US President, Donald Trump could face the most direct challenge of his presidency to his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, the economy and his personal conduct in his first debate against Democratic nominee Joe Biden on Tuesday.

Trump and Biden meet tonight in Cleveland for their first of three debates -- a socially distanced affair in which the candidates won't shake hands. Fox News host Chris Wallace is the moderator, according to CNN. 

A lot of people might think a Fox News anchor would give President Trump an easy ride but this is no Sean Hannity. Quite the opposite. The president has endured some of his most awkward moments sitting across from Wallace, whose command of the detail is legendary.

An interview in July went viral when Wallace told Mr Trump he'd taken the same cognitive ability test the president touted, telling him it was "not the hardest test".

Mr Trump - who typically favours Fox News - has dismissed Wallace as a "wannabe" of his father, Mike Wallace, who was an original reporter with CBS 60 Minutes.

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A registered Democrat, Wallace has said moderating debates is a serious business as it helps "millions of people decide who we're going to elect".

For the second debate, we'll have C-Span's political editor Steve Scully moderating. That's a town hall format which means real people get to play a part too. 

The audience, at about 70, will be limited compared with previous debates, and everyone attending the event at Case Western Reserve University will undergo testing for Covid-19 and follow other health safety protocols.

The debate is set for 9 p.m. Eastern time and will last 90 minutes without any commercial breaks.

The topics for the debate are "The Trump and Biden Records," "The Supreme Court," "Covid-19," "The Economy," "Race and Violence in our Cities" and "The Integrity of the Election," according to the Commission on Presidential Debates.

Each segment will last about 15 minutes, and the candidates will have two minutes to respond after the moderator opens each segment with a question. Wallace will then use the rest of the time in the segment to facilitate further discussion on the topic.