US presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump prepare to take the stage in Philadelphia for tonight's televised debate - a debate that could change the course of this year's election, analyzes Euronews.

The debate follows an earlier televised meeting in the summer between Trump and President Joe Biden, in which the incumbent performed so poorly that his party successfully convinced him to drop out of the race altogether.

Tonight's debate is potentially the only one between Harris and Trump before the Nov. 5 election. Their partners, Tim Waltz and JD Vance, will participate in their own TV debate on October 2.

The Harris-Trump debate will take place without a studio audience. Microphones will be switched off to allow each candidate to speak and no written notes will be allowed.

Tonight's debate is a chance for Harris to articulate a political agenda that the compressed campaign schedule has left her with little time to articulate.

So far, she has promised to chart a new path forward for the country, but has also held firm to many of President Joe Biden's ideas, including cutting taxes for the middle class, raising corporate taxes and restoring abortion rights.

Trump's stated policies, however, are largely an extension of what he did not accomplish during his tenure as president.

Along with the extension and expansion of his 2017 tax cuts and a massive increase in tariffs on foreign imports, the former president's main promise is a far greater concentration of government power in the White House and draconian enforcement of law and order.

Trump's constant belligerent rhetoric has become more ferocious in recent weeks, vowing to prosecute anyone who "cheats" in the upcoming election. He claimed to appeal to everyone from election officials to lawyers, political operatives and donors.

Trump has also struggled to shed associations with Project 2025, a plan to reshuffle the federal bureaucracy with right-wing loyalists, shutter federal agencies and departments, and implement extreme policies, including a radical crackdown on contraception.

While Trump has claimed no knowledge of the plan, which was released by the conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation, he has publicly thanked several of his named aides for their contributions to his campaign.

There will be no introductory speeches at the debate, and each candidate will have two minutes for a closing statement. Interestingly, the order of standing on the podium, as well as who will deliver the closing speech first, will be determined by a coin toss.

They will not be allowed to have written notes, and the only things they will be allowed to have with them are paper, a pen and a bottle of water.

Candidates will not be informed about the questions in advance and will not be allowed to ask themselves questions. The microphone will be switched on for the candidate whose turn it is not to answer.

These rules are similar to those that applied in the June debate between Donald Trump and Joseph Biden, in which Trump excelled and forced Biden to withdraw from the presidential race.

Kamala Harris' team accused Donald Trump of wanting the microphones turned off because they thought their candidate couldn't focus for 90 minutes.

During the performance, candidates will not be allowed to contact their team members. The debate will take place at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, the city of brotherly love.