The insanely long Republican debate, by the numbers


You could have had coronary bypass surgery in the time it took to watch the Republican debate Wednesday evening — and by the end of the interminable slog, many people probably would have preferred general anesthesia to get through "CNN's three-hour debate from hell."
After all, you know it's bad when even Donald Trump thought he got too much air time (by NPR's count, The Donald had almost 19 minutes of talk time, compared to the quietest Republican, Scott Walker, who only got eight and a half minutes).
"It was a little bit like a Charles Dickens story," said Terry Sullivan, Marco Rubio's campaign manager. "It might've been good, but it would've been better if there had been an editor involved." The New Yorker considered using the stage's backdrop, Ronald Reagan's Air Force One, as "an emergency-escape vehicle." Even Bernie Sanders, who was live-tweeting rebuttals of the Republicans' talking points, gave up after two and a half hours, pleading that it was "really painful."
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.
Since those who claim they watched the whole three hours are definitely lying, here's a look at the debate, by the numbers:
By the word count:
By the tweets:
3,210 tweets included the words "debate" + "too long" 16 hours after the debate:
Applause breaks: 73
Boos: 0
Attacks on Obama: 29
Attacks on Trump: 21
Attacks on Clinton: 16
Attacks on Carson: 1
"I'm the only...": 6. Two by Christie and two by Paul.
David Foster Wallace allusions: 1
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
-
How generative AI is changing the way we write and speak
In The Spotlight ChatGPT and other large language model tools are quietly influencing which words we use
-
Can Nato keep Donald Trump happy?
Today's Big Question Military alliance pulls out all the stops to woo US president on his peacemaker victory lap
-
Easy Money: the Charles Ponzi Story – an 'enlightening' podcast
The Week Recommends Apple Original podcast explores the 'fascinating' tale of the man who gave the investment scam its name
-
Supreme Court clears third-country deportations
Speed Read The court allowed Trump to temporarily resume deporting migrants to countries they aren't from
-
Judges order release of 2 high-profile migrants
Speed Read Kilmar Ábrego García is back in the US and Mahmoud Khalil is allowed to go home — for now
-
US assessing bomb damage to Iran nuclear sites
Speed Read Trump claims this weekend's US bombing obliterated Tehran's nuclear program, while JD Vance insists the US is 'not at war with Iran'
-
Trump's LA deployment in limbo after court rulings
Speed Read Judge Breyer ruled that Trump's National Guard deployment to Los Angeles was an 'illegal' overreach. But a federal appellate court halted the ruling.
-
Marines, National Guard in LA can detain Americans
speed read The troops have been authorized to detain anyone who interferes with immigration raids
-
Trump vows 'very big force' against parade protesters
Speed Read The parade, which will shut down much of the capital, will celebrate the US Army's 250th anniversary and Trump's 79th birthday
-
Smithsonian asserts its autonomy from Trump
speed read The DC institution defied Trump's firing of National Portrait Gallery Director Kim Sajet
-
Trump sends Marines to LA, backs Newsom arrest
speed read California Gov. Gavin Newsom is filing lawsuits in response to Trump's escalation of the federal response to ICE protests