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This Is the First Presidential Debate Without an In-Person Audience Since 1960
John F. Kennedy and Richard M. Nixon were the last presidential candidates to debate with no live audience during a general election.
By Neil Vigdor
My focus is on breaking news, voting rights issues and election disinformation. My role involves a mix of reporting from the campaign trail, explanatory journalism and contributing to live coverage of election results, debates and candidate speeches.I am especially interested in tracking voting legislation, keeping tabs on threats against election offices and officials and more broadly, monitoring actions that undermine democracy.
Previously, I covered a wide range of breaking news stories, including the police killing of George Floyd, several mass shootings, pandemic-related news and more. I have written about the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, pandemic grifting, cold case breakthroughs, hurricanes and eclectic topics, like bee infestations and the story of a man who tried and failed to walk on water from Florida to New York on a hamster wheel.
I graduated from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., where I was editor of the student newspaper. I covered Connecticut and national politics for The Hartford Courant and Hearst, reporting on four national conventions and two inaugurations. I was named an outstanding state political reporter by The Fix, The Washington Post’s political blog. When I am not reporting, I moonlight in celestial and street photography.
Independence and sound news judgment are the bedrock of covering politics. That’s why I place a heavy emphasis on seeking out a variety of voices and perspectives for stories. Not only is it vital to be accurate and transparent, it’s critical that we understand the nuances of the issues that we’re writing about, both for the sake of readers and sources. I am uncompromisingly apolitical, including how I conduct myself on social media. You can learn more about The Times’s ethics policy here.
Email: neil.vigdor@nytimes.com
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John F. Kennedy and Richard M. Nixon were the last presidential candidates to debate with no live audience during a general election.
By Neil Vigdor
The debate will be hosted by CNN from its Atlanta studios starting at 9 p.m. Eastern time on Thursday.
By Neil Vigdor
Critics have accused the former president of co-opting the flag for personal gain. Some of his supporters have flown the flag upside-down to protest his 2020 defeat.
By Neil Vigdor
A park near the convention site will be off limits to protesters, according to the plans for the July gathering in Milwaukee.
By Neil Vigdor
A coin flip won by President Biden gave him the option of picking which podium he will use or choosing the order of closing statements.
By Neil Vigdor
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. did not meet the criteria to make the debate stage next week, according to the outlet, denying him the opportunity to confront President Biden and Donald J. Trump.
By Chris Cameron
In a closed-door meeting with G.O.P. House members, the former president disparaged the city where his party’s convention will be held, according to people in the room.
By Michael Gold, Luke Broadwater and Neil Vigdor
More than 11 years after one of the worst school shootings in U.S. history, on what would have been the victims’ high school graduation day, the residents of Newtown, Conn., paused to reflect.
By Claire Fahy
The Republican congressman from Florida was visiting Philadelphia to persuade Black voters to support former President Donald J. Trump.
By Neil Vigdor and Maya King
It is the fifth battleground state to prosecute former President Donald J. Trump’s supporters for trying to overturn his defeat in the 2020 election.
By Neil Vigdor and Danny Hakim