It was announced earlier this May that U.S. President Joe Biden and presumptive Republican party nominee Donald Trump would be participating in two televised debates prior to the 2024 presidential election this November. The first debate will take place in June and the second in September.
While the occurrence of presidential debates is not new, this year bucks the trend due to these debates not being run by the Commission on Presidential Debates, who has been responsible for televised debates in the past.
Both candidates openly criticized the commission, saying that debates have been too close to election day and audiences have become disruptive.
Lambert junior and Speech and Debate president Jayden Yu gave his opinion on the presence of audiences during debates.
“Live audiences are unfavorable because it turns a time to discuss policy into another rally” Yu said.
In the previous election cycle, audiences could be heard jeering and shouting from the television broadcast, overall contributing to a disruptive atmosphere in what is intended to be a professional political space.
While the two main candidates for the November election are set to participate in the debates, third party candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was excluded. In previous debates hosted by the commission, candidates would have to meet a certain polling requirement in order to be eligible. Currently, it is undecided whether these requirements will be put into place for this year.
When asked about the legitimacy of third party candidates, especially in early stages leading up to election day, Yu had something to say.
“It’s understandable because they are mathematically impossible to garner enough electoral votes to win.”
The U.S. Electoral College mandates that in order to win the presidency, a candidate must win over 50% of electoral votes. This discourages third-party candidates because they may tip the balance and prevent another candidate from reaching the majority.
Speaking to the importance of the debates in general, Jayden stressed the importance of having events like these in the first place.
“Debates give us perspective on the candidate’s policy over their rhetoric.”
