2:38
About 1,000 people are expected in the viewing audience at each debate, and while Eyre didn’t expect there to be frequent cuts to the audience by TV cameras, there is a chance that special guests sitting near the front may be seen on TV at some point.
The audience will be a mix of guests of the universities, guests of the campaigns and \"others who have made the debates possible, including sponsors, members of the media, security, etc.,\" he said.
Commission officials are tasked with picking the moderators for the debates, and while they normally announce their decisions in August, the final list was released in September this year.
\"These journalists bring extensive experience to the job of moderating, and understand the importance of using expanded time periods effectively,” Frank J. Fahrenkopf Jr. and Michael D. McCurry, co-chairs of the nonpartisan commission, said in the statement announcing the moderators.
Raddatz, who is a co-anchor of the ABC News Sunday show \"This Week,\" is the only one of the four who has been selected by the commission before. She moderated the vice presidential debate between Joe Biden and Rep. Paul Ryan in 2012.
CNN's Candy Crowley was selected to moderate the town hall-style debate between President Obama and Mitt Romney in 2012. This year, that format will have two moderators: Raddatz and Cooper.
Crowley was the second female debate moderator ever. The first was ABC News' Carole Simpson in 1992.
\"The formats chosen for this year's debates are designed to build on the formats introduced in 2012, which focused big blocks of time on major domestic and foreign topics,” Fahrenkopf and McCurry said in the statement. “We are grateful for their willingness to moderate, and confident that the public will learn more about the candidates and the issues as a result.”
Trump spoke repeatedly about his relaxed approach to preparations ahead of the first presidential debate. That might have changed with the second debate, but not according to Trump: he denies that a town hall-style event in New Hampshire on Thursday -- complete with a timer set to the same response times required for Sunday's debate -- was practice for the main event this weekend.
Kaine and Pence have both been running mock debates, with D.C. power lawyer Bob Barnett acting as Pence and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker standing in as Kaine.
As for the top of their tickets, the candidates took dramatically different approaches to debate prep in keeping with their starkly different campaigns.
Clinton cleared her schedule and took herself off the campaign trail for the four days before the first debate. She did intensive debate prep, which included mock debates complete with a Trump stand-in: her longtime aide Philippe Reines, whom Clinton has called \"loyal, passionate and shrewd.\"
She also reviewed Trump's performance in Republican primary debates, according to campaign sources.
By contrast, Trump had two campaign events scheduled days before the first debate on Sept. 26.
His debate prep was slim and he did not delve into policy or participated in mock debates, sources have told ABC News.
The one study tactic that they both shared was a review of their opponent's past performances. But while aides say Clinton actively reviewed Trump's work, senior level Trump sources said he was given an iPad loaded with footage of old Clinton debates, though it's unclear how much time he spent watching them.
Trump was reportedly being advised by his senior campaign staff, including campaign manager Kellyanne Conway and campaign CEO Stephen Bannon, as well as former Fox News chief Roger Ailes, who has worked on the campaigns of Presidents George W. Bush and Ronald Reagan in the past.
Well-known Washington lawyer Bob Barnett was said to be advising Clinton during her debate prep. He helped her prepare for the primary debates by playing Sen. Bernie Sanders. The campaign reportedly found someone to play Trump in their mock debates but they were tight-lipped about the person's identity.
Trump didn’t speak extensively about his debate prep, but talked about the tone he expected to take.
\"I'm going to be very respectful of her,\" Trump said during a phone interview on Fox News before the first debate, referring to Clinton.
\"I think she deserves that and I'm going to be nice. And if she's respectful of me, that’ll be nice. We'll have something that I think people will respect as a debate but we'll see where it all goes. You really never know exactly how it's going to turn out and that's why we’re going to have a lot of people watching,\" Trump said.
ABC News' Liz Kreutz, John Santucci, Candace Smith and Ryan Struyk contributed to this report.
Watch FULL LIVE COVERAGE of the third presidential debate at 9 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Oct. 19. Coverage and analysis of the debate will begin on ABCNews.com/Live at 7 p.m. ET.
","canonicalUrl":"https://abcnews.com/Politics/presidential-debates/story?id=41482391","legacySlug":"/news/story/presidential-debates-41482391","noIndexNoFollow":false},"publishTime":"21:36","publishDate":"10-12-2016","updatedTime":"21:55","updatedDate":"10-12-2016","socialImage":{"alt":"Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton at the Democratic Presidential debate in Manchester, New Hampshire, Dec. 19, 2015; Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at the Republican presidential primary candidate debate in Houston, Texas, on Feb. 25, 2016.","credit":"Ida Mae Astute/ABC; Bob Levey/NBC Photo Bank, via Getty Images ","ratio":"16x9","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/Politics/ABC_HT_clinton_trump_cf_160818_16x9_1600.jpg","width":992,"height":558},"datePublished":"10/12/2016 21:36:00 GMT","video":{"live":false,"id":41482391,"headline":"Everything You Need to Know About the Debates","mediaAssetTitle":"WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT THE DEBATES","description":"It's time for round two -- the town hall.","duration":"2:38","posterImg":{"url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","width":608,"height":342},"video":{"feed":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2016/09/160923_gma_llamas_708_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8"},"playlist":["133741861","133707237","133144263"]},"relatedItems":[{"contentType":"video","date":"June 10, 2026","headline":"NASA unveils Artemis III crew","section":"News","slug":"/video/133741861","id":"133741861","image":{"alt":"VIDEO: NASA unveils Artemis III crew","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260610_gma_benitez_artemis_715_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","width":384,"height":384},"images":{"alt":"VIDEO: NASA unveils Artemis III crew","credit":"ABCNews.com","crops":[{"16x9":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260610_gma_benitez_artemis_715_hpMain_16x9_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260610_gma_benitez_artemis_715_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260610_gma_benitez_artemis_715_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"9x16":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260610_gma_benitez_artemis_715_hpMain_9x16_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260610_gma_benitez_artemis_715_hpMain_9x16_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260610_gma_benitez_artemis_715_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"1x1":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260610_gma_benitez_artemis_715_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260610_gma_benitez_artemis_715_hpMain_1x1_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260610_gma_benitez_artemis_715_hpMain_1x1_1600.jpg"}}]}},{"contentType":"video","date":"June 9, 2026","headline":"Flash flood threat as dangerous weather on the move","section":"News","slug":"/video/133707237","id":"133707237","image":{"alt":"VIDEO: Flash flood threat as dangerous weather on the move","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260609_gma_zee_weather1_707_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","width":384,"height":384},"images":{"alt":"VIDEO: Flash flood threat as dangerous weather on the move","credit":"ABCNews.com","crops":[{"16x9":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260609_gma_zee_weather1_707_hpMain_16x9_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260609_gma_zee_weather1_707_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260609_gma_zee_weather1_707_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"9x16":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260609_gma_zee_weather1_707_hpMain_9x16_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260609_gma_zee_weather1_707_hpMain_9x16_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260609_gma_zee_weather1_707_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"1x1":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260609_gma_zee_weather1_707_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260609_gma_zee_weather1_707_hpMain_1x1_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260609_gma_zee_weather1_707_hpMain_1x1_1600.jpg"}}]}},{"contentType":"video","date":"May 20, 2026","headline":"Fashion mogul’s son arrested in father’s fatal fall","section":"News","slug":"/video/133144263","id":"133144263","image":{"alt":"VIDEO: Fashion mogul’s son arrested in father’s fatal fall","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260520_gma_ally_fall3_732_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","width":384,"height":384},"images":{"alt":"VIDEO: Fashion mogul’s son arrested in father’s fatal fall","credit":"ABCNews.com","crops":[{"16x9":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260520_gma_ally_fall3_732_hpMain_16x9_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260520_gma_ally_fall3_732_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260520_gma_ally_fall3_732_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"9x16":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260520_gma_ally_fall3_732_hpMain_9x16_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260520_gma_ally_fall3_732_hpMain_9x16_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260520_gma_ally_fall3_732_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"1x1":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260520_gma_ally_fall3_732_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260520_gma_ally_fall3_732_hpMain_1x1_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260520_gma_ally_fall3_732_hpMain_1x1_1600.jpg"}}]}}],"relatedContentSection":"news","schemaContent":{"name":"Everything You Need to Know About the Debates","description":"It's time for round two -- the town hall.","duration":"2:38","uploadDate":"10-12-2016","publication":"10-12-2016","images":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","url":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2016/09/160923_gma_llamas_708_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","contentUrl":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2016/09/160923_gma_llamas_708_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","link":"https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/news/story/presidential-debates-41482391"}},"playlist":[{"id":"133810954","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133779647","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133810835","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133749799","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133777519","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133748258","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133730535","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133712423","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133694181","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133688738","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133616358","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133616342","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133522899","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133584123","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133579397","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133482839","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133390157","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133415361","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133414032","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133380485","contentType":"story","section":"news"}],"kvps":{"pgtyp":"article","lang":"en","sp":"goodmorningamerica","programmatic":"true","bundleId":"com.abcnews"}},"analytics":{"accountID":"wdgnewwdgnewgmaweb","ns":"gma","pageName":"gma:news:video","pageType":"video","globalSpecVersion":"v1.08","siteDifferentiator":"gma:site","tagID":"g_page01","userABCookie":"0","section":"news","title":"Everything You Need to Know About the Debates","pubTime":"17:36","pubDate":"10-12-2016","modTime":"17:55","modDate":"10-12-2016","taxonomyTags":"none","id":41482391,"editorialOtherSubjects":"","wordCount":"none","columns":"none","authors":"","authorsUnit":"none","authorsBureau":"none","subBrand":"Good Morning America","provider":"Good Morning America","videoName":"Everything You Need to Know About the Debates","mediaAssetTitle":"WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT THE DEBATES","videoId":41482391,"mediaOnPage":"video","legacySlug":"/news/story/presidential-debates-41482391"},"taboola":{}},"request":{"headers":{},"httpVersion":"1.1","method":"GET","url":"/video/41482391","vary":{"host":"www.goodmorningamerica.com","cached":true,"path":"/video/41482391","forwarded-proto":"https","device":"desktop","userab":"0"}},"viewport":{"width":1260,"height":0},"user":{}};