The US Presidential Debates: The Road to the White House

The current U.S. presidential election is the 60th in the country's history, with the final results scheduled to be announced on November 5th of this year. In March, incumbent President Joe Biden from the Democratic Party officially announced his candidacy, while his opponent in the previous election, former President Donald Trump from the Republican Party, also declared his candidacy, while Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is running as an independent candidate.

This upcoming political rivalry between the two candidates, Trump and Biden, will be their second face-off following the 2020 presidential race. Donald Trump will be the fifth president in U.S. presidential election history to seek a non-consecutive second term. If he wins the current election, he will be the second president after Grover Cleveland to win two non-consecutive terms, as Cleveland won the presidency in the 1888 and 1892 elections. As of now, both individuals remain strong contenders for their respective parties during the ongoing primary season, as the official nomination of presidential candidates has yet to be made, with the Republican Party's selection likely to take place at their National Convention in Wisconsin in July, alongside the announcement of the vice-presidential nominee. Despite Donald Trump's declaration as the party's candidate in November 2022, the Democratic presidential nominee is expected to be confirmed before their National Convention in Illinois in August, which reinforces the possibility that one- or both-party nominees could change even after the first presidential debate in the primary elections and before the nomination conventions.

By the traditions of the U.S. presidential elections, presidential candidates must participate in three debates, besides a fourth debate between the vice-presidential candidates. These debates play a significant role in influencing the opinions of undecided voters. The first debate was held on June 27th and hosted by CNN. The second debate between the presidential candidates is scheduled for September 10th and will be hosted by ABC. To qualify for the first debate, CNN required each candidate to have won a specific number of states to qualify them as strong contenders and to have received at least 15% of the vote in four various official polls. ABC's requirements were more stringent, as candidates had to have won enough primaries to put them on track to reach 270 electoral votes at least. These requirements effectively eliminated independent candidate Robert Kennedy from participating in the debates with the other major candidates, as he did not meet the criteria as a strong contender.

The first debate between the two presidential candidates was noteworthy for several reasons. It was the first debate to be held without an audience, ensuring that the full 90 minutes could be utilized without interruption. There were no breaks except for two commercial breaks, and there was no downtime or opportunity for the candidates to meet with their advisors even during the break so as not to influence their opinions. Additionally, there were no opening statements by the candidates, but each had two minutes after the closing. Furthermore, the microphone of the candidate speaking was muted when his opponent began speaking to avoid interruptions. Each candidate was given one minute to respond to the other's views. This debate was the first to be organized and supervised by television networks rather than the Commission on Presidential Debates “CPD”, responsible for organizing and overseeing the debates since 1988. It was also the first debate between candidates in the primary elections, five months before the start of voting in November 2024, at the request of the Democratic Party. Traditionally, debates have been held in September and October after the party conventions and the official announcement of the candidates.

The first debate between the presidential candidates was held amidst anticipation and attention both within and outside the United States. An estimated 48 million viewers watched the debate on television in the United States alone. The pre-debate approval ratings for the candidates were close, with a 0.1 percentage point difference between them, at 41% for Trump and 40.9% for Biden. The most prominent topics discussed were foreign policy, healthcare, immigration, border security, climate change, education, LGBTQ+ rights, and abortion.

Following its conclusion, according to CNN polls, Trump's overall performance was better with 67%, while Biden received 33%. This unsatisfactory performance by candidate Biden was attributed to the tension and distraction that prevailed over him most of the time. In addition, the debate did not live up to expectations, as the candidates exchanged insults most of the time, leaving the American public dissatisfied with the performance of their candidates, which lacked the professionalism that characterized previous presidential debates. It was also followed by angry criticism of Biden's performance from voters and party leaders for being below expectations.

Finally, amidst mounting anger and disappointment among voters over the party leadership's failure to select a suitable candidate, calls have emerged from Democratic voters, party members, donors, and financiers to replace Joe Biden as the presidential nominee. Several names have been nominated as potential alternatives, including Vice President Kamala Harris, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, California Governor Gavin Newsom, and Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker. These candidates are all under serious consideration within the party, and the official nominee will be announced sometime before the party's convention in Chicago on August 19th, which will ultimately determine the Democratic presidential candidate.