Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and Republican nominee Donald Trump will stand behind lecterns for the first debate on Monday at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, the Commission on Presidential Debates confirms.
The commission told Breitbart News on Thursday that the first debate will require both candidates to stand. The second, to be held Oct. 9 at Washington University in St. Louis, will be in a town hall format, meaning that candidates may stand when it is their turn to speak, and sit when they are done. (In 2012, the second debate, also in town hall format, featured some infamous exchanges where both Gov. Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama were standing and arguing with each other).
According to the commission, it is not yet clear whether the candidates will be standing or sitting for the third debate, which will take place Oct. 19 at the University of Nevada in Las Vegas. In past year, candidates have been seated for the third debate.
Clinton’s recent health problems have led to increased speculation about whether she will be able to stand for the full 90 minutes of the first debate. However, Clinton seemed to have no trouble standing for longer debates during the primary, although she was late returning to the stage from the bathroom during a commercial break in a December 2015 debate.
On Monday, the commission announced the topics for the first debate:
Subject to possible changes because of news developments, the topics for the September 26 debate are as follows, not necessarily to be brought up in this order:
America’s Direction
Achieving Prosperity
Securing America
Each topic will take up two 15-minute segments. The debate will be moderated by Lester Hold of NBC News and will start at 9:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on Monday, Sep. 26.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News. His new book, See No Evil: 19 Hard Truths the Left Can’t Handle, is available from Regnery through Amazon. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.