This Wednesday, the Harris-Trump debate drew in 67 million viewers, and aired across 17 different platforms, far exceeding the viewership of the Biden-Trump matchup in June. For one hour and 45 minutes, Trump and Harris sought to prove to the American people, especially undecided voters, how they would tackle multiple major issues as president, including the economy, abortion and immigration. Harris began the debate by striding over to Trump, extending her hand for a handshake, and introducing herself. The media described it as “a power move”. But when did a common act of acknowledgment and courtesy become a highly impressive act of diplomacy?
The first nationally televised debate was held in 1960, with John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon facing off and changed the future of U.S. presidential elections. Presidential debates serve as a chance for citizens to hear how each candidate stands on issues concerning the nation. Before the debate, Nixon was the favorite to win the election. But Kennedy’s youthful appearance, greatly contrasted against Nixon’s tired face. Because of the debate, Kennedy won the election by an incredibly small margin.
Debates usually do not have a huge effect on the outcome of the polls, because most viewers who tune in want to see how their candidate of preference performs. However, this is an unusual year. Biden’s poor performance led to his exit of the race, and Harris emerged as the new Democratic candidate. She had more at stake at this debate because this was her moment to define her run for presidency as her own, separate from Biden’s.
In recent years, candidate decorum and the extent of information covered in each debate has declined. Only 12 years ago, Barack Obama ran for his second term as president, and debated his opponent Republican candidate Mitt Romney. The 2012 presidential debate serves as a stark contrast to both 2024 presidential debates. Obama and Romney’s respect for each other showed, with Obama addressing Romney as “senator” and Romney calling it an honor to debate “Mr. President”.
On the other hand, Biden called Trump a “sucker” and a “loser”, and Trump accused Biden of lying multiple times in the first debate of 2024. The Obama-Romney debate was thoughtful, calm, and downright boring compared to the entertainment American politics has become. Unfortunately, debates are not serving the same purpose as they used to and are viewed more for entertainment than enlightenment.
Donald Trump has participated in the last three cycles of debates. Three out of four of the most watched presidential debates in history have featured Trump. Ever since 2016, personal attacks and interruptions have greatly increased. However, debaters will do whatever it takes to win and evade and twist the rules. Perhaps it is not a matter of the candidates themselves, but the issues around the format, rules, and good moderation.
Multiple steps were taken to reduce chaos for the Harris-Trump debate. There was no audience, mics were muted after the allotted time for each speaker was over, and there was more aggressive fact-checking by the moderators John Muir and Lindsay Davis.
The President of the United States is arguably the most important person in the world. It takes a person of stability, and integrity of character to lead the U.S., a global superpower. Presidential debates are supposed to assure voters in their candidate of choice that they are able to successfully improve this country and the lives of the people who live here. But now, it has gotten to the point where voters are trying to decide the lesser of two evils, instead of choosing the best of the two candidates.
Candidates should focus more on convincing voters that their policies are better than their opponent’s, instead of convincing voters that their opponent is a horrible person. Each candidate should have a plan to hold the U.S. to a higher standard. The recent Harris-Trump debate shows the difference between a candidate who has a plan to better the country, and a candidate who only airs personal grievances.
One cannot expect the respect of millions of Americans if respecting an opponent is difficult. Despite personal differences, respect is the bare minimum.
