Workers complete preparations on the media filing centre and spin room for the ABC News presidential debate between Democratic candidate Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican candidate former U.S. President Donald Trump, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, September 9, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AFP

It is the birthplace of U.S. independence, the “City of Brotherly Love,” and the hometown of beloved fictional boxer “Rocky” Balboa.

Now Philadelphia in Pennsylvania will be center stage again when Kamala Harris and Donald Trump meet in a highly anticipated televised debate that could weigh heavily on the November election.

The two, who have never met in person, will square off at 9pm ET (0100 GMT) for a 90-minute debate hosted by ABC News.

Police are bracing for protests, with pro-Palestinian groups angry with Harris’ continued support of Israel planning to demonstrate. Barricades have been erected around the National Constitution Center, the site of the debate, barring access to the historic area that includes the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, where the U.S. Constitution was signed.

Meanwhile, several of the city’s bars and universities are planning watch parties. Top Democrats will gather at a hotel for a watch party that Harris is expected to attend after the debate ends. Trump’s plans after the debate are not yet public.

On Monday afternoon an airplane banner flew over the Phillies’ baseball team home game that read “Don’t Strikeout W/Trump Go to Bat 4Harris.”

Some Philadelphia residents said they hoped to learn more about Harris.

“I wasn’t, like, super impressed with her in 2020 when she had the presidential debates and for the primary,” said Dan Bessler, a Philadelphia resident and salesworker. “But she is a prosecutor… I think she’ll be able to hold her own better than Biden was able to at his age.”

President Joe Biden’s faltering debate performance against Trump in June essentially ended his political career, sparking powerful Democrats to convince him he should step aside ahead and allow Harris, his vice president, to run instead.

Since then, Harris has broken fundraising records and sparked new enthusiasm in the party, but opinion polls suggest a tight race looms with Trump.

With 19 electoral votes, Pennsylvania is the biggest prize of the basket of battleground states expected to decide the election. Most pundits predict whoever wins Pennsylvania will win the White House.

Democrats historically win Pennsylvania by running up huge margins in Philadelphia, to offset losses throughout much of the rest of the state.

In 2020, the city saw its highest turnout since 1984 — 68% — but it paled beside the statewide figure of 76.5%.

US President Joe Biden’s doctor Kevin O’Connor on Thursday defended his “excellent” mental acuity days after his shocking decision not to seek reelection.

Dr Kevin O’Connor was asked by the New York Post about 81-year-old Biden’s health.

“It’s excellent,” he answered.

“Could that change before the end of his term?” the NYP journalist followed up as the presidential physician walked on the White House driveway.

“I hope not,” O’Connor, who has never briefed the press during Biden’s more than three years in office, responded.

“And how is his mental cognition?” The Post asked.

“It’s excellent,” Biden’s personal doctor said.

He was then asked if there was a reason why they didn’t perform a cognitive test on Biden. 

“We don’t need to. He’s here every day,” O’Connor said.

The journalist then asked him, “Is there anything to that speculation that there might be something related to Parkinson’s that he has?”

“No, he’s good,” O’Connor answered.

Parkinson’s was linked with Joe Biden after reports claimed that an expert on the disease visited the White House eight times in eight months, including at least once for a meeting with Biden’s physician.

The White House, however, earlier this month said that it was being incorrectly assumed and insinuated that Biden was being treated for Parkinson’s.

Joe Biden bowed out of the White House on Sunday after weeks of pressure that began with a disastrous June 27 debate performance against Republican candidate Donald Trump that raised concerns about his age and mental acuity.

His exit made him the first president in US history to pull out so late in an election race, and the first to bow out because of concerns over his mental acuity and health.

He has now thrown his support behind his deputy Kamala Harris, who is the first woman in US history to hold the vice presidency. She is set to be nominated at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on August 19.