The final details of next Thursday's debate between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump are being squared away, including the candidates' position on the stage and who will have the final word at the end of the face-off.
Determined by a coin flip, CNN said on Thursday that "Donald Trump will get the final word when he debates President Joe Biden."
"The coin landed on the Biden campaign's pick — tails — which meant his campaign got to choose whether it wanted to select the president's podium position or the order of closing arguments," according to CNN. "Biden's campaign chose to select the right podium position, which means the Democratic president will be on the right side of television viewers' screens and his Republican rival will be on viewers' left."
"Trump’s campaign then chose for the former president to deliver the last closing statement, which means Biden will go first at the conclusion of the debate," CNN also noted.
Former President TRUMP will get the final word at next week's debate thanks to a coin flip - per CNN
— Aishah Hasnie (@aishahhasnie) June 20, 2024
CNN also announced on Thursday that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had not managed to meet the criteria to qualify for the debate and will not appear alongside Trump and Biden. His campaign has filed a complaint with the FEC accusing Trump and Biden of unlawfully colluding with CNN to prevent RFK Jr.'s participation in the debate.
Next week's 90-minute showdown — a historic match between a current and former president — will be hosted by CNN's Dana Bash and Jake Tapper in Atlanta starting at 9:00 p.m. ET.
As Townhall previously reported, President Biden is absconding to Camp David for a full week of debate prep, details about which remain scarce. The president's absence from the White House while foreign and domestic crises rage means there will not be regular press briefings from Karine Jean-Pierre until after the debate.
Editor's Note: Townhall will be live-blogging the first general election debate of 2024, starting just before the candidates take the stage.