What to watch for during the first 2024 presidential debate

WASHINGTON — All eyes will be on Atlanta Thursday as President Joe Biden goes head-to-head with former President Donald Trump in their first debate of 2024.

Virginia voters may want to pay close attention, as the state tends to lean Democratic by a small margin, unlike Maryland, generally considered a safe blue state.  

That may be why we’re seeing signs that both parties are stumping in the Commonwealth. On Tuesday, First Lady Dr. Jill Biden was in Virginia Beach campaigning. Donald Trump is set to make a stop in Chesapeake on Friday. Now, the two presumptive party nominees are trying to convince voters to make up their minds, and more importantly, motivate people to get to the polls and vote.

The debate is being hosted by CNN and will be simulcast on WUSA9 and WUSA9.com.

The last time these two candidates were on stage together for a debate was in 2020. Biden went on to win the election, and Trump never conceded the 2020 election, he also did not attend the inauguration. For this reason, there could be even more tension between the two on stage, but the stakes are just as high: They have to sway voters to earn 270 electoral votes.

Viewers may decide after this debate who to pick, but notably there will not be an audience, and both parties agreed that the microphone will be muted except when it’s their turn to speak. 

Will we see fireworks? WUSA9 asked Virginia Tech political expert Cayce Myers, a professor of public relations and director of graduate studies at the School of Communications.

“I think one of the things this debate is meant to do, one of the stakes for Biden, is that he can govern, that he's not too old, that he's cognitively there, that he's going to be able to perform presidentially, that he's going to demonstrate his leadership. The thing for Trump is, people are going to be watching him for what he's going to say, is he going to be a wild Donald Trump, more restrained and more presidential? And there's going to be a comparison for these two men,” Myers explained.

Myers also noted that often, candidates feed off the energy of a crowd or audience, which can help to create inflection points that go viral, without an in-studio gathering, that may be harder to do. 

The debate starts at 9 p.m., and you can catch it on WUSA9 and streaming at WUSA9.com.