JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump will go head-to-head in their first presidential debate of the 2024 general election.
Election day is less than five months from now. Looking ahead to Thursday's event, First Coast News reached out to Nick Allard, Jacksonville University's founding dean of the College of Law, on the significance of this debate. He's attended more than a dozen presidential debates and managed a vice-presidential debate in his career.
To Allard, a presidential debate in June is unprecedented.
Neither candidate has yet to accept their party's former nomination. Allard believes that is one of the many reasons the debate is happening months in advance. Since Biden and Trump are close in the polls, he said it is an opportunity to see who will get ahead.
It is also the first ever matchup between a sitting president and a former president. He said for the first time since the 1960s, the debate will not have an audience.
"It'll be interesting to see how they handle themselves," Allard said.
Aside from the missing audience, the candidate's microphone will be muted while the other is speaking. Allard suggested viewers and voters should observe how the two will act during Thursday's debate. The dean mentioned how both sides will share how they were victor in the debate.
"My advice is watch the debate yourself," Allard said. "Trust your eyes and trust your heart. Make your own decision for what you're looking for in a president."
Allard said viewers should not rely on 'third party spinners' and encourages them to form their own opinion on each candidate. He also suggested to "expect the unexpected."
Special coverage of the first debate will air on the stations of First Coast News, starting at 9 p.m. on NBC 12 and ABC 25.