Atlanta, GA
The first Biden-Trump debate will be in Atlanta, a city rich with political drama
After it appeared voters wouldn’t get the chance to see the Democratic and Republican presidential candidates square off this year, President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump last week agreed to two debates.
The first debate will take place June 27 in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s welcome news for the city of Atlanta, which was one of three finalists bidding to host the 2024 Democratic National Convention. It ultimately lost out to Chicago, but it wasn’t for lack of political drama within the state.
Atlanta became an epicenter of conspiracy theories and “election fraud” alleged by the Trump campaign during the 2020 election. Fulton County is now the site of the former president’s election inference case. And the battleground state carries major electoral weight, having flipped blue for the first time in nearly 30 years during the last presidential election.
The location of the debate has history for Trump and will likely give him and Biden plenty to spar over.
More: Biden and Trump to debate in Atlanta, announces CNN
Trump’s history with Fulton County, Georgia
It’s fitting that the debate will be held at CNN’s studios, nestled in the center of Fulton County. The studios are less than a mile from the State Farm Arena, which served as a ballot processing site during the 2020 election.
State Farm Arena quickly became the subject of conspiracy theories about illicit votes spread by Trump and his associates on social media in the hours following the election. Trump claimed that surveillance video showed election workers staying after hours and removing “suitcases full of ballots” from under a table.
The truth was much simpler. A plumbing issue at the arena had delayed Election Day operations, forcing some election workers to stay late to continue processing ballots. After a lengthy investigation by multiple agencies, it was determined that no fraud took place.
The Fulton County courthouse
Former President Trump is now intimately familiar with the Fulton County Courthouse, just half a mile from the site of the upcoming debate.After an investigation by the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office, Trump became the first former president to be indicted on felony charges in Georgia. He and 18 allies were charged with trying to interfere with the 2020 presidential election in Georgia after pressuring state officials to overturn the results.
Prosecutors in Georgia proposed August 5 as a start date for the trial.
Georgia’s potential as a swing state
The Georgia State Capitol, located a mile from the debate stage, played a significant role in the 2020 election.
It was where Biden was certified as the first Democrat to win Georgia in almost three decades, defeating Trump by nearly 12,000 votes.Georgia will remain a crucial swing state for the candidates in the 2024 election. Both Trump and Biden have made multiple stops to the Peach State during their reelection campaigns, showing just how important these votes are to the candidates.
Atlanta’s vibrant food scene offers diners so much more than comfort food classics (although top-notch versions of chicken, biscuits, and all the fixings can be found here, certainly), and leaving the city without tucking into an unforgettable meal should be criminal. But the trick is knowing where to go.
To make your stay in The A culinarily memorable, you need not only an up-to-date list of the city’s epicurean hotspots, but you also need to choose a home base that makes it easy to get to where you want to go. Choose your hotel poorly, and you might miss where fine dining finds industrial restoration in West Midtown, the continuous creative renewal in buildings and on menus in Old Fourth Ward, or the spirit and soulful flavors of Atlanta’s southside. That won’t be an issue with what’s below.
Old Fourth Ward
The walkable Old Fourth Ward neighborhood (O4W for short, which is located north of downtown Atlanta and southeast of Midtown) is home to many of the city’s top food spots. Find a morning pick-me-up from Chrome Yellow Trading Co., sweet treat from Little Tart bakery, or a decadent sandwich from Kinship Butcher & Sundry, where you can choose if you want your breakfast sausage sandwich served “double double,” or opt for a lunchier option like griddled pork belly with “drunken” mustard on brioche. Eastbound to downtown Decatur, Michelin-recommended and James-Beard-Foundation-recognized restaurants like Kimball House, home to some of metro Atlanta’s best oysters and craft cocktails, and The Deer & The Dove, where farm-to-table is performed with a fierce focus on flavor, are admired far beyond their suburban city’s limits.
O4W is also near historic Inman Park, where you can find exceptional pasta at BoccaLupo, steaks at Kevin Rathbun Steak, or dinner with premium cocktails at Ticonderoga Club at Krog Street Market.
Forth
Forth bills itself as part hotel, part local hangout and membership club, and its range of amenities and convenient location makes it a smart choice for your home base. It’s just off the Atlanta Beltline’s Eastside Trail and a five-minute walk to Ponce City Market, a food hall with stalls from a who’s-who of Atlanta’s culinary talent. (Don’t miss Botiwalla, where chef Meherwan Irani of the award-winning restaurant Chai Pani is slinging dishes inspired by Indian street food.)
Rooms at Forth mix mid-century style and modern function, you’ll find both heavy black telephones inspired by the old-school rotary dials and Bluetooth-enabled radio speakers in groovy wooden and brushed copper casing. The decor is otherwise understated, featuring metallics and earthtones, which allows the views they afford of the surrounding buildings and Beltline activity below to stay the star.
McCollum ruins Knicks’ night again, leading the Hawks to a 109-108 victory and a 2-1 lead
— CJ McCollum hit a fadeaway jumper with 12.5 seconds left to ruin New York’s night again, leading the Atlanta Hawks to a 109-108 victory and a 2-1 lead over the Knicks in their first-round…
Apr 23, 2026, 10:32 pm – AP
The measure could complicate reelection bids for Fani Willis and other Democratic prosecutors while setting off a constitutional fight.
Gov. Brian Kemp speaks during a campaign stop in Madison Friday. (Arvin Temkar/AJC)
Gov. Brian Kemp signed a law Tuesday that makes most local races in five heavily Democratic metro Atlanta counties nonpartisan, embracing a Republican-backed effort that could boost the party’s chances in deep-blue areas while weakening one of its chief targets: Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.
The law applies to district attorneys, county commissioners and other elected officials in Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton and Gwinnett counties beginning in 2028. The law exempts sheriffs. It’s unclear if it applies to the DeKalb County Commission.
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Gov. Brian Kemp signs House Bill 463 inside the Georgia Capitol building on Monday. (Ben Hendren for the AJC)
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Greg Bluestein is the Atlanta Journal Constitution’s chief political reporter. He is also an author, TV analyst and co-host of the Politically Georgia podcast.
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