for Harris, this is her national political debut for many Americans. People are...
MOORE: Right.
SUMMERS: ...Still getting to know her. Tell us how she's been preparing.
MOORE: Well, over the last few days, Harris has been, you know, getting ready out at the other end of this state, in Pittsburgh. Her team acknowledges Trump will be ready for this debate. You know, they call him a showman. They argue that Harris has been, you know, at the same time, quote, "preparing harder than ever before." And Harris is aware of Trump's reputation as a debater, you know? Here's how she described it on "The Rickey Smiley Morning Show" yesterday.
(SOUNDBITE OF RADIO SHOW, "THE RICKEY SMILEY MORNING SHOW")
VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS: He plays from this really old and tired playbook - right? - where he - there's no floor for him in terms of how low he will go. And we should be prepared for that.
MOORE: And Harris is especially focused on Trump's record on reproductive rights. It's an area where he's been pretty inconsistent in his, you know, stance over the past campaign. So at the same time, NPR's latest poll - we've seen that voters trust Harris more than Trump on that issue, so we're likely to see her go there.
SUMMERS: OK, that's Harris. On the other side, there's Trump. This will be his seventh general election debate - any idea as to how he may be reworking his playbook or maybe not?
MOORE: Yeah. I mean, Trump has been campaigning against Biden for a really long time. So he's trying to tie Harris to attacks on the economy and immigration. And, you know, both are issues Americans think Trump is better on than Harris, according to that same NPR poll. You know, here he is over the weekend at his rally in Wisconsin, kind of railing on both Biden and Harris.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
DONALD TRUMP: He is the worst president in history. She will be worse than him. She will be worse than him.
MOORE: And - you know, and during the June debate, Trump's, you know, mistakes weren't the large focus because of how Biden performed. But Trump didn't have a perfect night, and if he...
SUMMERS: Right.
MOORE: ...Has another performance like this one, who knows what the news cycle will be tomorrow? It might not be as rosy.
SUMMERS: We'll be watching tomorrow. NPR political reporter Elena Moore in Philadelphia. Thank you.
MOORE: Thanks, Juana. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
