Today was the summer solstice, the longest day of the year.

And in this country, that also means that we have now officially

entered an election year summer, a quadrennial period in which presidential

candidates kick their campaigns into full gear.

But the start of this election year, summer, well, it is unlike anything we have seen before.

In one week, President Biden and Donald Trump will face off in the earliest general election debate in modern history.

The Biden campaign made a deliberate choice to challenge Trump to an early debate to force

voters to reckon with the reality of the choice they're going to have to make sooner rather than later.

Today we got new details about how that debate is going to play out.

Independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Officially failing to qualify for the debate,

leaving Trump and Biden to share the stage alone next week.

President Biden won eight coin toss, allowing him to choose his preferred position on stage.

Biden will be standing at the podium on the right of the television screen.

Well, Trump will have the podium on the left,

the same configuration as the two debates held four years ago.

Donald Trump got to choose the order of the closing statements

he chose to go last, giving him the final word.

We also got new details on how the two candidates plan to prepare for the debate.

Tonight, President Biden decamped for Camp David, where he's expected to spend the weekend

engaging in intensive preparations with his top campaign officials.

By contrast, Trump has opted for less formal prep sessions

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