Tonight, the 2024 presidential election kicks into high gear.

In a studio in Atlanta, former President Donald Trump

and current President Joe Biden

will face off in their first debate of the year.

The two are neck and neck in the polls.

I'm honestly like really excited for this debate tonight probably more excited than I've been for a debate in a while like I feel like I genuinely don't know

What's going to happen? I'm very excited. I think it's going to be a big moment for

CNN which is obviously a network that I pay close attention to and it'll be interesting to see Trump

and Biden engaging with one another on stage and how the moderators handle that challenge.

That's our colleague Isabella Siminetti who covers TV networks like CNN.

We're both so excited because there's a lot of unusual things about this debate.

Normally people want to focus on the spectacle, what the candidates say and how they might say it.

We're interested in that too, of course, but this year the role that CNN is playing has also taken center stage.

Unlike in past years, CNN will have control,

and the network is making some pretty big changes to the rules.

Welcome to the Journal, our show about money, business, and power.

I'm Ryan Knutzen.

It's Thursday, June 27th.

Coming up on the show, CNN gives the presidential debate a makeover. This episode is brought to you by Shopify.

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