The Commission on Presidential Debates announced the forthcoming slate of debate sites for presidential election season 2024. Since 1976, there have been consistent televised presidential debates in the United States. Originally broadcasted and conducted by the League of Women Voters, the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) took over the sponsorship and organization of the debates in 1987. The impending election raises the most serious doubts about whether this televised debate series will continue.
Both the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and Republican National Committee (RNC) have refused to commit to the proposed debates of 2024 that are to begin in San Marcos, Texas, next October. Serious problems in the last several CPD events may prevent the necessary parties from agreeing to debates that are typically viewed by 50 to 100 million Americans.
One of the most serious problems faced by the CPD events is the moderators. Journalist moderators have been chosen for these debates for decades. The problems with moderators are two-fold. First, journalists have come to occupy a prominent argumentative position in the debates. In the 1990s, journalist moderators would occupy roughly 5 percent of the speaking time in debates. In the most recent series, moderator Chris Wallace consumed more than 25 percent of the speaking time.
WE WILL NOT COMPLY!!! pic.twitter.com/GHrjhKeWBy
— il Donaldo Trumpo (@PapiTrumpo) November 27, 2023