2016 Presidential Debate Schedule

The dates and venues have been announced for the 2016 Presidential debates between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. The date for the Vice Presidential debate between Tim Kaine and Mike Pence has also been announced. Note the broadcast times and channels are identical for the Presidential debates and the Vice Presidential debate.

Related: 2020 Democratic Primary Debate Schedule

Tickets – Tickets for each debate are controlled by the hosting university and are extremely limited since the debates are primarily produced for television. The majority of tickets are distributed to host university students and faculty through a lottery system. See this page for all available ticketing details.

Live Streaming – All the major news networks will offer a free live stream as will YouTube and Twitter.

TV Channels – Each debate will be broadcast live on C-SPAN, ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC, as well as all cable news channels including CNN, Fox News, Fox Business Network, and MSNBC among others.

Full Videos – Click the “Watch Full Video Link” below on each debate to watch the entire debate video.

Time – The debates will air from 9pm to 10:30pm ET (8pm – 9:30pm CT, 7pm – 8:30pm MT, 6pm – 7:30pm PT)

Date/Details
Monday, September 26, 2016 First presidential debate Video: Watch Full Debate Video Transcript: Washington Post Moderator: Lester Holt, Anchor, NBC Nightly News Location: Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY The first debate will be divided into six time segments of approximately 15 minutes each on major topics to be selected by the moderator and announced at least one week before the debate. The moderator will open each segment with a question, after which each candidate will have two minutes to respond. Candidates will then have an opportunity to respond to each other. The moderator will use the balance of the time in the segment for a deeper discussion of the topic.
Tuesday, October 4, 2016 Vice presidential debate Video: Watch Full VP Debate Video Transcript:: Washington Post Moderator: Elaine Quijano, Anchor, CBSN and Correspondent, CBS News Location: Longwood University, Farmville, VA The Vice Presidential debate will be divided into nine time segments of approximately 10 minutes each. The moderator will ask an opening question, after which each candidate will have two minutes to respond. The moderator will use the balance of the time in the segment for a deeper discussion of the topic.
Sunday, October 9, 2016 Second presidential debate Video: Full Debate Video Transcript: Washington Post Moderator: Martha Raddatz, Chief Global Affairs Correspondent and Co-Anchor of "This Week," ABC Moderator: Anderson Cooper, Anchor, CNN Location: Washington University in St. Louis, MO The second presidential debate will take the form of a town meeting, in which half of the questions will be posed directly by citizen participants and the other half will be posed by the moderator based on topics of broad public interest as reflected in social media and other sources. The candidates will have two minutes to respond and there will be an additional minute for the moderator to facilitate further discussion. The town meeting participants will be uncommitted voters selected by the Gallup Organization.
Wednesday, October 19, 2016 Third presidential debate Video: Debate Full Video Transcript: Washington Post Moderator: Chris Wallace, Anchor, Fox News Sunday Location: University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV The format for the third debate will be identical to the first presidential debate.