President Biden arrives in Atlanta for a CNN debate with Trump that still appears to be happening

Yes, it appears to be happening: President Joe Biden landed in Atlanta on Thursday for a presidential debate with Donald Trump that has kept political and media pundits on tenterhooks for weeks over who “won” the negotiations over the format. Biden arrived slightly ahead of schedule, while Trump was supposed to land later in the afternoon.

Both candidates chose to bypass the Commission on Presidential Debates’ traditional schedule, opting instead for one-off debates hosted by individual networks. At the top of the list: CNN, historically left-wing, one of the conditions demanded by the Biden administration for the first meeting on stage of the candidates since 2020.

The White House also insisted that microphones be muted while the other candidate spoke, and that there be no live audience. Trump quickly agreed to these conditions, which appear to heavily favor the incumbent, and interpretations of the concession have varied wildly — across party lines, of course.

On Democratic-friendly networks like MSNBC and CNN, anchors and talking heads saw it as a clear victory for Biden; “Morning Joe” openly celebrated this week that Biden had “outwitted” Trump. However, in conservative media, it has been repeatedly suggested that Biden proposed the heavily biased format under the assumption that Trump would reject it, thereby avoiding a live debate in a way that would make it appear that Trump was to blame.

But Trump agreed – almost immediately – and whatever the intentions of both sides, the debate was set for a Thursday at 9 p.m. Eastern at CNN headquarters in Atlanta. By noon, only a tiny handful of pro-Trump protesters had gathered, and not comfortably; the network located its media deep within its secure multiplex campus, leaving protesters with only a small area adjacent to the highway to demonstrate.

The chosen moderators were CNN hosts Jake Tapper and Dana Bash — vocal Trump critics, to say the least — and the event aired on CNN, Fox News, ABC and NewsNation. A second debate, hosted by ABC News, is scheduled for September 10.

Left-wing cable commentators suggested in the days leading up to the debate that Trump would be a last-minute candidate, interpreting calls for drug testing and other conservative grievances as a sign that the former president was not serious about accepting the date. On the conservative side, it was widely suggested that Biden was caught off guard by Trump’s quick “yes,” and that his advisers then scrambled to prepare.

The secondary buzz around the debate was Trump’s vague suggestion that he would announce his vice presidential nominee, but the exact timing — or who that might be — was still up in the air as the debate approached.

This story will be updated throughout the proceedings Thursday evening…