President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump will square off in a historic debate Thursday night as they look to distance themselves in a close race for the White House.

The debate marks the first time ever that a current president will debate a former one. It will also be the earliest general-election presidential debate in history and the first since 1988 not to be sponsored by the Commission on Presidential Debates.

In May, the Biden campaign called for the changes, arguing that increased early voting warranted a debate sooner than September and complaining that the commission had not enforced rules in 2020 and that its model was geared more toward “huge spectacles” than “good debates.”

Trump had also voiced support for an earlier debate, and the Republican National Committee had, too, threatened to fire the commission.

The candidates agreed to hold two debates, the first hosted by CNN in Atlanta. 

The 90-minute event begins at 9 p.m. Eastern and will be simulcast and streamed by several other networks, including Spectrum News.

Among the most noticeable debate rules: There will be no live audience, and the candidates’ microphones will be muted when it’s not their turn to speak.

Biden has been at Camp David since last Thursday preparing for the showdown, including, according to reports, by holding mock debates. Biden has not held any campaign events or made any public White House appearances over the past week.

“On Thursday, the American people will see two distinct visions for the future on stage in Atlanta: President Biden’s vision, where freedoms are protected and all Americans have a fair shot, and Donald Trump’s dark ‘vision,’ where he will serve as a dictator on day one, give tax cuts to the ultra-wealthy on the backs of the middle class, and rip away women’s rights,” Biden campaign spokesman Michael Tyler said in a memo Sunday.

Biden could also attack Trump for his false claims about the 2020 election, the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and Trump’s criminal conviction last month for falsifying business records. 

Trump has taken a different approach than Biden in his debate prep, reportedly leaning more on meetings with advisers. The former president held a campaign rally last weekend in Philadelphia and has continued to do media interviews.

“I've been preparing for it for my whole life, if you want to know the truth,” Trump told Newsmax on Tuesday night. “And I'm not sure you can lock yourself into a room for two weeks or one week or two days and really learn what you have to know. I've been through it. I've been, you know, a popular president.”

Trump has repeatedly attacked Biden over inflation, immigration and the wars in Ukraine and the Gaza Strip while blaming the current president, without evidence, of steering the four criminal cases against him, talking points that may resurface Thursday. Biden has denied having any involvement.

“It will be clear to the American people that President Trump's America-first agenda delivered the securest border in our nation's history; a booming economy, helping families, small business, manufacturers and farms; American energy independence; and peace through strength,” Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., a staunch Trump ally and a member of House GOP leadership, said during a news conference on Capitol Hill on Wednesday. “Compare that to today — Joe Biden's feckless, failed and catastrophically weak record.”

Trump and his allies have spent recent days preemptively attacking Biden and CNN. They have made baseless claims that the president will likely take performance-enhancing drugs before the debate and suggested moderators Jake Tapper and Dana Bash will not be fair to Trump.

Despite often claiming Biden, 81, lacks the mental acuity to “string two sentences together,” Trump and his advisers said they are not underestimating him.

“I happen to think he’s incompetent for a lot of reasons,” Trump said on the “All-In Podcast” last week, later adding, “I assume he’s going to be somebody that will be a worthy debater. I don’t want to underestimate him.”

According to FiveThirtyEight’s national polling average, Biden narrowly leads Trump 40.8% to 40.6%. Independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who did not qualify for the debate, is polling at 9.4%. 

The second and final debate will be hosted by ABC News and held Sept. 10.