(Reuters) – Democratic President Joe Biden and former Republican President Donald Trump are scheduled to face off in presidential debates on June 27 and another Sept. 10 ahead of the Nov. 5 election, part of a tradition marked by some of their most memorable moments. modern political history of the United States:
– 1960: The first televised debate pitted Democratic candidate John F. Kennedy against Republican Vice President Richard Nixon, who was recovering from a hospital visit and had a 5 o’clock shadow after ditching makeup. 70 million viewers focused on what they saw, not what they heard. Kennedy won the election.
– 1976: In the first televised debate in 16 years, Democrat Jimmy Carter faced unelected Republican incumbent Gerald Ford (NYSE:). In a remark that was seen as a serious error, Ford said: “Soviet dominance in Eastern Europe does not exist and never will under the Ford administration.” Carter won the election.
– 1980: Carter participated in the second debate with Republican Ronald Reagan after boycotting the first debate due to the inclusion of third-party candidate John Anderson. The president accused Reagan of plans to cut Medicare funding for Americans age 65 and older. Reagan, who had already complained that Carter was misrepresenting his position on a number of issues, said, “Here we go again,” and chuckled, drawing laughter from the audience and coining a catchphrase. Reagan won the election.
— 1984: Reagan, 73, successfully played down the issue of his age during a debate with 56-year-old Democrat Walter Mondale, quipping: “I want you to know that I will not make age an issue in my campaign either. , for political purposes, the youth and inexperience of my opponent.” Reagan was re-elected.
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– 1988: The debate against Republican Vice President George H. W. Bush began with Democrat Michael Dukakis being asked whether he would support the death penalty for the man who raped and killed his wife. The question gave the candidate, dubbed “the ice man” by critics, a chance to show his emotional side. His painstaking response led to exactly the opposite result. Bush won the election.
The vice presidential debate livened up when Dan Quayle, Bush’s running mate, compared himself politically to John F. Kennedy. Democrat Lloyd Bentsen responded in a quiet, deadly tone: “Senator, I served with Jack Kennedy. I knew Jack Kennedy. Jack Kennedy was my friend. Senator, you are not Jack Kennedy.”
– 1992: Three candidates – Bush, Democrat Bill Clinton and independent Ross Perot – shared the stage. Clinton won the election.
– 1996: During a debate with Clinton, Republican student Bob Dole asked if, at 73, he was too old to understand the needs of young people. He replied that at his age, intelligence and experience meant he had the advantage in wisdom. Clinton responded: “I can only tell you that I don’t think Senator Dole is too old to be president. I doubt the age of his ideas.” Clinton was re-elected.
– 2000: In his first debate with Republican George W. Bush, Democratic Vice President Al Gore drew backlash for sighing loudly during Bush’s speech. “We all make mistakes. I’ve been known to mumble a syllable or two myself,” Bush said during the second debate, deliberately mispronouncing the word “syllable.” Bush won the election.
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– 2004: The final debate between Bush and Democrat John Kerry offered voters a sharp contrast in style: Bush kept his arguments simple while Kerry released a series of facts to support his position. Bush was re-elected.
– 2008: Sarah Palin, Republican John McCain’s running mate, and Joe Biden, running against Democrat Barack Obama, clashed over the economy and Iraq during a lively but civil vice presidential debate. Palin often showed folk style. At one point she said, “Oh, tell me it’s not like that, Joe,” adding “dammit” for emphasis. Biden and Palin have vowed to make U.S. economic policy more friendly to middle-class workers, but Biden said McCain described the economy’s fundamentals as strong when the financial crisis hit. The Obama-Biden ticket won the election.
– 2012: Obama stumbles in his first debate with Republican Mitt Romney, surprising and worrying his supporters. But during the second debate, Romney, when asked about gender pay equity, said he had a “binders full of women” as candidates for Cabinet posts. The phrase has become a meme on social media, with tweets, original illustrations and a Facebook (NASDAQ:) group spoofing Romney. Obama won again.
– 2016: The first debate between businessman Donald Trump and former Democratic Secretary of State Hillary Clinton attracted 84 million US television viewers, a record for a debate and a rare number in the age of digital streaming. The second debate was dominated by an exchange of insults, with Clinton chiding Trump for sexually aggressive remarks about women he made on a newly discovered 2005 videotape. Trump sought to deflect criticism by accusing Bill Clinton, the candidate’s husband, of treating women worse. In her book published in 2017, Clinton wrote that during their second debate, Trump made her skin crawl as he chased her across the stage, and she wondered if she should have told him, “Back off, you scumbag.” Instead, she said, “I kept my cool, helped by a lifetime of dealing with difficult men who tried to throw me off.” During the third debate, Trump called Clinton “such a nasty woman” and refused to say he would accept the election results. Trump won the election.
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– 2020: Opinion polls show then-President Trump entered his first debate with Biden, the former vice president, looking for a fight. But his aggressiveness worked against him. He repeatedly interrupted Biden and moderator Chris Wallace to the point that the entire event spiraled out of control. He attacked the Biden family. Polls and focus groups conducted afterward showed that his behavior alienated swing voters. At one point, when Trump interrupted him, Biden said, “Will you shut up, man? This is so unpresidential.” Wallace told Trump: “I think the country would be better off if we allowed both people to talk with fewer interruptions. I encourage you, sir, to do so.” Trump, referring to Biden, responded: “Him too.” Wallace: “Well, to be honest, you’ve been interrupting more.” Trump later pulled out of the second debate after it was moved to a virtual format following his COVID-19 diagnosis. He then adopted a more subdued tone during the final confrontation with Biden.
During that year’s vice presidential debate, a stray housefly briefly dominated the US national stage, causing a stir when it landed on Vice President Mike Pence’s cropped gray hair as he debated his Democratic rival, US senator Kamala Harris.