Between kamala harris and donald trump — here in the battleground state of pennsylvania. The rivals will go head to head to win the white house in what many experts say will undoubtedly be a close race. The debate will be 90 minutes long with two commerical breaks here in philadelphia at the national constitution center. The us network abc news is hosting the debate. There will be no audience in attendance, and the candidates�* microphones will be muted when they are not speaking. It comes at a pivotal moment in the campaign, with both harris and trump aiming to win over undecided voters in key swing states. Joining me now is our north america correspondent gary o'donoghue from the spin room floor. Gary, i know the action is picking up there, tell us what you've been hearing from some of the surrogates for both campaigns. figs of the surrogates for both campaigns_ of the surrogates for both camaians. A. , ,. Campaigns. As you would expect, some of the _ campaigns. As you would expect, some of the supporters _ campaigns. As you would expect, some of the supporters of campaigns. As you would expect, some of the supporters of each. Some of the supporters of each side have been out trying to pre—bake this debate, trying to set expectations, trying to put pressure on the other side. We've already had, well, for there is pretty represented, both republican senators have been wandering around here earlier, we have also seen doug burgum, the governorfrom north dakota, who was a candidate of course in the republican primary, out nothing for donald trump, and some democrats as well doing the same sort of thing. So this is in many ways about what happens on that debate stage, of course, there's viral moments, those clashes, those stumbles all those kinds of things will matter hugely. But also its about the narrative that's created and formed while the thing is happening outside the debate centre, and on social media and elsewhere, afterwards. It's important really to push hard by these people, by these surrogates to try and form that narrative. And don't underestimate tonight. Tonight is potentially a pivotal moment in this presidential campaign stop kamala harris, yes, because she has been riding away sincejoe biden is to decide, yes she has raised stack loads of money, created a lot of enthusiasm, but as she is still largely untested in a campaign setting like this, now labor day is behind us, things get incredibly intense, this is one of those moments where tens of millions of americans will get to see herfor an millions of americans will get to see her for an extended period of time, asking difficult and answering difficult and answering difficult questions. They know what they are going to get the donald trump, they will get a mixture of policy, claims about his own presidency, maybe even some personal stuff about kamala harris. But a lot of the poles are telling us that people just don't know who she is and what she stands for, and tonight is the opportunity to change that. Gary, just one more quick question, what are you hearing about strategies for both campaigns heading into this debatejust an hour away? yes. Debate 'ust an hour away? yes, the debate just an hour away? yes, the strategies _ debate just an hour away? yes, the strategies from _ debate just an hour away? yes, the strategies from all debate just an hour away? yes, the strategies from all the the strategies from all the trouble advisers has been pretty consistent, which is talk about the issues, stay away from the personal stuff. —— the trump advisers. You don't need to do that, it turns people off. When i asked senator rick scott whether donald trump should stay away from the personal stuff he said, yes, focus on the issues he said, donald trump is donald trump so there is certain fatalism among his supporters about whether or not he will do that. We know he doesn't do proper debate preparation, not in the traditional manner, so they will all be holding their breath about which donald trump turns up tonight. — turns up tonight. Gary, great to seak turns up tonight. Gary, great to speak to _ turns up tonight. Gary, great to speak to you, _ turns up tonight. Gary, great to speak to you, we turns up tonight. Gary, great to speak to you, we will turns up tonight. Gary, great| to speak to you, we will come back to you through the course of the evening, thank you so much. Gary mentioned north dakota governor doug burgum. Governor burgum ran for the republican presidential nomination, ending his campaign in december 2023. He is with us now. Great to have you with this, thank you forjoining us on bbc news. Good evening, thanks to having the. . ,. , good evening, thanks to having the. . ,. ,. The. Have you been in touch with the _ the. Have you been in touch with the president the. Have you been in touch with the president for the. Have you been in touch with the president for the i the. Have you been in touch l with the president for the last few days, as he has been making the final preparations, what is yoursense the final preparations, what is your sense of how he is approaching this? we were communicating _ approaching this? we were communicating this approaching this? we were i communicating this morning, very spears, of course his last debate was fantastic. He will take the momentum to tonight what's take the momentum to tonight what'. ,. , ,. , what's what does he need to achieve on — what's what does he need to achieve on stage? _ what's what does he need to achieve on stage? i what's what does he need to achieve on stage? i think what's what does he need to | achieve on stage? i think the key thing _ achieve on stage? i think the key thing is _ achieve on stage? i think the key thing is driving _ achieve on stage? i think the key thing is driving through l key thing is driving through our policies and trying to cut through the clutter of misinformation that the harris campaign is throwing up at him, because he is very clear, whether it is a strong borders, whether it is a strong borders, whether it is ending the wars overseas whether it is reducing inflation, reducing interest rates, restoring the american dream, making our cities safer again, he's got a set of policies that left us, whether you are a republican, democrat, an independent, these are good for everybody and everybody benefited last time he was president when we saw household income is growing, we saw peace abroad, we saw prosperity at home so he has got a great set of policies and he has a great track record that he can deliver again. — track record that he can deliver aaain. . ,. . , ~ deliver again. You have talked a lot about — deliver again. You have talked a lot about the _ deliver again. You have talked a lot about the economic a lot about the economic policies, we have viewers around the world and across the country and we have seen some wall street forecasters are saying that some of the economic policies, it could start a new set of trade wars and raise prices for consumers, are you worried about the impact on your state of north dakota for example? hat impact on your state of north dakota for example? impact on your state of north dakota for example? not at all and art dakota for example? not at all and part of— dakota for example? not at all and part of it — dakota for example? not at all and part of it is _ dakota for example? not at all and part of it is understanding | and part of it is understanding how president trump feels about tariffs, and he didn't use tariffs, and he didn't use tariffs cheekily against china when he was in office last time but he did that without really causing any problems because we had very low inflation, almost no inflation during his time and he's got a simple possible which is that some of the country will put 100% tariff on us goods, then we have none of them, what he wants is a level playing field for both our trading partners, our allies and prevalence of somebody has and prevalence of somebody has a 100% tariff on us, he will put one on them and if they drop it, he will drop hours. He is interested in parity and he understands this is a negotiating tool and he also understands that in some cases, particularly around energy, it is a way to actually stop wars. Right now we are helping to fund wars around the world with biden, of the energy policies that support iran and russia. I want to ask you, about the style and tenor of the debate tonight because it is almost as important as policy and there are some concerns that donald trump might not focus enough on policy, you might veer into personal attacks. Are you worried that might happen? i think the tone and tenor can go both ways. Paris has talked about but she is a former prosecutor, we know that prosecutors perform when they are in court, they memorised their closing arguments, we know they practise their attack lines. �* ,. ,. , know they practise their attack lines. �*. ,. Lines. Are you worried about talk about — lines. Are you worried about talk about her _ lines. Are you worried about talk about her racial lines. Are you worried about | talk about her racial identity, things like that? pare talk about her racial identity, things like that?— things like that? are not worried about _ things like that? are not worried about that things like that? are not i worried about that because things like that? are not worried about that because i think trump when he is talking about the issues, that's when he is winning and i think knows what it takes to win tonight. But it will be interesting to see how much if any of those conversations get started by the former prosecutor from san francisco because sometimes that's what people want, they don't want to real discussion on the issues, they want a controversy. I think the harris campaign thinks that is a benefit for them if dan —— and if i created so i think we will see a lot of poking at the bear, whether it is from the moderators or whether it is from paris. President trump is confident, but who know him know that he cares deeply about the american working families and his policies are good for all americans undertake we are going, he is going to win over some photos tonight. Governor, aood to some photos tonight. Governor, good to have — some photos tonight. Governor, good to have you _ some photos tonight. Governor, good to have you on _ some photos tonight. Governor, good to have you on bbc some photos tonight. Governor, good to have you on bbc news, | good to have you on bbc news, looking forward to seeing your reaction after the debate as well. Thank you. Earlier karoline leavitt, the trump campaign national press secretary, was asked about mr trump calling the state of the economy and immigration failures on the biden administration and why she thinks voters believe kamala harris is responsible for that. Because it's the biden—harris administration. They don't actually make policy filter they share response ability because kamala harris herself, don't take it from us, kamala harris said she was a proud supporter of baidu nomics, she said it is working, her words, not mine, and it is not working, it is robbing hard—working people of ha rd—working people of thousands hard—working people of thousands of dollars every month, just to have the same quality of life as they did under president trump. She said she was proud to be the last person in the room withjoe biden when they announced their plan to withdraw from afghanistan which we know was a disaster and kamala harris was tapped byjoe biden to be the border tsar and to oversee the crisis at our southern border and it has got much worse since she has been at the white house. �*. , she has been at the white house. �*. , ,. , house. And that message is one we have heard _ house. And that message is one we have heard in _ house. And that message is one we have heard in the _ house. And that message is one we have heard in the trump we have heard in the trump campaign around the last few days. They are looking to pin the biden—harris administration's on double failures on the vice president. Joining me now is democratic governor of new mexico, michelle lujan grisham. I want to start with looking ahead to tonight in what you think is important for kamala harris to achieve onstage. I5 harris to achieve onstage. I3 relief providing that vision for the future. I'm a grandmother of three and people want to know, where is the country going? what that future, the want to talk about what it's like at the kitchen table. She has a chance now to introduce herself to america in a much more specific way, frankly, than this interview. She has that chance to do that to the rest of the world. I think it's a very powerful moment tonight. Taste think it's a very powerful moment tonight. Think it's a very powerful moment toniaht. ~ ,. , moment tonight. We 'ust saw a cli from moment tonight. We 'ust saw a clip from a h moment tonight. We 'ust saw a clip from a trump _ moment tonight. We just saw a clip from a trump vein clip from a trump vein spokesperson, that kamala harris is responsible for some of the biggest issues facing the country right now. For the crisis at the border and for the high prices of groceries and gas and so on, what's your response to that?— response to that? that's what the are response to that? that's what they are saying _ response to that? that's what they are saying because response to that? that's what they are saying because theyl they are saying because they have no plan for the future and they have no vision for america except pot was in congress when trump killed the bipartisan emigrant deal, not his first rodeo on that at all. He has no interest in doing what's right and securing the border and providing legal pathways to citizenship, that is in our constitution. He wants to avoid that aspect. And a lot of these kitchen table issues which this debate is going to really show a clear choice between these two candidates, that is what is affordable housing, better wages, texaco has benefited by the fact we have the highest wage growth in america. This guy wants to make it $4000 more expensive. And for latina families in particular we are talking about at least 1500 more health care costs. Want to ask, if more health care costs. Want to ask. If you _ more health care costs. Want to ask, if you look _ more health care costs. Want to ask, if you look at _ more health care costs. Want to ask, if you look at the _ more health care costs. Want to ask, if you look at the latest ask, if you look at the latest polling, it does say quite clearly that voters seem to trust donald trump more than kamala harris on two of those three issues, the economy and immigration. So does kamala harris have her work cut out? i really appreciate the question. Whether she has her work cut out, but this is what people are thinking, he has created fear, this is a guy who wants to create concentration camps, do mass deportations. Are folks paying enough attention to the kind of tactics he is interested in deploying in the united states? they need to pay attention to these issues, and yes, they should expect that the vice president is going to give them a clear vision for the future, and clear actions about the things that we can do, including he willsign about the things that we can do, including he will sign a bipartisan immigration bill, and i want that, i need border patrol agents. — patrol agents. One question before we — patrol agents. One question before we let _ patrol agents. One question before we let you _ patrol agents. One question before we let you go. Patrol agents. One question before we let you go. If patrol agents. One question before we let you go. If you | before we let you go. If you look at the fact that the majority of people really don't know who kamala harris is and what she stands for, do you think by the end of the night there will be more clear to those watching who the persuadable voters? i do, because _ persuadable voters? i do, because they _ persuadable voters? i do, because they are persuadable voters? i do, because they are paying l because they are paying attention tonight. We are going to have, yes, a million viewers or more potentially, and she's got so much room to grow. He has no room to grow. This is a remarkable opportunity for the whole world and voting americans to really hear that this is a clear choice to lead this is a clear choice to lead this country, to turn the page, to get it right and for families in mexico, they are counting on fair, affordable, restoring our freedoms, counting on fair, affordable, restoring ourfreedoms, that kind of leadership. == restoring our freedoms, that kind of leadership. Families in new mexico. _ kind of leadership. Families in new mexico. Great kind of leadership. Families in new mexico. Great to kind of leadership. Families in new mexico. Great to talk l kind of leadership. Families| in new mexico. Great to talk to you hero bbc news, thank you so much and we enjoy talking to you throughout the campaign. And now to my colleague in washington, caitrona perry. Donald trump and kamala harris are locked in a tight race ahead of theirfirst presidential debate. The bbc has launched its national poll tracker that produces an average based on the latest polling data in the us. Kamala harris has maintained a slight lead since she's entered the race at 47% over donald trump, who is at 44%. But the presidency is not decided by the national vote. It's decided by the electoral college — and which candidate gets 270 or more electoral college votes. And that's determined state by state. Analysts say the presidency will come down to who can win over the key swing states. Donald trump and kamala harris are locked in a tight race in three battleground states ahead of their first presidential debate. Polls show trump leading on top issues like the economy and immigration — but harris appears to have an edge in the category of exciteability. A new poll from our us news partner cbs shows that 89% of democrats in michigan, 82% in pennsylvania and 87% in wisconsin are excited with harris at the top of the democratic ticket. Among republicans, 78% said the same of trump in michigan, 75% in pennsylvania and 76% in wisconsin. But whether excitement for the harris campaign can sustain in the battleground states remains to be seen. Let's get an early first thought from our panel. Joining me in the dc studio is rodney davis, former republican congressman from illinois, now with the chamber of commerce, and stephanie murphy, former democratic congresswoman from florida. The gang is back together, it must be a big night in american politics! thanks for being with us. Hard to believe it is 75 days since the last debate, it feels like a lifetime of history has happened in those 75 days. How important is tonight, do you think? i think it is extremely _ tonight, do you think? i think it is extremely important. It is extremely important. President trump has to do as well in this debate as he did last time against president biden, which led to those historic changes that america and the world witnessed. But vice president harris has two again announce to the world who she really is. Can she be held accountable for the failures of the biden—harris administration? how willshe administration? how will she differentiate administration? how willshe differentiate herself? this is one of those big nights that could make or break a presidential race, especially because as the polling shows, everything is so close right now. ~. Y. , ~ everything is so close right now. . , ~ ,, now. What you think, stephanie? i think now. What you think, stephanie? i think after— now. What you think, stephanie? i think afterjune _ now. What you think, stephanie? i think afterjune the _ now. What you think, stephanie? i think afterjune the 2