Harris-Trump debate live updates: Stage set for showdown in tight presidential race

(PHILADELPHIA) — Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump will meet for the first time on Tuesday for the ABC News presidential debate.

It is the only debate the two have scheduled and comes at a critical point as polls show a neck-and-neck race with just eight weeks until Election Day.

The two will face off on key issues starting at 9 p.m. ET. The debate will air on ABC and stream on ABC News Live, Disney+ and Hulu.

Here’s how the news is developing:

Trump campaign spokesperson says he’s not engaged in traditional debate prep

Trump campaign spokesperson Danielle Alvarez said Tuesday morning on ABC News Live that Trump “does not do traditional debate prep” and reiterated that he has been campaigning and engaging in policy discussions instead.

“I would say that the president does not do traditional debate prep. He’s on the campaign trail constantly. We see him in key battleground states every week, joined by tens of thousands of patriots,” she said. “We know that he does tough interviews, both nationally, locally.”

“That’s truly how he prepares for these debates, having those conversations every day. He’s ready to step back into the White House,” she continued. “We also know that he prefers to have those policy discussions, and he’s been doing that with elected members in Congress like Matt Gaetz, with former Congress member Tulsi Gabbard and others — very similar to what he did to prepare for that first debate against Joe Biden. He has prepared in a similar way again, just by getting out there and talking every day to voters and talking to media.”

-ABC News’ Soorin Kim, Lalee Ibssa and Kelsey Walsh

Harris not ‘underestimating’ Trump ahead of debate: Source

Just hours away from the debate, a campaign source is setting expectations that Harris is not “underestimating” Trump’s ability to debate, and that it would be a “mistake” to do so.

The Harris team expects Trump to be “good” at debating, stressing that Trump has done this more than anybody else, while it will be Harris’s first presidential debate.

The Harris campaign is “happy to get under [Trump’s] skin,” and they hope that bringing former Trump officials into the spin room later this evening will accomplish this.

On a campaign call last night, a source said Harris is ready for any version of Trump that shows up — whether it’s the presidential Trump, the more mellow Trump during the Biden debate or a more aggressive version.

-ABC News’ Selina Wang

8 hours until the Harris-Trump ABC debate, here is how to watch tonight

The consequential Harris-Trump face-off will air live tonight at 9 p.m. ET on ABC and stream on ABC News Live, Disney+ and Hulu.

ABC News Live is available on Samsung TV+, The Roku Channel, Amazon Fire TV devices, YouTube, Tubi, the ABC app, and ABC.com.

ABC News Digital and 538 will live blog the latest from the debate stage with coverage, analysis and fact checks.

SiriusXM users can listen to the debate on Channel 370.

The prime-time pre-debate special, “Race for the White House,” will air at 8 p.m. ET and stream on ABC’s platforms.

Read more here.

Biden to watch debate from New York

President Joe Biden will be watching the debate from New York, where he’s going to be for 9/11 memorial events, according to White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.

“The president will definitely be watching,” she said in Monday’s briefing.

Jean-Pierre wouldn’t give details on any conversations about the debate between Harris and Biden or whether he’s given her any takeaways from his own last face-off with Trump, but she said the president was “very proud” of Harris.

“What I can say is, that he’ll be watching, he supports, obviously, the vice president, is very proud of her, and I just don’t have anything else to add,” she said.

– ABC News’ Cheyenne Haslett

5 things to watch in the high-stakes Harris-Trump faceoff

Harris and Trump square off Tuesday at what could be their only presidential debate, setting high stakes for an event expected to be viewed by millions of Americans and a key sliver of undecided voters. Here’s what to look out for.

Can Trump stay focused on policy? Staying on message on his four-year economic record is key, while veering into personal attacks would be counterproductive, allies told ABC News.

Harris has dual goals: make the case for herself as someone who would be a capable president and get under Trump’s skin. How will she introduce herself to undecided voters?

Read the rest of the five things to watch for in the debate here.

Walz fundraising email says ‘Trump is sure to talk about his twisted version of freedom’

Gov. Tim Walz, Harris’ running mate, previewed the vice president’s upcoming debate with Trump in a fundraising email on Tuesday morning — contrasting their campaign’s message on the economy and freedom with Trump’s platforms.

“She’s going to show everyone watching what this movement is all about: supporting families like yours and mine and building a future where everyone has the opportunity not just to get by, but to get ahead,” the email reads. “Donald Trump is sure to talk about his twisted version of freedom,” Walz claimed in the email.

-ABC News’ Isabella Murray

Harris and Trump to have various surrogates in spin room

Harris and Trump will have a handful of surrogates representing them in the spin room following the debate.

Harris will have Govs. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, Gavin Newsom of California, Roy Cooper of North Carolina and Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico representing her in the spin room post debate, a campaign official confirmed to ABC News.

In addition to attending a watch party hosted by the Trump campaign, GOP vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance will also participate in the spin room.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Gov. Doug Burgum, tech entreprenuer Vivek Ramaswamy, Sen. Marco Rubio, Rep. Bryon Donalds, and Sen. Rick Scott are also expected to appear on behalf of Trump.

-ABC News’ Fritz Farrow, Gabriella Abdul-Hakim, Will McDuffie, Kelsey Walsh, Lalee Ibssa, and Soo Rin Kim

Debate will show ‘strength and success’ of Trump vs. ‘devastation and weakness’ of Harris: Stefanik

House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik teed up her expectations for tonight’s presidential debate, telling reporters that Harris “cannot hide forever.”

“Tonight at the debate, the country will finally get to see the stark contrast between the strength and success of President Trump’s America-first policies and the devastation and weakness of Kamala Harris’s radical, failed, far-left agenda,” Stefanik, the fourth-ranked House Republican, claimed at a news conference in the Capitol Tuesday morning.

-ABC News’ John Parkinson

Harris campaign says it’s hosting 1,300 watch parties, Walz to deliver remarks in Arizona

Harris’ campaign said it’s hosting more than 1,300 debate watch parties across the country, and running mate Gov. Tim Walz will deliver remarks at one of them in Phoenix Tuesday night.

The watch parties will be in all 50 states, with more than 100 planned on college campuses, according to the campaign. The events will be used for volunteers to make calls to battleground-state voters and share debate content on digital platforms.

More than 300 of the planned watch parties will be group specific, including Republicans for Harris-Walz and Veterans for Harris-Walz events in Arizona, North Carolina and Georgia. There will also be Latino house parties in Arizona and labor-organized events in Pennsylvania, according to the campaign.

-ABC News’ Fritz Farrow, Gabriella Adbul-Hakim and Will McDuffie

Harris tweet: ‘America, see you tonight’

Looking ahead to Tuesday night’s debate, Vice President Kamala Harris tweeted “America, see you tonight.”

Before departing for Philadelphia on Monday, Harris told reporters that she’s feeling “good.” She also gave a thumbs up.

The vice president’s tweet also included a link to a list of debate watch parties the campaign is hosting across the country.

-ABC News’ Fritz Farrow

Harris releases new ad repurposing Obama’s dig at Trump

Vice President Kamala Harris repurposed former President Barack Obama’s suggestive dig at Trump over what Obama called his “weird obsession with crowd sizes” while speaking at the Democratic National Convention last month.

“Here’s a 78-year-old billionaire who has not stopped whining about his problems …” Obama said in the clip used in the ad, just before a clip of Trump at rally plays.

“Ooh, she had a big crowd! Ooh, that crowd,” Trump said in the snippet, mocking news reports about turnout for Harris.

“This weird obsession with crowd sizes… it just goes on, and on, and on,” Obama says as the ad returns to him, followed by shots of small Trump crowds and sounds of crickets chirping.

“America’s ready for a new chapter. We are ready for a President Kamala Harris,” Obama says.

The Harris campaign said the ad, titled “Crowd Size,” will air on Fox News the day of the debate because “Trump is known to watch” the network.

The 30-second ad is set to air nationally on cable news and in local West Palm Beach and Philadelphia markets.

– ABC News’ Fritz Farrow, Gabriella Abdul-Hakim, and Will McDuffie

Anthony Scaramucci among former Trump officials to serve as Harris surrogates in Philadelphia

Anthony Scaramucci and Olivia Troye, former Trump administration officials, will serve as Kamala Harris surrogates in Philadelphia today, the Harris campaign announced.

“Listen, don’t take it from us: Take it from the ones who know Donald Trump the best and who are telling the American people exactly how unfit Trump is to serve as president,” Harris spokesman Michael Tyler said.

Scaramucci served as Trump’s White House communications director. Troye served as the Homeland Security adviser to Vice President Mike Pence, as well as a top aide on the Trump White House coronavirus task force.

According to the campaign, they plan to discuss their support of Harris ahead of tonight’s debate.

They are among numerous former Trump staffers who continue to speak out.

– ABC News’ Will McDuffie, Fritz Farrow, and Gabriella Abdul-Hakim

Debate day arrives in Philadelphia

The stage is set for tonight’s high-stakes showdown in Philadelphia.

The lecterns are placed six feet apart at the National Constitution Center – where Donald Trump and Kamala Harris will meet in person for the first time.

The 9 p.m. ET matchup comes with just eight weeks to go until Election Day amid a tumultuous and unpredictable campaign.

The debate, moderated by David Muir and Linsey Davis, will air on ABC and stream on ABC News Live, Disney+ and Hulu. Viewers can also stream the debate on the ABC app on a smartphone or tablet, on ABC.com and connected devices. A prime-time pre-debate special will start at 8 p.m. ET.