Republicans want to scrap presidential debates? Good.
Republicans are ready to do away with the current system of presidential debates. Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel on Thursday notified the Commission on Presidential Debates that the party intends to prohibit its candidate from participating in 2024 debates against the Democratic nominee, citing the format's "bias against Republicans."
You know what? That sounds fine.
The 2020 presidential campaign offered reason enough to end the quadrennial showdowns. Who can forget that September's encounter between Donald Trump and Joe Biden — rightly dubbed "the worst presidential debate of all time" by my then-colleague Matthew Walther and perhaps more memorably labeled by CNN's Dana Bash as a "s--tshow." Trump tried to steamroll both Biden and moderator Chris Wallace, shouting and lobbing insults and refusing to let anybody else get a word in edgewise. The most important moment of that debate was Trump's "stand back and stand by" shoutout to his extremist Proud Boys acolytes, a clear precursor to the Jan. 6 insurrection.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Does anybody think that democracy was well-served by that "debate?"
The criticisms of the presidential debate format are well-known by now — they put an emphasis on stagecraft over substance, on posturing and soundbites and a lot of other skills that are great for TV but don't have much to do with the actual work of presidenting. Significantly, debates appear to have little effect on election outcomes. The upside is that they grab a lot of attention from voters who've had other things to do besides follow politics on Twitter all day: Some 63 million people watched the final debate of the campaign in October 2020.
Those voters do deserve a chance to hear in-depth from presidential candidates. Luckily — and inadvertently — the 2020 cycle offered a substantive alternative to debates: dueling town halls. Because of Trump's COVID infection, the second debate that year was canceled. Trump instead met voters with NBC anchor Savannah Guthrie, while Biden took voter questions with ABC's George Stephanopoulos. The format allowed viewers more of a chance to judge each candidate on their own merits, and for the candidates to respond to the concerns of actual voters instead of savvy journalists putting a notch on their career-achievements belt.
So let's do that again in 2024 — but on purpose this time. Scrap the debates and give each candidate 90 minutes of airtime with voters on back-to-back nights right before Americans start casting ballots. After 2020, it's clearly time to try something different.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Joel Mathis is a freelance writer who has spent nine years as a syndicated columnist, co-writing the RedBlueAmerica column as the liberal half of a point-counterpoint duo. His work also regularly appears in National Geographic, The Kansas City Star and Heatmap News. His awards include best online commentary at the Online News Association and (twice) at the City and Regional Magazine Association.
-
'Good riddance to the televised presidential debate'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Caitlin Clark the No. 1 pick in bullish WNBA Draft
Speed Read As expected, she went to the Indiana Fever
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Today's political cartoons - April 16, 2024
Cartoons Tuesday's cartoons - sleepyhead, little people, and more
By The Week US Published
-
'Good riddance to the televised presidential debate'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Making sense of FISA's strange bedfellows in Congress
The Explainer How a controversial intelligence gathering law is bringing progressive Democrats and privacy hawk Republicans together
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
'This isn't judicial restraint — it's judicial activism'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Arizona court reinstates 1864 abortion ban
Speed Read The law makes all abortions illegal in the state except to save the mother's life
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
'Young kids simply shouldn't be on social media'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
'A golden opportunity to uphold true patriotism'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Ronna McDaniel, the former RNC chair and departed NBC analyst, may be signaling a shift in corporate media
The Explainer McDaniel joined NBC less than a month after stepping down from the RNC — and was out days later
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Trump, billions richer, is selling Bibles
Speed Read The former president is hawking a $60 "God Bless the USA Bible"
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published