As the 2024 presidential election approaches, ABC news hosted a debate between presidential candidates Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. Later, vice presidential candidates J.D. Vance and Tim Walz also debated each other on CBS.
All candidates used the debate to promote their platforms and share their stances on issues such as the economy, foreign policy and immigration.
Policies and plans were not the only aspects that voters watched for during the debates. Some also observed how the candidates behaved toward one another.
I believe presidential candidates should respect each other while debating, but both Trump and Harris villainized each other. Trump said “[Biden] hates [Harris],” and Harris criticized the attendance at Trump’s rallies, saying that “people start leaving his rallies early out of exhaustion and boredom,” during the debate.
The candidates insulted each other to energize their fan bases, thereby encouraging their supporters to go out and vote for them.
In contrast, I found the vice presidential debate between Vance and Walz to be cordial.
The vice presidential candidates received high praise from the public for their respectful behavior according to multiple news sources, including CBS. Junior Audrey Farrimond agreed with these sentiments while watching the debate.
“The vice presidential debate candidates were significantly more respectful of one another,” said Farrimond. “There was surprisingly a consensus that was reached on a lot of issues.”
I think both Vance and Walz tried to be as relatable as possible. Vance did this as he started the response to his first question at the debate with “I was raised in a working class.” Walz seemed to try to attract the middle-class as well as rural voters. He said “I grew up in small, rural Nebraska, town of 400,” during the debate.
The vice president candidates used the debate stage to create a positive image of themselves for the voters who didn’t yet know them. They did this by being as respectful as possible. At times, the candidates even agreed with each other’s concerns about the hurricanes, school shootings, and the housing crisis.
After watching the presidential debate, it left me with the question on how these debates will look in future elections. I believe that our future presidential debates will resemble what we saw between Vance and Walz more because Trump is an outlier in politics, and without his presence in the debates, there will be a lot more decorum.
Speech and debate coach and U.S. Ethnic Studies teacher, Ben Harrison, has his own theories on why Trump is an outlier.
“Trump was really good at TV and he realized people want to see drama,” said Harrison.
The electoral college system makes candidates appeal to the entire country, since they need votes from around the country to win the election. Future candidates must realize that they need to show more respect during debates to appeal to the swing voters that matter most in the outcome of this election.
