Biden and Trump will debate on Thursday. Here’s what you need to know

President Biden and former President Donald Trump will face off in the first presidential debate of the 2024 general election on Thursday night in Atlanta.

It begins a new phase of the presidential race, less than five months out from November 5, Election Day, as the matchup remains extremely tight. Biden and Trump stand virtually tied according to the latest NPR/PBS News/Marist poll, which echoes a months-long trend of recent national surveys.

The debate also breaks with campaign tradition, occurring months earlier than usual and with a new set of rules both candidates have agreed to, including no live audience. It’s also the first debate in which either candidate has participated in this campaign season. Biden largely ran unopposed, and Trump notably skipped the GOP primary debates.

Here’s what you need to know about this first debate.

When and how to watch

The event starts at 9 p.m. ET and will run for 90 minutes. It will be moderated by CNN’s Jake Tapper and Dana Bash and take place at the network’s studios in Atlanta.

The debate will be available on CNN and the streaming platform Max, formally known as HBO. Viewers without a cable login can also watch on CNN’s website.

You can follow NPR’s liveblog for updates during the debate as well as to watch the livestream CNN is making available to outside media organizations. That stream will include CNN's commercials and branding; NPR.org will carry that livestream as a public service.

Who will be there?

Biden and Trump are the only presidential candidates who qualified for the debate stage.

Independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. failed to meet the threshold, which required candidates to poll at 15% or higher in four national surveys and appear on enough state ballots