Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump have agreed to debate on Sept. 10 on ABC Information, and each candidates seem like open to extra debates after that. Whereas some presidential debates have not moved the needle in public opinion, others have supplied consequential moments that made or broke campaigns.
1960 debate: John F. Kennedy vs. Richard Nixon
The 1960 debate was the primary televised presidential debate — and it additionally confirmed off the ability of a picture. The preliminary debate between Democrat John F. Kennedy and Republican Richard Nixon “shifted how presidential campaigns had been carried out, as the ability of tv took elections into American’s dwelling rooms,” mentioned the Nationwide Structure Middle (NCC). Kennedy was the “photogenic and energetic younger senator,” whereas Nixon had lately been sick and in addition refused to put on make-up.
Because of this, Kennedy “seemed and sounded good on tv, whereas Nixon seemed pale and drained, with a 5 o’clock shadow beard.” The polls started to shift for Kennedy quickly after that — substance of the controversy apart — and he would find yourself narrowly successful the election.
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1984 debate: Ronald Reagan vs. Walter Mondale
President Ronald Reagan was reelected in a landslide in 1984, and a key second within the second presidential debate is commonly seen as encapsulating this victory.
Questions had been swirling about Reagan’s superior age, one thing that his opponent, former Vice President Walter Mondale, addressed. I “won’t make age a difficulty of this marketing campaign. I’m not going to take advantage of, for political functions, my opponent’s youth, and inexperience,” Reagan responded. Reagan “acquired the viewers with that,” and “I knew he had gotten me there,” Mondale mentioned to PBS in 1990.
1992: Invoice Clinton, George HW Bush and Ross Perot
The 1992 election supplied a uncommon debate that included Invoice Clinton, George H.W. Bush and a 3rd celebration candidate, Ross Perot. This marked the “first time three candidates shared a single stage in a televised debate,” mentioned CNN. The second debate of the marketing campaign season additionally premiered the “city corridor” model discussion board which “straight concerned voters within the course of by permitting them to pose inquiries to the candidates.”
One most notable second got here when Bush, the sitting president, was “seen on nationwide digital camera checking his watch,” mentioned CNN. Later, when requested a query concerning the impact of the nationwide debt, Bush mentioned he was “unsure I get it.” Clinton would find yourself successful the election in a landslide.
2000 debate: George W. Bush vs. Al Gore
In one other set of debates the place the optics mattered, George W. Bush and Al Gore hit the stage forward of one of many closest elections in American historical past. This was notably necessary as “Vice President Al Gore had been in high-profile debates earlier than, whereas Texas Governor Bush was a relative newcomer recognized to stumble over his phrases,” mentioned Time.
Gore made a sequence of flubs throughout the debates, notably when he was caught “loudly sighing in response to Bush’s solutions, and he was seen on the display rolling his eyes and shaking his head in frustration at different factors,” mentioned Time. Ultimately, Bush “had surprises in retailer. And Mr. Gore was undone by impulses he couldn’t management,” mentioned The New York Occasions. Following a Supreme Court docket interjection, Bush received the electoral faculty and with it, the election.
2024: Joe Biden vs. Donald Trump
The 2024 debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump is maybe essentially the most consequential in historical past, as it could have unilaterally prompted the sitting president to desert his reelection bid.
Though Trump lied greater than 30 instances throughout the debate, Biden “struggled to mount an efficient protection of the economic system on his watch and flubbed the outline of key well being initiatives he is made central to his reelection bid,” mentioned Politico, and the “alarm bells for Democrats began ringing the second Biden began talking.” Lower than a month later, Biden dropped out of the race. Nevertheless, one among his advisers, Anita Dunn, nonetheless “disputes the notion that Biden’s efficiency was ‘catastrophic’ for the voters he wanted to win over,” Politico mentioned.
