Bypassing the CPD: Networks Host the Debates 


CNN Studios
Atlanta, GA
June 27, 2024
Moderators: Jake Tapper and Dana Bash
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National Constitution Center
Philadelphia, PA
Sept. 10, 2024
Moderators: David Muir and Linsey Davis
details
CBS Studios
New York, NY
Oct. 1, 2024
Moderators: Norah O'Donnell, Margaret Brennan
details
(ema May 15, updated Sept. 25, 2024)  Circumventing the Commission on Presidential Debates, the 2024 presidential and vice presidential debates are being hosted by the networks.  The CPD had sponsored the fall debates since 1988, typically at universities and featuring live audiences.  In contrast the network presidential debates have been conducted without audiences.

On May 15, 2024 the Biden campaign started the ball rolling, proposing that presidential debates be held in June and September, and former President Donald J. Trump accepted.  CNN promptly announced a debate between the two would occur on June 27, and ABC News followed, announcing a debate on Sept. 10. 
The CPD, which has organized debates since 1988 and had planned three presidential debates and one vice presidential debate, was boxed out.   

Before May 15, Biden and Trump had been engaging in a back-and-forth which led observers to wonder if any debates would occur.  On May 15, things happened very quickly.  Biden's campaign chair Jen O'Malley Dillon penned a letter [PDF] outlining the Biden campaign's debate proposal, and then most of the discussion unfolded on social media, starting with Biden's melodramatic "Make my day, pal" video. 

Occurring before the major party conventions, the June debate was unprecedented.  There were concerns that having the debates broadcast by a individual networks might limit the viewing audience, but CNN made the debate feed available to other networks, albeit "with strings attached."  The in-studio format rather than with a live audience and the mic muting created a different, less charged dynamic.  The June debate did not go as planned for Biden; his poor performance ultimately forced him out of the race and dramatically altered the course of the campaign.

After Harris succeeded Biden as the Democratic standard-bearer, the Sept. 10 ABC News debate agreed upon by the Biden and Trump campaigns served as the starting point for debate discussions.  Trump seemed to hedge on his participation in the Sept. 10 debate.  Then during an Aug. 8 news conference Trump said he had agreed to three debates: ABC News on Sept. 10, FOX News on Sept. 4, and NBC News on Sept. 25.  However, the Harris campaign only agreed to the Sept. 10 debate.  In an Aug. 11 statement, the campaign said that, "We are open to another debate, and we’ll continue those conversations. But to be clear, any additional debate would be subject to Trump actually showing up on September 10. We’re not playing his games."  In late August there was more back and forth.  In a posting on TruthSocial, Trump again raised doubts about his participation the the ABC debate, while the Harris campaign sought to raise the question of mic muting (+).

Trump performed poorly in the Sept. 10 debate—even some allies termed it a "missed opportunity"—and in a Sept. 12 post on TruthSocial he ruled out a third debate.  Nonetheless, on Sept. 21 the Harris campaign announced, "Vice President Harris is ready for another opportunity to share a stage with Donald Trump and she has accepted CNN's invitation to a debate on October 23 (
+)."  Trump, speaking at a rally in North Carolina, rejected the Oct. 23 debate as "too late."

CBS announced the outlines of a vice presidential debate back on May 16: "The Biden campaign has accepted CBS News' invitation to participate in a vice presidential debate.  The campaign says that either the proposed dates of July 23 or August 13 would be acceptable for Vice President Kamala Harris.  The Trump campaign has not yet publicly accepted the invitation and Donald Trump has not yet named a running mate."  Trump countered on May 17: "On behalf of the future Vice President of the United States, who I have not yet chosen, we hereby accept the Fox Vice Presidential Debate, hopefully at Virginia State University, the first Historically Black College or University to host a Debate - Date to be determined."  A vice presidential
debate remained in limbo until Aug. 14, when CBS News announced a vice presidential debate with four possible dates; Gov. Tim Walz (D) and Sen. JD Vance (R) both agreed to Oct. 1.

Independent and third party candidates were excluded.  The Kennedy campaign made a strong effort to include him in the June 27 debate, and the Stein campaign also filed a complaint.  Chase Oliver (L), Jill Stein (G) and Randall Terry (C) participated in the Free & Equal Elections Foundation debate on July 12 in Las Vegas, and a second debate is scheduled for Oct. 23 in Los Angeles.  Separately, the Stein and Oliver campaigns have engaged in discussions on a two-person debate.


July 12, 2024
Las Vegas, NV
Oct. 23, 2024
Los Angeles, CA


 
See also:
Open to Debate and Center for the Study of Democratic Politics at Princeton University.  "Discourse Correction: What’s Wrong with the Presidential Debates, and How to Fix Them."  June 20, 2024.

Democracy in Action: Past Debates

Commission on Presidential Debates

Free & Equal Elections Foundation

BBC Prime Ministerial Debate - In Britain which is holding a general election on July 4, 2024, the BBC hosted a 75-minute prime ministerial debate on June 26, one day before the CNN debate.

Madhusudan Katti.  "Trump's 'Gish Gallop' Debate Tactic Comes from Creationists."   Scientific American, Aug. 20, 2024.
 
Lorraine Ali.  "How Trump uses the 'Gish Gallop' to flood debates with lies and nonsense."  Los Angeles Times, Sept. 5, 2024.




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