Presidential debate megathread (debate 1: June 27, 9pm EDT, CNN)

[Arizona Iced Tea]

The first debate in 2020 was horrendous for Trump  and its fresh on people's minds four years later. He really needs to avoid something like that again. I think he was way too comfortable with Chris Wallace during his time in the WH that he didn't expect the usual debate headwinds like he would with a more liberal moderator. The final debate in 2020 was much better for Trump, and hopefully he can replicate something like that again or the 2nd debate with Hillary. Avoid interrupting (cut off mics should help with that), and avoid shouting. People are pretty used to Trump and his mannerisms at this point, so he just needs to stay on the path and that should be enough. It would be really interesting if we see either candidate use Biden's 2020 "Will you shut up man" line.

[Progressive Pessimist]

The first debate in 2020 was horrendous for Trump  and its fresh on people's minds four years later. He really needs to avoid something like that again. I think he was way too comfortable with Chris Wallace during his time in the WH that he didn't expect the usual debate headwinds like he would with a more liberal moderator. The final debate in 2020 was much better for Trump, and hopefully he can replicate something like that again or the 2nd debate with Hillary. Avoid interrupting (cut off mics should help with that), and avoid shouting. People are pretty used to Trump and his mannerisms at this point, so he just needs to stay on the path and that should be enough. It would be really interesting if we see either candidate use Biden's 2020 "Will you shut up man" line.

Fresh in peoples' minds four years later? It was barely fresh on peoples' minds four days later.

[Eraserhead]

The first debate in 2020 was horrendous for Trump  and its fresh on people's minds four years later. He really needs to avoid something like that again. I think he was way too comfortable with Chris Wallace during his time in the WH that he didn't expect the usual debate headwinds like he would with a more liberal moderator. The final debate in 2020 was much better for Trump, and hopefully he can replicate something like that again or the 2nd debate with Hillary. Avoid interrupting (cut off mics should help with that), and avoid shouting. People are pretty used to Trump and his mannerisms at this point, so he just needs to stay on the path and that should be enough. It would be really interesting if we see either candidate use Biden's 2020 "Will you shut up man" line.

Fresh in peoples' minds four years later? It was barely fresh on peoples' minds four days later.

Indeed. I follow this stuff pretty closely and hardly remember any of their 2020 debates but then again I honestly may have just blocked them from my mind.

[Ljube]

Trump needs to have a completely different approach to this debate.
He has to be respectful and dignified.
He needs to practice responses to provocative questions by the moderators and these responses need to be good in appearance if not in substance.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Trump needs to have a completely different approach to this debate.
He has to be respectful and dignified.
He needs to practice responses to provocative questions by the moderators and these responses need to be good in appearance if not in substance.

In short, he needs a personality transplant.

[Landslide Lyndon]

Trump needs to have a completely different approach to this debate.
He has to be respectful and dignified.
He needs to practice responses to provocative questions by the moderators and these responses need to be good in appearance if not in substance.

In short, he needs a personality transplant.

It's amazing that people still believe a 78-year old guy will suddenly change and become somebody he never was.

[Arizona Iced Tea]

The first debate in 2020 was horrendous for Trump  and its fresh on people's minds four years later. He really needs to avoid something like that again. I think he was way too comfortable with Chris Wallace during his time in the WH that he didn't expect the usual debate headwinds like he would with a more liberal moderator. The final debate in 2020 was much better for Trump, and hopefully he can replicate something like that again or the 2nd debate with Hillary. Avoid interrupting (cut off mics should help with that), and avoid shouting. People are pretty used to Trump and his mannerisms at this point, so he just needs to stay on the path and that should be enough. It would be really interesting if we see either candidate use Biden's 2020 "Will you shut up man" line.

Fresh in peoples' minds four years later? It was barely fresh on peoples' minds four days later.

Well people obviously don't think about it in a vacuum but when they hear the words "Trump" and "debate" it's still the first thing that comes to mind if that makes sense.

[wbrocks67]

Curious if 538 under Morris will do something similar to this:

https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/trump-biden-debate-poll/

[Steve from Lambeth]

Curious if 538 under Morris will do something similar to this:

https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/trump-biden-debate-poll/

I'd say yeah if I was a betting man. They teamed up with Ipsos to poll the 2023 GOP debates too

[Minnesota Mike]

RFK Jr. won’t meet CNN debate requirement for ballot access

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/06/18/rfk-jr-presidential-debate/

Wow, what a shock.  🙄

[Progressive Pessimist]

RFK Jr. won’t meet CNN debate requirement for ballot access

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/06/18/rfk-jr-presidential-debate/

Wow, what a shock.  🙄

Overall, his presence in the campaign entirely seems to be decreasing.

[emailking]

He hasn't met the polling requirement yet either so it may end being moot anyway.

[wbrocks67]

RFK Jr. won’t meet CNN debate requirement for ballot access

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/06/18/rfk-jr-presidential-debate/

Wow, what a shock.  🙄

Overall, his presence in the campaign entirely seems to be decreasing.

Yep, his campaign really seems to be tanking the last month or so, but this was also entirely inevitable

[Senator Incitatus]

Remember that all reporting you hear about the candidates is expectation-setting.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Remember that all reporting you hear about the candidates is expectation-setting.

I expect you're right.

[wbrocks67]

Trump won the coin toss. He'll giving closing statements last.

Trump will be on left side and Biden on right side.

[emailking]

That sucks. I remember the 2nd debate with Obama and Romney he was able to roast him on the 47% comments, after not mentioning it the whole debate, and Romney couldn't respond.

[gf20202]

Trump won the coin toss. He'll giving closing statements last.

Trump will be on left side and Biden on right side.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/20/politics/cnn-debate-closing-statements-podiums/index.html

Trump LOST the coin toss. Biden used winning the coin toss to choose between either going first/last for closing statement OR being left or right of screen. The Biden campaign choose to make the screen side choice and choose right.

Does anybody have a guess or insight why? Is there something psychologically more appealing to viewers about the right? Is it a superstition?

[emailking]

What the heck? That seems like a bad choice to me. That's like winning the toss and choosing to pick what goal you defend first rather than who gets the ball first. Sure hope they have a good reason for it.

[wbrocks67]

Trump won the coin toss. He'll giving closing statements last.

Trump will be on left side and Biden on right side.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/20/politics/cnn-debate-closing-statements-podiums/index.html

Trump LOST the coin toss. Biden used winning the coin toss to choose between either going first/last for closing statement OR being left or right of screen. The Biden campaign choose to make the screen side choice and choose right.

Does anybody have a guess or insight why? Is there something psychologically more appealing to viewers about the right? Is it a superstition?

Knew I shouldn't have listened to Andrea Mitchell lol

[The Mikado]

What the heck? That seems like a bad choice to me. That's like winning the toss and choosing to pick what goal you defend first rather than who gets the ball first. Sure hope they have a good reason for it.

It is weird, though I could imagine on a day with like 45 MPH winds picking goal side being the right call. Maybe there's some sort of equivalent thing for Presidential debates.

[wbrocks67]

Only thing I can think of in terms of them being okay with biden going first and Trump going second with closing is that they imagine by 10:55p, people are likely tuning out in droves by the second as the night goes on, so even if Biden does his statement at 10:55 and Trump at 10:57, Biden will likely get more eyeballs since he's a smidge earlier. I don't imagine it would be that significant but people will drift off the later it gets. That's the only thing I can really think of.  Or maybe they want Biden to go first so he can try and kick Trump off his "game" so to speak and make him want to respond to something in his closing statements instead of doing a rehearsed bit. Idk

[dspNY]

What the heck? That seems like a bad choice to me. That's like winning the toss and choosing to pick what goal you defend first rather than who gets the ball first. Sure hope they have a good reason for it.

Most people look more closely to their right and have a tendency to only look left when something more startling is heard or seen from that direction. Biden wants viewers to look at him when he is talking and turn to Trump when he says something stupid or acts stupid.

It also has something to do with how people drive. In the USA the driver is on the left side of the car so they are subtly looking right while driving. Drivers only look left when they have to

[GeorgiaModerate]

From https://politics.stackexchange.com/questions/12412/what-is-the-preferred-position-on-stage-for-a-debate (discussing the 2016 debates):

I would say Hillary Clinton won the coin toss. In pictorial design, it is important to consider that the viewer focuses first on the things that interest him/her most, and then scans from left to right. Arriving at the most right area where something is going on (in this case, Hillary Clinton). The eye will rest there and has more time to take in the impression.

If you want to give something more importance in a a picture, put it in the right area. As long as there was no naked dancer to the right of Clinton, she was the most important part.

I did not find an English source for this "side-preference" statement, only a German one from the University of Bielefeld (old graphics design book): https://www.techfak.uni-bielefeld.de/ags/pi/lehre/GMLSS98/1998-08-25/MM_Buch/node22.html [this link is now dead -GM]

"Diese Richtungstendenz hat Auswirkungen auf die Bildgestaltung. Bildelemente oder Kontraste, die eine besondere Wichtigkeit bekommen sollen, sollten im rechten Bildfeld positioniert werden. Der Blick des Betrachters wird dort, nachdem das Bild von links oben nach rechts unten abgetastet wurde, zur Ruhe kommen."

It basically translates to what I wrote in this answer.

[dspNY]

From https://politics.stackexchange.com/questions/12412/what-is-the-preferred-position-on-stage-for-a-debate (discussing the 2016 debates):

I would say Hillary Clinton won the coin toss. In pictorial design, it is important to consider that the viewer focuses first on the things that interest him/her most, and then scans from left to right. Arriving at the most right area where something is going on (in this case, Hillary Clinton). The eye will rest there and has more time to take in the impression.

If you want to give something more importance in a a picture, put it in the right area. As long as there was no naked dancer to the right of Clinton, she was the most important part.

I did not find an English source for this "side-preference" statement, only a German one from the University of Bielefeld (old graphics design book): https://www.techfak.uni-bielefeld.de/ags/pi/lehre/GMLSS98/1998-08-25/MM_Buch/node22.html [this link is now dead -GM]

"Diese Richtungstendenz hat Auswirkungen auf die Bildgestaltung. Bildelemente oder Kontraste, die eine besondere Wichtigkeit bekommen sollen, sollten im rechten Bildfeld positioniert werden. Der Blick des Betrachters wird dort, nachdem das Bild von links oben nach rechts unten abgetastet wurde, zur Ruhe kommen."

It basically translates to what I wrote in this answer.

One more thing…most people are right-side dominant (right handed) so they will use the right eye to focus