On Thursday evening, June 27, nearly 100 million U.S. viewers will watch the first televised election debate between former U.S. President Donald Trump and current President Joe Biden on CNN Live.
The real one-on-one, in online e-sports, is called solo, and it is broadcast live all over the world.
This is a routine election process that runs before the presidential election in November, and it is so important that it can even affect the success or failure of subsequent elections. At present, the polls show that Biden's approval rating is only 0.3% more than Trump's, and the two can be said to be evenly matched, and whoever can win the debate will have an advantage, and even decide the winner of the presidential race, so this debate is crucial for the two.
Today we will carefully talk about the rules and stories of this televised debate between the presidents of the United States.
Presidential debates are an old tradition in the United States, with the first real televised presidential debate being broadcast live in 1960, when it attracted 66 million viewers out of a total population of 179 million, and in 2016, when Trump debated Hillary Clinton, it was watched by nearly 100 million people, making it one of the most popular programs in American television history.
▲In 1960, Kennedy and Nixon participated in the presidential debate
Debates are usually attended by leading presidential candidates, generally from the two largest parties: the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. The topic of discussion in the debate was often the most controversial issue of the time, and it was aimed at the hesitant voters of the non-democratic/Republican minority, who were able to win over these people, and thus win the votes of the swing states, and in part determined the success of the president's election.
While presidential debates are not constitutionally mandated, they have become a necessary part of elections.
As the much-anticipated televised presidential debate, candidates need to be aware of a few issues:
First: personal image
By the 1960s, television had become ubiquitous in American society, and people realized that it was more efficient to canvass votes by expressing their political views on television. So presidential candidate Kennedy and Nixon had their first televised presidential debate on CBS in Chicago.
At the time, the young Kennedy was a senator not well known to the nation, while Nixon, a two-term vice president, was a seasoned political official. The expectation was that the outcome of the debate would be obvious, and that Nixon would win easily.
Judging by the outcome of the debate, it was true, that Nixon had more policy knowledge and good eloquence. But Nixon didn't realize that television was not only showing the audience the sound, but also the images.
▲Kennedy (left) VS Nixon (right) in the first debate
In the first debate, Nixon's personal image was clearly not as photogenic as Kennedy.
The first is that the color of Nixon's suit contrasts with the background panel, making him appear diminutive and difficult to see on a black-and-white television. In addition, Nixon had just been discharged from the hospital because of a knee injury, his body was very weak, his face was pale, he refused to wear makeup, and his hairline was a little bald.
While speaking, he was sweating profusely and kept wiping his sweat with a handkerchief, with a blank expression on his face, which was mistaken for nervousness by the audience. And because of a knee injury, he couldn't lift Erlang's legs when facing the audience, and he looked cramped, as if he was interviewing.
The young Kennedy looked glamorous on television, with perfect makeup, well-dressed, legs crossed, a confident smile on his face, and a beautiful voice. He also knows how to speak to the camera as if he were speaking to an audience in front of a television.
A sickly and nervous Nixon VS a confident, personable Kennedy. Viewers who watched the televised debate were drawn to Kennedy. Polls after the debate showed Kennedy going from a slight trail to a slight advantage.
Although the two men had three debates in a month, Nixon, who had learned from the first one, won the second and third debates, but the last two were not as crowded as the first. Many observers see the first debate as a turning point in Kennedy's victory over Nixon.
Later, in 1969 and 1972, Nixon refused to participate in televised debates because he felt that his appearance did not prevail in the debate with Kennedy......
The second is to avoid slips of the tongue
In 1976, when the United States held another presidential debate, polls showed that Ford had a higher approval rating than Carter, but in the debate, Ford inexplicably uttered a politically incorrect sentence: "Without Soviet control of Eastern Europe, the Ford government would not allow this to happen." ”
The moderator quickly interrupted and asked: "Are you saying that the Russians did not put Eastern Europe under their control?" ”
"I don't think the Poles would think they're ruled by the Soviet Union," Ford explained. ”
This remark to whitewash the "evil Soviet Union" caused an uproar, making people feel that Ford had the support of the Soviet Union behind him, and some people thought that Ford had no basic common sense, and it was useless for Ford to explain this remark later, and he completely lost power.
▲ Ford and Carter's presidential debate
In 1988, Dukaski ran against George H.W. Bush, and Dukaski led by more than 10 percentage points in the polls. But during the debate, Dukaski voiced his opposition to the death penalty, with a CNN reporter asking: "If your wife was killed, would you still insist on opposing the death penalty?" Dukaski said categorically: "Hold on!" He also reiterated his opposition to the death penalty.
This seemingly understandable answer was considered "cold-blooded" by a large number of viewers, and Dukaski's approval rating fell all the way, and finally lost to Bush Sr. in the presidential election.
The third is the test of physical fitness
This debate will go on for 90 minutes, and the two sides will have to be fierce and verbally written, which is also tiring for young lads, not to mention that Biden is 81 years old, Trump is 78 years old, and the two octogenarians stand for an hour and a half, which is really a test of physical fitness.
Especially Biden, who has always had physical problems, if he faints or dilutes halfway, then Biden is really finished.
A member of the president's entourage revealed earlier that Biden was practicing standing for 90 minutes, simulating a 90-minute debate with aides in the presidential villa and practicing standing the entire time.
According to the Trump team, Biden is likely to be injected with stimulants to improve his strength and reflexes, and Trump proposed that the two undergo drug tests the day before yesterday.
Fourth, the organizer of the debate has been changed
Presidential debates are usually held in the conference hall of a university, and the "Presidential Debate Committee" (CPD) organizes the event, which is broadcast live on multiple news television stations, with a crowd of spectators and reporters watching, and the rules have changed to allow the audience or the host to ask questions.
In this debate, Republicans and Democrats decided that the CPD organized the debate too late, and both chose to withdraw from the CPD and hold two separate debates.
One of the reasons for the Biden team's refusal was that "the CPD was unable to enforce its own rules", and in the 2020 debate, Biden was interrupted 76 times by Trump during his speech, and the committee failed to effectively stop this irregularity.
▲ Biden really couldn't stand it and said to the king who understood: Can you shut up, big brother?
Trump's refusal was justified by "the CPD being biased against him and treating him unfairly in debates." In the 2020 debate, when Trump interjected Biden's speech several times, the moderator stopped him from speaking, causing the three people to speak their own words, and no one could hear what the three were saying.
In addition, because of the restriction on everyone's speaking time, Trump's speech was overtimed, and the microphone was immediately turned off, which made Trump very unhappy.
In short, the CPD committee, which has been responsible for holding presidential debates since the 80s, has not been pleasing to both sides (in fact, the third party has often criticized the CPD, and I will explain the reasons below)
The first debate on June 27 was hosted by CNN News, and the second debate on September 10 was hosted by ABC News. Both continue to use eligibility criteria similar to those for CPD.
In fact, the unanimous withdrawal of the DPP and the CCP from the separate debate is to bypass the self-proclaimed "fair and neutral" CPD committee. To put it bluntly, the two parties cannot control the CPD and operate in the dark according to their own requirements.
The struggle for control of the debate has been going on for decades. The three presidential debates from 1976 to 1984 were organized by the nonpartisan League of Women Voters. By 1987, in protest of the attempt by the party candidates to take full control of all aspects of the debate, the League of Women Voters announced its withdrawal from organizing the debate.
They made a public statement: "Because of the fraud committed by the two partisan campaigns against the American electorate, we have clearly seen that the candidates are deliberately playing all kinds of tricks in the debate, lacking substance and accurate answers to difficult questions, and that the coalition does not want to be complicit in the disgrace of the American public, and we withdraw from the right to organize and sponsor the presidential debate.
It can be seen from this that the bipartisan operation in the dark box of the presidential debate is obviously not as fair and open as the public sees.
Fifth, changes to the rules of debate
The debate was held at 9 p.m. local time on June 27 at the CNN studio in Georgia, where Trump publicly scolded CNN many times during his tenure and voted for Biden in the 2020 election, so this time Trump is playing away.
In this debate, some new rules have been formulated:
In order not to waste the opportunity to promote itself, CNN will print its own red logo on the background board, and other websites cannot cover the CNN logo, zoom its screen, insert commentators' commentary, etc.
Instead of being held in the university, the debate was instead held in a CNN studio, hosted by a CNN anchor.
The debate lasted 90 minutes, with two commercial inserts of three and a half minutes each (previously there were no ads).
There will be no opening remarks in the debate, and there will be no audience in the room.
Attendants are not allowed to prompt during the debate, and candidates are not allowed to bring any props and notes. Only a pen, a notepad, and a bottle of water are obtained.
At the time of admission, both candidates agreed that they would not shake hands with each other.
Trump will stand on the left side of the podium and Biden on the right.
To prevent interrupting the speech, your microphone will only turn on when it's your turn to speak.
▲ Epic nerfed version! The strongest skill of the king was silenced
Four health and safety consultants will also be arranged at the site to avoid a debate accident similar to "Zhuge Liang scolded Wang Lang to death".
In addition, there are eligibility requirements for "participating in debates", which are carried over from the CPD:
- Candidates are constitutionally eligible to serve as president (e.g., they must be U.S. citizens from birth).
- It received at least 15 percent support in four national polls, which ended on March 13.
- Having enough votes proves that you have the potential to win the election.
- Agree to the rules of debate.
- The Federal Election Commission agrees with you.
This "qualification to participate in the debate" was actually set up by the Democratic Party and the Communist Party to "jointly strangle" the third opposition party. Because in the decades since this rule was introduced, only one person from a third party has met the requirements to successfully participate in the debate. For this reason, the third party has repeatedly protested against this provision implemented by the CPD.
▲ "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", three rare presidential candidates debated on the same stage in 1992, Bush Sr. (left), Ross Perrot (middle), Clinton (right)
▲ Even if a third-party candidate participates, the probability of winning is basically zero, but the Democratic Party and the Communist Party want to completely strangle this probability.
Sixth, what will be the topic of debate
In the early years of presidential debates in the United States, the two sides would debate their own political views and directions, and strive to win the support of more voters. However, in recent presidential debates, they have gradually turned into attacks on each other, exposing and exposing each other's black materials, and arguing is meaningless.
Guess based on the situation. There are several topics likely to be discussed in this presidential debate:
- Trump was convicted of all 34 counts in the "hush money" criminal case, and Trump pleaded not guilty and accepted punishment. He was the first former president in history to be found guilty.
- Biden's son, Hunter, was convicted of illegal gun possession by falsely claiming that he was not a drug addict when he bought a gun. Become the first child of a sitting U.S. president to be found guilty. He was also charged with tax evasion.
3. In terms of foreign policy, the topic of Ukraine, the conflict in Gaza and China will be hot topics.
4. Illegal immigration, public safety, and reproductive rights are also topics of concern to the public.
In short, Trump's PK Biden show is about to begin.