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Who is David Muir? What you should know about ABC's Harris-Trump moderator

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Former President Donald Trump and his Democratic opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, will face off in the second presidential debate on Tuesday, with polls showing it will be a neck-and-neck race.

The first debate between the two candidates will take place at the historic National Constitutional Center in Philadelphia, ABC News announced last month. There will be no live audience in the hall. There was also no studio audience at the previous debate in June. In addition, there will be no opening statements from the two candidates, which will be introduced by moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis.

The debate was officially announced on August 16 after the two campaigns agreed on the rules following weeks of back and forth.

Here's what you need to know about host and ABC News anchor David Muir.

Muted microphones, no pre-written notes: View full list of rules for today's debate

Who is David Muir?

David Muir is a broadcast journalist and host and editor-in-chief of “ABC World News Tonight with David Muir.” The news program airs daily at 6:30 p.m. ET on ABC News. Muir, who has been with ABC News since 2003, assumed the role after his predecessor, Diane Sawyer, retired in 2014.

Muir interviewed Biden earlier this year as part of the D-Day coverage and was Trump's first White House interview as president in 2017. Debates are also not new to him, as he moderated the presidential primary debates in 2016 and 2020.

David Muir – Age, Hometown, College

Muir, 51, is a native of Syracuse, New York, and graduated with honors from Ithaca College, according to his biography on ABC News. He also attended Georgetown University's Institute on Political Journalism and studied at the University of Salamanca in Spain.

Has Muir ever moderated a presidential debate?

Although this is Muir's first time moderating a presidential debate, he has previously moderated the Democratic and Republican primary debates.

He was one of the moderators of the Democratic primary debate in September 2019 and the Republican primary debate in February 2016.

Muir is the recipient of several prestigious awards

Muir's work has won numerous awards, including an Emmy and an Edward R. Murrow Award. He has also been honored by the Society of Professional Journalists for his foreign reporting and has received the prestigious George Polk Award and the Alfred I. DuPont-Columbia Award, according to his biography on ABC.

Most recently, Muir was honored with the 40th Walter Cronkite Award for outstanding journalistic achievement in February.

Contributors: Sarah Gleason, Rebecca Morin, Gabe Hauari, USA TODAY

Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X and Instagram @saman_shafiq7.

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