At this point, there are only two presidential debates scheduled for this cycle, and we had only two debates last cycle.
Tonight’s debate will feature two commercial breaks, which means that unless more debates are added to the schedule, we’ll get less than three total hours of these candidates debating. That’s an even shorter time than last cycle, when the two debates did not feature commercial breaks.
Some years, debate moderators or questioners in the town-hall format close the debate with some sort of lighter question. In the October 9, 2016, presidential debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, audience member Karl Becker asked the candidates, “Would either of you name one positive thing that you respect in one another?”
(Clinton answered: “I respect his children. His children are incredibly able and devoted, and I think that says a lot about Donald. I don’t agree with nearly anything else he says or does, but I do respect that.” Trump said: “I will say this about Hillary. She doesn’t quit. She doesn’t give up. I respect that. I tell it like it is. She’s a fighter. I disagree with much of what she’s fighting for. I do disagree with her judgment in many cases. But she does fight hard, and she doesn’t quit, and she doesn’t give up. And I consider that to be a very good trait.”)
Neither Jake Tapper nor Dana Bash are likely to ask a variation of the “if you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be?” question. But with debate time so limited — and with two extremely well-known candidates — there’s really no need or use for any cutesy, light-hearted questions taking up the last couple minutes.