Imagine you are a debate coach hired by either the Trump or Biden campaign (use your candidate for the Election Eve Projects). What debate strategies (from Denton et al Ch. 9) would you recommend your candidate follow? Which previous presidential candidates should they look to as examples of best debate practices that they should emulate? Which previous candidates made mistakes which they should learn from and avoid? Finally, what does your candidate need to do for their debate performance to help, and not hurt, their campaign?
With the First Presidential debate right around the corner, the strategies used by each candidate will become the determining factor in who “wins” the debate in the eyes of the American public. As a debate coach hired for the Biden campaign, I would recommend that Joe Biden follow Auer’s strategy that says “do not involve in direct confrontation”(Denton, 2020). This is vital for Joe Biden because his time in the debate should be spent vocalizing what he will do for America, rather than what Trump has failed to do. President Trump, known to be confrontational, will be better challenged without the use of direct confrontation. According to Tumulty, candidates like Trump “often stumble in their first debates because they arrived both overconfident and out of practice” (Tumulty, 2020). Along with this, Biden should follow Auer’s fifth vital aspect of a successful debate; “to gain an audience decision”(Denton, 2020). For someone like Biden whose major selling point in his campaign is simply that he is just “not trump”, it is important that Biden directs what he has to say about his plans and goals for the future to the viewers to gain attention despite the slim chance that the debate changes a swing voter's mind. Because several polls suggest people believe that Trump will walk all over Biden during this debate, it’s important that Biden also pays close attention to Auer’s suggestion about “equal and adequate time” during the debate (Denton, 2020). Though the debate is designed to award time to each candidate, it will be important for Joe Biden to hold his own and demand equal time to get his points across.
ReplyDeletePrevious presidential candidates serve as precedent for what to do or what not to do in a presidential debate. Specifically, the best candidates to look at and emulate are John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan. John F. Kennedy was focused on heavily compared to Nixon as a result of the choice to “wear makeup during the debate where Nixon refused” (Haltiwanger, 2020). In connection with this, the article from Business Insider explains how “debates are not simply about the substance, but also the presentation”(Haltiwanger, 2020). John F. Kennedy revolutionized the way that people viewed the importance and the power that professionalism and presentation of the candidate has on viewers, especially on television. Ronald Reagan also had a note-worthy performance in his 1980 debate with Jimmy Carter where he was “calm and reasonable” with a good “sense of humor”(Haltiwanger, 2020). Reagan also impressed viewers with his ability to deliver “zingers” that quickly shifted the conversation in the direction that he wanted them to be. On the other hand, candidates such as Al Gore in the 2000 debate and Bush in 1992. Al Gore was seen as not having the best performance after he tried tremendously to intimidate his opponent, resulting in a debate loss due to “mannerisms and the takeaway”(Haltiwanger, 2020). Bush, found himself in troubled waters after a question was asked and he “checked his watch” before answering the question. This small gesture ended up costing him the win because people thought he “came off as though he didn't care about or have time to listen to the concerns of regular Americans (Haltiwanger, 2020).
According to The National Interest, “47% of respondents predicted that Trump will win the presidential debate, while 41% said the same thing about Biden”(Buccino, 2020). With this being said, Biden is the underdog and has some major work to put in to prove the polls wrong. In order for the debate performance of Joe Biden to help his campaign rather than hurt it, he will have to highlight his strengths both using his time as vice president and also his expectations for his presidency.
ReplyDeleteUSA Today conducted interviews to discuss the upcoming debate where a registered democrat states that “Biden will win if he does a good job at fact checking Trump”(Groppe and Elbeshbishi, 2020). Preparation into what to say and how to say it will be crucial in Biden’s success as someone who notoriously has a hard time articulating through speech. Biden will hurt his campaign if he discusses too much about the past and not enough about the future, bashes the GOP, or is unable to be understood through his responses.
Works Cited
Haltiwanger, J. (2019, September 12). Presidential debates have always been political theater. Here are some of their most memorable moments. Retrieved September 20, 2020, from https://www.businessinsider.com/presidential-debates-memorable-moments-political-theater-2019-9
Maureen Groppe and Sarah Elbeshbishi, U. (2020, September 07). Exclusive: More Americans predict Trump will win the presidential debates than Biden, USA TODAY/Suffolk Poll shows. Retrieved September 20, 2020, from https://www.yahoo.com/news/exclusive-more-americans-predict-trump-090024826.html
Bucchino, R. (2020, September 14). 5 Things Joe Biden Can Do to Win the Presidential Debates. Retrieved September 20, 2020, from https://nationalinterest.org/blog/2020-election/5-things-joe-biden-can-do-win-presidential-debates-168911
Tumulty, K. (2020, June 26). Opinion | It's time to rethink the presidential debates. Retrieved September 20, 2020, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/its-time-to-rethink-the-presidential-debates/2020/06/25/d763e3e6-b6f7-11ea-a510-55bf26485c93_story.html
Denton, Robert E., et al. Political Campaign Communication: Principles and Practices. 9th
ed., Rowman & Littlefield, 2020.
Brianna Mejia 1/2
ReplyDeletePolitical debates are still some of the most important aspects of our election process. The challenge of opponents to a debate is almost ritualistic. Even during the pandemic, presidential debates between the last two candidates are greatly anticipated. If I were to be a debate coach hired for the Biden campaign, I would implement very specific strategies to be able to portray him in a positive light (although public speaking is not his strong suit). First, as mentioned in “Political Campaign Communication” written by Denton et al, I would have Biden practice his responses to common questions in settings similar to what the debate would look like. Since Biden is older and there are concerns of dementia or cognitive decline due to old age, having him practice and memorize answers would be the best thing for him. In addition to this, I think that it is important that Biden relates issues to an overall theme, this theme being a turning point and chaos in America (Denton et al, 233). Biden can take advantage of the fact there is quite literally chaos in almost every aspect of America, and he can relate his answers to why Trump is to blame and how he can fix this.
Although he is again a presidential candidate this year, the presidential candidates (more specifically Biden) should look to emulate what Trump did in his 2016 campaign. According to the article by Business Insider entitled “Presidential Debates Have Always Been Political Theater. Here are Some of Their Most Memorable Moments." by John Haltiwanger, Trump was more of an entertainer than a candidate with a deep take on the issues. However, this was a great tactic for trump to use and ultimately formed an image of a confident and poised public speaker. This is very similar to Ronald Regan, another actor who appeared “Calm and responsible” (Haltiwanger). Emulating these candidate’s cool and collected demeanor could be a huge advantage to Joe Biden who has been seen as frazzled and lost in some interviews.
One of the candidates that Biden should not emulate is Gerald Ford whose obvious blunder in the 1976 debates may not have directly caused him to lose the election, but it did severely damage his reputation (Haltiwanger). This is an obvious example of someone who did not prepare for the election and did not think before they spoke. According to the CNN article, “8 unforgettable presidential debate blunders” by Nia-Malika Henderson, Biden can learn a lot from his friend Barack Obama in the 2012 election debates in which Obama was outperformed. He spoke in run-on sentences and sounded tired, which led only 25% of viewers to believe that he won (Henderson). Biden should look to appear energized, charismatic, and witty if he wants to outperform Trump who has a background in acting and public speaking.
I think that if Biden is looking to improve his debate performance as well as his public image when it comes to public speaking, it is extremely important that he proactive not only his answers but his energy and speaking pace. Not only that, I think that to help his campaign, Biden also needs to reaffirm his support of social issues and movements without showing himself as a radical. It is also extremely important that he shows he is not the “sleepy Joe” or “slow joe” that he is painted out to be by his opponents and that he can run the country.
Brianna Mejia 2/2
DeleteSources
Denton, Robert E., Jr.. Political Campaign Communication (Communication, Media, and Politics) (p. 233). Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Haltiwanger, John. "Presidential Debates Have Always Been Political Theater. Here are Some of Their Most Memorable Moments," Business Insider 12 Sept. 2020.
Henderson, Nia-Malika. 8 Unforgettable Presidential Debate Blunders. 26 Sept. 2016, www.cnn.com/2016/09/26/politics/presidential-debate-mistakes-history/index.html.
Erin Fennell
ReplyDeleteFor President Trump's campaign, I would suggest that he follow the debate strategy of “Relating Issues to an overall theme” (Denton et. Al 234). Trump had used this strategy in his previous election, which is where the public first saw the theme of Make America Great Again. This was Trump's overarching message. He tied everything that he wanted to accomplish in his time as president into this idea that it would make America great. This election, Trump has built off that phrase and now ties his ideas into the theme Keep America Great. One past presidential candidate that used and succeeded with this strategy was John F. Kennedy. In his campaigns and debates he used the theme that “while the United States was a great nation, it could and should be greater" (Denton et. Al 234). This is a similar theme that Trump has used. This idea that America is great, but can be better, and that the ideas being put forth by the candidate will be what makes the country great again. It is a strong theme and can motivate people to believe in the candidates’ message.
One candidate who attempted this strategy, but did not fully succeed in the first debate, was President Obama. His theme was " [the economic policy of Bush/McCain] hasn’t worked. And I think the fundamentals of the economy have to be measured by whether or not the middle class is getting a fair shake” (Denton et. Al 234). According to the textbook, he failed because he was trying to do too much and answer questions and make promises that were too far into the future (Denton et. Al 235). The difference between the theme that Trump has decided to go with and the theme Obama tried to use is that Trumps doesn't focus on one factor, it focuses on an overarching desire to use his ideas to fix the country. Obama tried to pinpoint issues in the economy and past candidate’s ideas and build off of that.
With the addition of using the “overall theme” strategy for debates, the candidate also has to have a strong skill of public speaking and being able to command a room. This is one of Trump's strengths. While he is not always eloquent with his content, when he speaks people listen, whether they agree or not. This is why debates would be where he would shine in this election. The article by Maureen Groppe and Sarah Elbeshbishi, shows how a USA Today poll believes “47% predicted Trump will win the debates than the 41% who said Democratic candidate Joe Biden will” (Groppe and Elbeshbishi). However, an article by fox news discusses Biden's strong ability to debate, saying, “In reality, Biden is an experienced and talented debater. Anyone who saw him debate Mitt Romney’s vice-presidential running mate Paul Ryan in 2012 knows that” (Pudzer). The article also mentions a quote by Nancy Pelosi stating “Don’t tell anybody I told you this. Especially don’t tell Joe Biden. I don’t think that there should be any debates” (Pudzer). This year's debates should be interesting, since both Trump and Biden both have strengths when it comes to debates.
Works Cited
Denton, Robert E. "Debates in Political Campaigns." Political Campaign Communication, by Robert E. Denton et al., 9th ed., pp. 234-236.
Groppe, Maureen, and Sarah Elbeshbishi. "More Americans Predict Trump Will Win the Presidential Debates than Biden, USA TODAY/Suffolk Poll Shows." USA Today, 7 Sept. 2020, www.yahoo.com/news/exclusive-more-americans-predict-trump-090024826.html. Accessed 20 Sept. 2020.
Pudzer, Andy. "Trump vs. Biden in first debate — Here's why the president needs to really prepare." Fox News, 18 Sept. 2020, www.foxnews.com/opinion/trump-biden-first-debate-andy-puzder. Accessed 20 Sept. 2020.
Lille Gaeta
ReplyDeletePresidential debates are a cornerstone of presidential elections. As a debate coach for the Biden campaign, I would employ a number of debate strategies for Biden to follow as he faces Trump. First, before the debate, Biden needs to determine target audiences, such as his key voting blocs. The debates would be a really good time for Biden to appeal to the Black community to ensure they vote in November, he just needs to be cautious not to offend them, which is where the next strategy comes into play. Pre-debate Biden needs to devise and rehearse possible answers. There has been to many times during his campaign where Biden has had to bite his tongue because he said the wrong thing. The debate, especially when it is against the incumbent, is not the place for him to mess up. In the past, “some candidates have reviewed the speeches and tapes of their opponent’s past performances” (Denton et al., 231). This tactic would be incredibly beneficial to Biden in order to help pinpoint weakness’s in Trump’s debating and plan accordingly. During the debates, Biden should develop an image, a strategy recommended in “Political Campaign Communication” by Denton et al. Sometimes it is a challenge to figure out exactly what Biden stands for, so instead of just presenting himself as “not Trump” he should use the debates as a platform to really show voters who he is.
A previous presidential candidate that Biden should emulate is actually Trump in the 2016 election. Trump used a style over substance approach in 2016 debates which clearly helped him on Election Day. Instead of focusing so much on policy, Trump “tapped into his skill as an entertainer and focused more on making the audience laugh with insults and quips” (Haltiwanger). Biden needs to find a balance between being serious about his policies while also trying to be more likeable to appeal to the masses.
A previous candidate Biden should not emulate is Al Gore. During one of the debates in the 2000 presidential election, VP Al Gore adopted a very negative attitude towards Bush, and would berate him “with condescending, wonky attacks throughout the debate… as though Gore wanted to intimidate Bush” (Haltiwanger). Gore was also repeatedly sighing during the times Bush was speaking, and would get within inches of Bush when he was talking (Webley et al.). Biden has been condescending towards Trump in the past, avoiding these mistakes made by Gore is key to “winning” these debates.
Biden needs to appeal to more people as the right choice in order to help his campaign. He isn’t exactly the most likeable candidate, and there is a whole “settle for Biden” movement in place. Appealing to young voters, POC, and voters in the Rust Belt during these debates would greatly benefit his campaign. Talking about policy that directly affects those voters would be beneficial, as would making himself an advocate and an activist for those groups.
Sources
Denton, Robert E., et al. Political Campaign Communication: Principles and Practices. Rowman & Littlefield, 2020.
Haltiwanger, John. “Presidential Debates Have Always Been Political Theater. Here Are Some of Their Most Memorable Moments.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 12 Sept. 2019, www.businessinsider.com/presidential-debates-memorable-moments-political-theater- 2019-9#2000-george-w-bush-vs-al-gore-7.
Webley, Kayla, et al. “See the Top 10 Political Debate Flubs.” Time, Time USA, 14 Sept. 2016, time.com/4493402/see-the-top-10-political-debate-flubs/.
Jailynn Caraballo
ReplyDeleteAs the debate coach hired for the Biden campaign, my first step is to control the way voters see former Vice President Biden. I will make sure he comes across as liberal and well-educated. With Trump running on his honesty and “red blooded American” character, the best bet for Biden would be to establish himself as the exact opposite of Trump. Making sure that Biden’s voters see him as someone who has facts and has science on his side is very important. A specific strategy I would use from the book is located on page 220. On this page the book talks about appearing as the “vastly brighter, more fluent, more poised, more knowledgeable and better prepared”. The official quote is, “In 2016, across the three debates, Hillary Clinton spoke an average of forty-one minutes compared to Trump’s forty minutes. However, based upon percentages of time, Trump actually spoke an average of 46 percent to Clinton’s 40 percent.10 Political debates do typically meet the third criteria for debates. The contestants are closely matched. If one contestant is vastly brighter, more fluent, more poised, more knowledgeable, and better prepared, no real debate can take place. Typically, this is not the case in political debates, where both candidates must agree to debate and hence are probably able debaters, having merit enough to secure major party nominations to the office.” (Denton, page 220). By following this advice, Biden will be able to show the American people that he not only is well versed on what it takes to be the President, but that he is more equipped than President Trump.
The previous presidential candidate that VP Biden should emulate is President Obama. Obama and Biden had a lot of success running together. Many of Biden’s voters are left over from Obama’s presidency and are voting for him primarily because they liked the Obama - Biden ticket. These voters are hoping there will be similar results with the Biden – Harris ticket. This will help Biden with the young vote, the Black vote, the female vote and the Latino vote. Biden needs to focus on having a firm grasp and understanding on policy, just like former President Obama did.
The previous presidential candidate that VP Biden should try his hardest not to emulate is President Trump. President Trump does an amazing job at being energetic and charismatic while speaking publicly. Although Biden needs to do the same thing, he also needs to differentiate himself from Trump’s brand of charisma. By doing this, he should make sure to address his crowd at all times and to speak almost “freely” to the American people.
Finally, there have been many reports of Biden’s “tells”, or ways in which it is obvious that Biden is uncomfortable or not telling the truth. The best final way that I would be able to assist him in his debate would be to train him to not exhibit these “tells”. This would make him an all-around more affective debater and seem a lot more dependable to the American voter. “Biden has certain tells when he is not telling the truth, and those are things I have picked up in my review of his debates over the years,” said Jason Miller, a senior adviser to the campaign and one of the key advisers for Trump on the debates. “Biden has been debating for a half-century. He is very good. Part of the reason he is very good is that he gives the same answers over and over again to questions for the last 30 years. But he does have certain tells that he uses when he is not confident in his answer or trying to change the subject or make viewers forget what the actual question is” (Politico, Nancy Cook and Gabby Orr). Making sure that voters never doubt what he is saying will be key here. Voters are already skeptical of what Trump has to say, making sure that they wholeheartedly believe what Biden has to say is very important.
Works Cited:
DeleteCook, N., & Orr, G. (2020, September 04). Trump team plots how to bust Biden in the debates. Retrieved September 21, 2020, from https://www.politico.com/news/2020/09/04/trump-biden-presidential-debate-prep-408651
Denton, R. E., Trent, J. S., & Friedenberg, R. V. (2020). Political campaign communication: Principles and practices. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield.
Haltiwanger, J. (2019, September 12). Presidential debates have always been political theater. Here are some of their most memorable moments. Retrieved September 21, 2020, from https://www.businessinsider.com/presidential-debates-memorable-moments-political-theater-2019-9
Summer P (Part 1)
ReplyDeleteThe ultimate test for Democratic nominee Joe Biden will be his appearance in this year’s presidential debate, where he will face President Trump for the first time. As his debate coach, it is important that he sticks to his core values that will secure his spot as a representative for the Democratic Party; to do this, he must speak to specific voter blocs that are most likely to support him in the election. In Blog 2, we understood that Biden’s likely constituencies will be Black Americans (specifically Black women), the youth, and college-educated whites. His constituencies are relying on Biden to be calm, cool and collected, despite the President’s unique ability to incite anger due to his inflammatory rhetoric. According to an article featured in the Associated Press, it appears that Biden is prepared for this: “…Biden acknowledged that he expects the president to ‘say awful things about me and my family’ during the debate to try to get a rise out of him — and the debate is almost certain to feature clashes about the two candidates’ families, as such attacks have been central themes that have already played out on the campaign trail” (Jaffe). It is important for Biden to appeal to his voters as the more presidential candidate, who is reliable and fit for the position. This may be difficult for Biden due to his notorious criticism of his public speaking skills, as he is known to stutter and go off-script when flustered. The ninth chapter of Political Campaign Communication, the authors discuss key elements that are essential to a successful debate. One of the elements established in the text is matched contestants: “If one contestant is vastly brighter, more fluent, more poised, more knowledgeable, and better prepared, no real debate can take place” (Denton et al 220). These character traits are exactly what Biden needs to appear to possess.
Summer (Part 2)
DeleteSince President Trump has a tendency to speak on political issues without substantial policy suggestions or state false information, it is necessary for Biden to serve as the informative, comprehensive candidate to ultimately outshine Trump’s outlandishness.
By reviewing political debate history, Biden would be able to learn from both successful and unsuccessful presidential candidates as he prepares for his screen time. First, it would be beneficial to understand the mistakes of Al Gore in the 2000 presidential debate against President George W. Bush. According to Business Insider, “Gore berated Bush with condescending, wonky attacks throughout the debate…It seemed as though Gore wanted to intimidate Bush, but it didn't work. Bush looked at him and gave him a quick nod, which prompted laughter, and then continued his answer.” As Biden’s debate coach, this type of behavior may be anticipated due to his passionate rage against Trump, so it is imperative to prevent any type of petty or unwarranted type of attacks, regardless of how offensive Trump becomes. If Biden delivers strongly on policy but fails to remain respectful or resilient, he will very likely meet his defeat the way Gore did in the 2000 election. On the other hand, Biden would benefit from resembling the success of Michael Dukakis’s running-mate Lloyd Bentsen in the vice-presidential debate of 1988. When his opponent, Dan Quayle, attempted to compare himself to President John F. Kennedy, Bentsen utilized his experience and ability to work with other politicians to denounce his statement (Haltiwanger). Quayle’s sabotaging statement ultimately reflects predictable comments Trump may make, similar to when he compared himself to Abraham Lincoln when discussing his advocacy for the Black community. Biden’s long political record and experience will serve him in multiple instances: when questions about his physical health arise, when contested about his ability to pass legislation, and particularly when Trump attempts to categorize himself as a successful President.
If Biden prepares to take on the role of the confident, experienced, and reliable candidate, the audience will consider him favorable. It is important for Biden to dismiss any concerns expressed by potential voters and highlight the flaws of the Trump administration while focusing on his Democratic policies. If Biden is able to meet this criterion, his debate performance will be an ultimate success and serve as his leeway into the Oval Office.
Summer Part 3
DeleteWorks Cited
Denton, Robert E., Judith S. Trent, and Robert V. Friedenberg. Political Campaign Communication: Principles and Practice, 9th ed. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2020.
Jaffe, Alexandra. “Biden: 'I Hope I Don't Take the Bait' in Debate with Trump.” AP NEWS, Associated Press, 10 Sept. 2020, apnews.com/237da8b1fe7126ea00efc028d08e51a1.
Haltiwanger, John. “Presidential Debates Have Always Been Political Theater. Here Are Some of Their Most Memorable Moments.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 12 Sept. 2019, www.businessinsider.com/presidential-debates-memorable-moments-political-theater-2019-9.
Preparation. It is crucial when mastering the execution of any practice. Countless hours are spent perfecting your craft so that when it comes time to perform, you are groomed for success. With the Presidential debates on the horizon, it is no doubt that each candidate is making great efforts to defend their political platforms and showcase why debates continue to be “the best way to communicate candidate positions and differences to the public” (McKinney, 2020) with conviction and pride. Joe Biden, who was slow to start with public appearances which some would consider a disadvantage, is up for quite the challenge with Donald Trump who is known for his brash delivery and has experience as the incumbent. However, with the right formula of strategies and a keen awareness of his predecessors, Biden has the opportunity to outshine the star of the show, Trump.
ReplyDeleteWith about 47 years in politics, Biden has solidified his image as the likeable, good guy. His universal theme of bringing the country together by using a kinder, gentler approach displays “the effort of a candidate to personify a definite role.” (Denton, 238). His charisma and genuine nature allow for a more relatable relationship with the public in which they feel more connected and heard by their Presidential candidate. Biden would also benefit heavily in the debate from devising and rehearsing possible answers. (Denton, 230). Known for his infamous “if you ain’t black” statement heard round the world, it is important that he stays on script and anticipates what Trump will say so that Biden is able to debunk his statements. Stay in the middle of the road, do not get too specific, keep things broad are a few of the tactics that would assist Biden while still driving home the points of his platform that make him a better candidate.
While Biden’s allure gives him an advantage, his mature age has been a running joke during the 2020 campaign. Trump has made comments regarding his capacity to remember information and mental abilities which have caused concern that Biden’s age could pose as a problem. Ronald Reagan faced a similar issue during his 1984 debate against Walter Mondale when the moderator asked if his age was going to be an issue, however “used his charm to his advantage once again and went on to win the election”. (Haltiwanger, 2019). This technique could also be supported by emulating Hilary Clinton’s 2016 motto which was when they go low, we go higher. Biden should steer clear from making promises that he is not positive he can keep to the American public. In 1988, George Bush Sr. made the grandiose statement “read my lips, no new taxes” which undoubtedly assisted in his win, but later was retracted by the need to implement new taxes due to a recession. Biden should also refrain from repeating his talking points too often. Marco Rubio who was running as the Independent candidate in 2016 was patronized after regurgitating the same point a few times over.
Some pointers for Biden as he heads into the debate. What the American voters crave is authenticity; look into the camera like you are talking to an individual one on one and gain their trust. Work on follow through or a plan. With the response to the pandemic being a top issue, Biden has focused how it was handled poorly by the Trump administration but has not been clear on what he will do differently. His critics claim that everything on his plan for the pandemic is already being done by Trump. Historically, this is an area in which Biden struggles. Trump, who recently stated that he assumes Biden is “going to do great” at his first Presidential debate will surely bring up the fact that “he’s been there a long time, why hasn’t he done all the stuff he said he was going to do?” (Kaplan, 2020) referring to his time as Vice President with Barack Obama for eight years. And Biden is going to need a solid answer. Biden needs to prepare, study his opponent, and stick to the script to avoid putting his foot in his mouth. Any moment during a debate could prove pivotal so it is critical that Biden remains defensive and sharp while embodying warmth and validity.
DeleteWorks Cited
Haltiwanger, John. "Presidential debates have always been political theater. Here are some of their most memorable moments." 12 September 2019. https://www.businessinsider.com/presidential-debates-memorable-moments-political-theater-2019-9. website. September 19 2020.
Kaplan, Talia. "Trump says he assumes Biden's "going to do great: at first presidential debate ." 21 September 2020. https://www.foxnews.com/politics/president-trump-biden-first-presidential-debate. website. 2020 September 21.
McKinney, Diana B. Carlin and Mitchell S. "Why America needs presidential debates now more than ever." 17 September 2020. www.cnn.com/2020/09/17/opinions/presidential-debates-importance-carlin-mckinney/index.html. website. 19 September 2020.
Robert E. Denton, Jr., Judith S. Trent, Robert V. Friedenberg. Political Campaign Communication Principles & Practices, 9th Edition . Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2020. Kindle.
Camryn Newcomb – Blog 4
ReplyDeletePresidential debates have always proved important. You get to see side by side how the candidates will choose to handle specific issues relevant to the country at the time. Candidates have the opportunity to show the American voters who are watching how they can think fast to answer questions within the allotted time, their knowledge on what is going on not only in the country, but in the world, and how presidential they can speak/act. Sometimes candidates will rely on their showmanship rather than their knowledge and vice versa.
If I were President Donald Trump’s campaign coach for the upcoming presidential debate against the Democratic nominee Joe Biden, I would advise him to follow the strategy of developing an image. In order to do this, he would have to integrate “the development of a leadership style, personification, and identification” into what he says and bring up actions, initiatives, and his effect on events (Denton 236). Trump can then continue to put forth the image of an activist leadership style where he will talk about what he has done in his first term as Commander in Chief and what he will continue to do if re-elected. Moreover, this is a good time to come off as confident, competent and strong. Personifying Donald Trump is important, because he is not a career politician which is something that a lot of people like the idea of. In 2016 during the presidential debates against Hillary Clinton, Trump used style over substance. He “tapped into his skills as an entertainer and focused more on making the audience laugh with insults and quips than offering in-depth takes on issues” (Haltiwanger). In 2012, President Obama and Mitt Romney portrayed themselves as economic experts that could help lead the country out of a poor economy. With the recent events of COVID-19, Donald Trump needs to continue to paint himself as a successful businessman who can guide the American people through a global pandemic.
Trump and Biden are both on the older side, Trump being 74 and Biden being 77. Therefore, the matter of competency comes into play. Trump should look to the debate between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon in 1960, which was the first televised debate. Kennedy wore makeup whereas Nixon did not. On television, Kennedy looked youthful and energetic, and Nixon looked sweaty and nervous (Haltiwanger). Kennedy lacked the experience and foreign policy knowledge that Nixon had, and made up for it with charisma to the audience watching from home. During the debates, “Nixon looked off to the side to address the various reporters, which came across as shifting his gaze to avoid eye contact with the public” (History). For these reasons, Trump should try to emulate Kennedy in the showmanship aspect that Biden lacks. This can make up for his lack of political experience that Biden has.
Denton, Robert E., Judith S. Trent, and Robert V. Friedenberg. Political Campaign Communication: Principles and Practice, 9th ed. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2020
DeleteHaltiwanger, John. Presidential Debates Have Always Been Political Theater. Here Are Some of Their Most Memorable Moments. 12 Sept. 2019, www.businessinsider.com/presidential debates-memorable-moments-political-theater-2019-9.
History.com Editors. “The Kennedy-Nixon Debates.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 21 Sept. 2010, www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/kennedy-nixon-debates.
Jessica Bischer
ReplyDeleteAs Joe Biden's debate coach, I would begin by suggesting pre-debate strategies to help prepare for the coming months. A commonly used practice before debates is to lower the audience's expectations of a nominee's debate performance (Denton 227). Thankfully, for the Biden campaign, they don't need to put in much effort, as Donald Trump aids this idea already with constant slander of Biden's physical and mental health. A USA Today poll shows that independents, an important target audience for both candidates, believe Trump will be the victor by a 10% margin (Groppe). If Biden delivers an average or perhaps, above average, debate performance, he will have defied the general expectations. A second pre-debate suggestion I would make is one that Biden's former partner in office, Barack Obama, and many other previous nominees have utilized (Denton 231). Building a replica of the debate stages can be beneficial for Biden to feel more comfortable on the debate stage. The knowledge and layout of where the moderator, media, and opponent will be can create an aura of confidence and belonging, a few characteristics Biden may want to boost.
The final pre-debate strategy I would implement for Biden seems obvious, but to past nominees was not; practice. In 2012, President Obama did not keep it a secret from the public that he dreaded practicing for debates (Denton 233). This would prove detrimental after the first face-off with Governor Mitt Romney. Obama did an overwhelming poor job and saw an enormous loss in independent voter support after that first debate night (Denton 229).
President Obama had already thrown his pre-debate preparations out the window, but what did he do on that very night that caused such negative backlash? By isolating the previous president's mistakes, Biden can learn what not to do and possibly pick up strategies from Governor Romney in taking on an incumbent nominee.
One of the debate tactics Biden can utilize against Trump is focusing his theme around the current president's record with COVID response. Mitt Romney themed his first debate around Obama's failure to the economy in the prior four years, implying re-election would create another four years of failed policies (Denton 236). Currently, the majority of Americans are unhappy with the president's actions regarding the virus and Biden can hold Trump accountable for that. It may be wise for Biden to focus the second debate around the president's ignorance towards violence in America, covering both police brutality and violent crime in urban areas. I believe it will be a vital strategy to attempt to hold Trump accountable on the debate stage, where there will be no place to shift the blame.
Biden should also present an image of confidence and composure in comparison with the unconventional, slandering Trump. However, he will be warned not to be too confident as to come off cocky or uninterested as Obama did in 2012 (Reston). I would instruct him to attempt to squash any behavior that might tie him to "Sleepy Joe", Trump's well-known nickname for Biden. Audiences are expecting Trump to overpower Biden with his strong personality and attack strategies (Groppe). Biden must approach the debate stage with an image as an unfaltering, fearless nominee that could take his place in the oval office tomorrow if need be.
Jessica Bischer cont.
DeleteWorks Cited
Denton, Robert E., and Judith S. Trent. Political Campaign Communication in the 2016 Presidential Election: an Update to the Eigth Edition of Political Campaign Communication. Rowman & Littlefield, 2018.
Groppe , Maureen, and Sarah Elbeshbishi. “Exclusive: More Americans Predict Trump Will Win the Presidential Debates than Biden, USA TODAY/Suffolk Poll Shows.” Yahoo! News, Yahoo!, 7 Sept. 2020, www.yahoo.com/news/exclusive-more-americans-predict-trump-090024826.html.
Reston, Maeve. “When Romney Trounced Obama.” CNN, Cable News Network, 26 Sept. 2016, www.cnn.com/2016/09/25/politics/obama-debate-election-2012/index.html.
The public already has mixed views about Biden, as well as Trump, however boosting up Trump’s public speaking “talents” would be beneficial for Biden’s debate strategy. Much like Obama did for McCain, by hyping up how McCain was a “master of town hall format” (Denton) Obama was able to higher the expectation of McCain, thus lowering his own in a safe way. I think this strategy would do swimmingly for the Biden campaign because Biden could even do it in an underhanded way to trash-talk about these rallies Trump is still holding amidst a pandemic. Biden’s team can say how great of an orator Trump has been at these outdoor gatherings that he’s going to perform so well at the debates. This would take some pressure off of an already not much of a speaker with a presence Biden. Trump appears to be thinking the same way, having called Biden a “professional and that he can debate”. Trump also seems to be studying Biden hoping to catch him slipping(Kaplan). Trump is trying to hype his opponent up only hoping Biden will underperform at the debate. Trump’s words should come as a shock because he was the first to shoot down Biden after the primaries, claiming “Pocahontas just destroyed him” referring to Sen. Warren, and even said he was surprised Biden chose Harris as his running mate because of how “horrible” she treated Biden (Kaplan). I would also advise to rehearse as much as possible and devise possible answers. I think getting comfortable with some questions in the beginning and then diving into a hot-water setting like the debate beforehand would really benefit Biden and make him more comfortable on the debate stage. I might even suggest going as far as Obama did and building a replica stage in order to really be able to utilize the security of knowing his surroundings (Denton).
ReplyDeleteFlaherty cont.
DeleteBecause we know Trump probably won’t prepare for the debate much like he didn’t in 2016, I think Biden needs to do as much as he sees fit in order to be comfortable up there to be able to go toe-to-toe with Trump’s potential attacks. Also, I believe Biden could benefit from using ads to underscore debate themes after the debate in order to hone in on the major theme or points that were important even to reach some voters who might’ve missed it during watching the debate. Youtube would be a good place for these ads for the best moments to even be before whatever video is trending the week following the debate (Denton). Instagram might also be a good place to scatter some blips of iconic moments during the debate to be turned into a meme and gain a following. Biden should take one from Kennedy and try to look the part better than his Nixon (Trump), Trump’s already got the negative public opinion for being orange and sweaty on television- so if Biden can make it through without sweating profusely and keeping his cool Joe looks it would be a win. Biden should also follow in Reagan’s footsteps and try with zingers in order to defeat Trump’s points. Zingers could help Biden’s image of being almost a cool grandpa. But on that note, Biden absolutely should not come off like Gore in 2000. We do not want any “condescending wonky attacks” (Haltiwanger). Biden’s gestures are almost as important as his words in the debate he needs to ensure he doesn’t look like “he didn’t care about or have time to listen to the concerns of regular Americans” (Haltiwanger) like Bush appeared.
Denton, Robert E., Judith S. Trent, and Robert V. Friedenberg. Political Campaign Communication: Principles and Practice, 9 th ed. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2020.
Haltiwanger, John. "Presidential Debates Have Always Been Political Theater. Here are Some of Their Most Memorable Moments," Business Insider 12 Sept. 2020.
Kaplan, Talia. “Trump Says He Assumes Biden's 'Going to Do Great' at First Presidential Debate.” Fox News, FOX News Network, 21 Sept. 2020, www.foxnews.com/politics/president-trump-biden-first-presidential-debate.
In this unique election year, it will be interesting to witness the impact of the presidential debates on both the candidates and the American public. While Pew Research Center reports that only 10% of voters decided which candidate to vote for “during or just after the debates” in 2016, this year’s tight race means that even small pushes can have significant effects (Groppe and Elbeshbishi). If I were to provide guidance to Biden prior to the debates, I would advise him to use the strategy of “relating issues to an overall theme,” since “most successful political debaters have been able to integrate the specific issues [of political debates] into an overall framework” (Denton et al. 234). President Obama used this strategy in the 2008 debates against John McCain, which not only strengthened his messages, but also his attacks against his opponent. However, this strategy will not only make Biden an effective debater, but will also make him come across as an effective leader. In such difficult times, Americans need a President with clear and strong plans to unite people and work toward solutions for the country’s pressing issues. Biden can communicate that he is ready to take on this role by giving coherent, organized, and focused answers to questions posed in the debates.
ReplyDeleteAccording to a recent poll, more people believe Trump will perform better at the debates than Biden (Groppe and Elbeshbishi). As Biden has had some trouble with public speaking in the past, it would be helpful if he arrived at the debates with a framework in place to help him stay on track when answering questions. In addition, Trump is good at shifting the conversation from policy to personality. If he begins to make jabs at “Sleepy Joe”and his health, it will be beneficial for Biden to have a theme to keep him on track. Trump will likely enter the debates with a self-assured attitude, as “sitting presidents — among them, Jimmy Carter in 1980, Ronald Reagan in 1984 and Barack Obama in 2012 — often stumble in their first debates because they arrived both overconfident and out of practice” (Tumulty). If Trump exhibits this behavior, which I’m almost certain he will, Biden should take advantage of it. He should also avoid overconfidence himself, as he has learned that being liked by many when he was Vice President isn’t enough to win him the election. Finally, I would advise Biden to take Trump seriously and avoid making the mistake Al Gore did when he rolled his eyes and sighed as Bush was delivering his answers (Zelizer et al.). No matter how frustrating or immature his opponent gets, Biden must maintain his professionalism, as Trump will look for any opportunity to tear him down and insult his character.
When the debates begin, Biden needs to have a solid idea about which key voting blocs he will be speaking to. He needs to be ready to discuss attainable plans to help these groups and show Americans that he is ready to follow through on his campaign promises. He needs to be sensitive and respectful – no more disrespectful remarks toward Black people. Overall, he needs to give people a reason to vote. While he can’t count on the debates to make current Trump supporters change their minds, he can give the currently undecided or unmotivated Americans a strong enough reason to vote for him instead of Trump. If Biden can win over some swing voters or increase the GOTV rate for this election, I think the debates could give him the bump he needs to win this election.
Denton, Robert E., et al. Political Campaign Communication: Principles and Practices. Rowman & Littlefield, 2020.
DeleteGroppe, Maureen, and Sarah Elbeshbishi. “More Americans Predict Trump Will Win the Presidential Debates than Biden, USA TODAY/Suffolk Poll Shows.” Yahoo! News, Yahoo!, 7 Sept. 2020, www.yahoo.com/news/exclusive-more-americans-predict-trump-090024826.html.
Tumulty, Karen. “It's Time to Rethink the Presidential Debates.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 26 June 2020, www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/its-time-to-rethink-the-presidential-debates/2020/06/25/d763e3e6-b6f7-11ea-a510-55bf26485c93_story.html.
Zelizer, Julian E., et al. “The 8 Biggest Unforced Errors in Debate History.” POLITICO Magazine, 24 Sept. 2016, www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/09/presidential-debates-errors-mistakes-gaffes-biggest-history-214279.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteXavier Cullen
ReplyDeleteWorking for the Trump/Pence campaign, we need to be clear that policy isn’t what’s going to win these debates or the election. It’s all about making memorable moments, getting the crowd on your side and not appearing like some bland politician. Policy wonks like Jimmy Carter and Al Gore tried attacking their opponents on what specific things they support and are opposed to, but Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush showed that if you have the right demeanor and charisma, you can avoid all that. In Reagan’s debates with Carter in 1980, Reagan “showed that delivering a quick zinger in a debate could quickly shift the conversation away from policy and devastate an opponent” (Haltiwanger) after he responded to hard policy questions with one liners and crowd-pleasing jokes. This worked extremely well for Reagan, who would go on to be a two-term president.
If Trump wants to be like Reagan and last another 4 years, he needs to stick to his guns and continue with his no-holds-barred approach to debates where he doesn’t censor himself or what he thinks, and goes hard against his opponents with personal insults or quick zingers. “The second image strategy that lends itself to political debating is personification, the effort of the candidate to personify a definite role. For example, the can-didate may work to be perceived as a nice guy, an efficient manager, or a strong leader” (Denton Jr, 238). Trump’s image can be seen as an honest, no-nonsense type of leader who doesn’t care what establishment politicians think of him — he’s his own man.
That worked really well in 2016, and should definitely be a central point during the debates, but Trump also needs to regain the trust of a lot of voters who are worried that this type of leadership (or lack thereof) was a major reason for the poor coronavirus response that lead to the COVID-19 pandemic worsening in the USA and not allowing Americans to live a normal life again, with over half the country thinking he misled the country in February and March over the severity of the pandemic (Edwards-Levy). He certainly needs to tone back some of his rhetoric at times to level with the people and show them that he can still be a calm and cool leader that will help them through hard times.
Sources:
Haltiwanger, John. “Presidential Debates Have Always Been Political Theater. Here Are Some of Their Most Memorable Moments.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 12 Sept. 2019, www.businessinsider.com/presidential-debates-memorable-moments-political-theater-2019-9.
Edwards-Levy, Ariel. “Poll: Few Americans Back Trump's Decision To 'Play Down' Coronavirus.” HuffPost, HuffPost, 21 Sept. 2020, www.huffpost.com/entry/poll-trump-play-down-coronavirus_n_5f6522cbc5b6de79b674b5d4.
“Debates in Political Campaigns.” Political Campaign Communication: Principles and Practices, by Robert E. Denton et al., Rowman & Littlefield, 2020, pp. 218–261.
Harriet Rice
ReplyDeleteDebate strategies are extremely crucial for candidates, especially during these uncertain times. Debates can be determined before it even takes place, during the debate, or after it is held. (Denton 227). Therefore, Biden must prepare before walking into the debate. The public will enter the debate with their own expectations for the candidate’s performance. A beneficial strategy is generating a low expectation from viewers. Doing this may lead to perceived victory for the candidate. Another key step for Biden is to target his audience. Debates draw the largest audiences therefore this may be the first time some individuals are introduced to Biden. Keeping to his key audiences during his campaign will show consistency.
It is recorded that a “greater share 47% predicted Trump will win the debates than the 41% who said Joe Biden will” (Groppe, Elbeshbishi). Looking at these predictions it is important the Biden chooses the right strategies to lead him to victory. Looking at the Denton strategies I suggest that Biden uses the “relating issues to an overall theme”(Denton 233) strategy for his debate. Responding to questions during the debate can be overwhelming for viewers and may lead to confusion in the values and concerns the candidate is willing to tackle. I think sticking to an overall theme helps keep the candidate and viewers more organized. Firstly, Biden will need to present his overall theme in his introduction. This will need to continue in the debate to do so Biden must make statements that reinforce or somewhat connect to his theme.
Obama followed this strategy in his 2008 debate (Denton 234). His theme focused on the middle class and getting “a fair shake” (Denton 234). With this theme, he constantly talked both to and about the “middle class”, “the folks”, “ordinary Americans”. Doing so suggested that his opponent Bush and McCain only cared about the “wall street folks” (Denton 234). Obama was also used theme in his 2012 campaign with the theme that the future would be better under him (Denton 234). He did so by using the first and closing statements to develop the overall theme (Denton 234).
Biden has voiced his concern over the debate with Trump. He said, “I hope I don’t take the bait” (Jaffe). Biden is worried he will fall into a brawl during the debate which is what Trump wants (Jaffe). To avoid this, following the theme I suggested would greatly benefit Biden stay on track and be the “fact-checker” he plans to be on stage (Jaffe). Biden needs to focus on the policies he plans to implement rather than let Trump bully him on the stage. However, Biden has voiced “I know how to handle bullies” (Jaffe). Given that Biden was a successful VP for Obama it would be in his best interest to get advice for following the theme strategy that Obama followed in his past. It is important to point out Obama was not fully successful in his overarching theme the first debate (Denton 235). However, this could be useful to Biden. Obama focused too much on defending himself and indicating that his opponent Romney was disinterested in the lower and middle class. As Biden knows Trump may verbally attack him take Obama's experience and don’t focus on that. Defend yourself but not in a way that overtakes the debate. Point out Biden's accomplishments and focus on what he plans on bringing. Ending the debate and relating to the overall theme will indicate a strong organized leader that does not need to bring down others to shine.
Works Cited
DeleteDenton, Robert E., Judith S. Trent, and Robert V. Friedenberg. Political Campaign Communication: Principles and Practice, 9th ed. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2020.
Groppe, Maureen and Sarah Elbeshbishi, "More Americans Predict Trump Will Win the Presidential Debates than Biden," USA Today 6 Sept. 2020.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/exclusive-more-americans-predict-trump-090024826.html
Jaffe, A. (2020, September 10). Biden: 'I hope I don't take the bait' in debate with Trump. Retrieved September 21, 2020, from https://apnews.com/237da8b1fe7126ea00efc028d08e51a1
I would recommend that Vice President Joe Biden follow 2 particular debate strategies. The first being “Developing an Image.” An image is very important for a presidential candidate, “the principal image strategies that can be utilized in political debating include the development of a leadership style, personification, and identification.” (Denton, 236). In other words, a candidate needs to create an associated look for themselves and it must be one that is definitive. In addition, there are different types of images: a bold image, a quiet image, etc. I believe Biden should follow an activist image, “In a debate, activities consistently refer to their actions, their initiatives, and their effect on events. Passive leaders are cautions. They do not speak of their initiatives, but rather portray themselves as reacting to events.” (Denton, 236). In other words, the activist does not sit by and let things happen. The activist is creating and being proactive. I do not think Biden should be reacting. At this moment in time with the COVID-19 pandemic, the Black Lives Matter movement and economic issues, Biden must be acting on them. He cannot just react to Trump’s failures. He must show the country how he can fix those failures and more. That leads me to the second debate strategy Biden should follow which is “Relating Issues to an Overall Theme.” It is important to highlight the issues at the moment with so much chaos going on, “Skilled political debaters will first present their overall theme in the introductory statement, if the opportunity to make such a statement is allowed in the debate format being used. Then they will reinforce it with answers to as many specific questions as possible. Finally, they will return to it in their concluding statement” (Denton 234). In other words, Biden should be focusing on issues at the moment and continuously bringing them up, reminding people watching what Trump has failed to do during his time as President.
ReplyDeleteI think an important presidential candidate debate to look at for Biden is the 1960 debate between President Kennedy and President Nixon. Kennedy would go on to win the 1960 election and “Kennedy’s performance in the first debate changed the history of presidential elections and candidates began to recognize the power of television and importance of appearance” (Haltiwanger). In other words, this debate is an important example of how image helped Kennedy in the election. Kennedy was able to create an image that appealed to voters. Biden must do the same. Trump is, ultimately, a celebrity and he knows how to put on a show and Biden must also keep up with it. Biden cannot appear as some serious politician; he needs to be able to play against Trumps antics. He needs to appear strong and bold against Trump.
A previous presidential candidate that made a few mistakes that Biden can learn from is 1988 Democratic Presidential Nominee Michael Dukakis. During one of the debates in 1988, Dukakis was asked about if his wife were raped and murdered, would he favor the death penalty for the killer/rapist. Dukakis messed up his answer by taking a serious approach, “it was an easy opportunity for Michael Dukakis, the Democratic governor of Massachusetts, to sound human. But he whiffed and discussed his ironclad opposition to the death penalty”...”What he didn’t do in his two-minute response is talk about his wife, Kitty” (Henderson). Biden cannot do anything like this under any circumstances. Biden must sound fun and exciting and not serious and boring. No one wants to vote for someone who is serious and boring. He needs to be bold and exciting.
For the debate to help, and not hurt, Biden must play against President Trump’s antics. He must be bold and exciting while also playing firmly against Trump. He needs to throw in a few one-liners. He needs to be charismatic. He needs to remain cool and collected and let Trump appear deranged. He must continuously remind voters of the failures of the Trump administration.
Tim Powers
DeleteWorks Cited:
Denton Jr., Robert E., et al. “Political Campaign Communication: Principals & Practices.” Rowman & Littlefield, 2020. Pp. 35.
Haltiwanger, J. (2019, September 12). Presidential debates have always been political theater. Here are some of their most memorable moments. Retrieved September 21, 2020, from https://www.businessinsider.com/presidential-debates-memorable-moments-political-theater-2019-9
Henderson, N. (2016, September 26). 8 unforgettable presidential debate blunders. Retrieved September 21, 2020, from https://www.cnn.com/2016/09/26/politics/presidential-debate-mistakes-history/index.html
ReplyDeleteTim Powers
Works Cited:
Denton Jr., Robert E., et al. “Political Campaign Communication: Principals & Practices.” Rowman & Littlefield, 2020. Pp. 35.
Haltiwanger, J. (2019, September 12). Presidential debates have always been political theater. Here are some of their most memorable moments. Retrieved September 21, 2020, from https://www.businessinsider.com/presidential-debates-memorable-moments-political-theater-2019-9
Henderson, N. (2016, September 26). 8 unforgettable presidential debate blunders. Retrieved September 21, 2020, from https://www.cnn.com/2016/09/26/politics/presidential-debate-mistakes-history/index.html
Nicholas Ciampanelli
ReplyDeleteAs the first 2020 presidential debate approaches, the Biden campaign must address the candidate’s primary fault: public speaking. This disadvantage is acknowledged within the campaign, for Biden has “held just… three press conferences in 165 days” since claiming the Democratic Nomination, Joe Concha writes in his article “Christie Says People Shouldn't Bet on Strong Biden Debate Performance.” These infrequent public appearances prompted Chris Christie, the former Governor of New Jersey, to state that as Biden “‘continues to do less and less and less [in the public eye]… it’s going to increase the importance of… [the] debates tenfold’” (Concha). Given this greater importance upon Biden’s debate performance, the campaign must develop his public speaking ability or run the gamut of a political blunder on the debate stage. Therefore, Biden’s campaign ought to employ the debate strategy of developing and projecting his image. This strategy would be most beneficial due to occasional changes in Biden’s messaging and branding. A slogan used early in the campaign was to restore the “Soul of the Nation;” although this slogan was slowly abandoned, reviving this image may prove fruitful for the Biden campaign due to its clear message and theme to elect a moderate, bipartisan candidate to the Oval Office. Therefore, reviving this branding and image during the debate can be a key component to convey an image of Biden as a viable candidate with a clear “leadership style, personification, and identification" on the debate stage (Denton et al, 236). This strategy will allow Biden to outshine President Trump on the debate stage and express his focal mission of honoring American traditions and societal progressivism; to restore the Soul of the Nation.
Despite these strategies, Biden must learn from the mistakes and successes of former presidential candidates and debates. The 1980 presidential debate is a primary example for his campaign, for John Haltiwanger writes in “Presidential Debates Have Always Been Political Theater. Here Are some of Their Most Memorable Moments” that President Jimmy Carter “delivered a lengthy and intricate monologue on health care… Reagan looked at him with a smile and said, ‘There you go again.’” This simple comment usurped the complexity of President Carter’s statement and conveyed Reagan as “‘calm and reasonable’” in comparison to President Carter’s serious and rigid demeanor (Haltiwanger). Biden is likely to have a similar experience on the debate stage due to his policy-driven platform conflicting with President Trump’s use of (crude) humor against his opposition; one such criticism is targeted at Biden’s age (77) and questioning his fitness for office. Biden’s debate performance can be hinged upon his response to this comment, and his campaign ought to reference the 1984 presidential debate to prepare potential responses. In 1984, Ronald Reagan was 76 years old, prompting the moderator to ask Reagan “about whether his age could be an issue, [to which] he replied, ‘I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent’s youth and inexperience,’” which was a beloved comment by the audience and his opponent alike (Haltiwanger). By leveraging these debates case studies, the Biden campaign can manipulate his debate performance to be both witty in-response to attacks and serious about policy concerns.
Lastly, to ensure Biden does not blunder on the debate stage, the campaign must develop messaging about the “Soul of the Nation” directed at specific demographics: women, POC, and blue-collar voters. These key voting blocs are also being targeted by the Trump campaign due to their influence in dictating the outcome of elections in swing states, so countering these efforts on the debate stage to garner their support is essential to boost his performance and bump his support following the debate.
Works Cited
DeleteConcha, Joe. “Christie Says People Shouldn't Bet on Strong Biden Debate Performance.” The Hill, The Hill, 14 Sept. 2020, thehill.com/homenews/media/516275-christie-says-people-shouldnt-bet-on-strong-biden-debate-performance.
Denton, Robert E., et al. Political Campaign Communication: Principles and Practices. 9th ed., Rowman & Littlefield, 2020.
Haltiwanger, John. Presidential Debates Have Always Been Political Theater. Here Are Some of Their Most Memorable Moments. 12 Sept. 2019, www.businessinsider.com/presidential-debates-memorable-moments-political-theater-2019-9.
Mariam Shawish (1/2)
ReplyDeletePresidential debates are one of the most vital parts of any election, even during a pandemic, they are one of the most sought-after events of the election cycle. If I were hired as Trump’s debate coach, I would suggest that he would start off by Devising and Rehearsing Possible Answers. President Trump is known to go off script and end up just ranting on the most random topics. With that being said, I think that he definitely needs to “work out answers to possible questions and practice them” (Denton 231). In order to stay on track and keep the attention of his targeted audience, President Trump needs to come up with answers for the possible questions he could get asked and “practice the answers in a situation as similar to the real one as possible” (Denton 231). During the debates, I recommend that Trump work on Relating Issues to an Overall Theme. During the debates, the candidates will both get asked so many different questions with varying topics, therefore, President Trump needs to relate all his questions back to “Keeping America Great Again”. Ideally, Trump would “first present their overall theme in the introductory statement… then he will reinforce it with answers to as many specific questions as possible” (Denton 234). In order to keep his audience on track, and to gain the momentum he needs for election day, President Trump needs to work on practicing sample questions, and then relating this to his overall theme.
One presidential debate that I believe President Trump should attempt to emulate is the 1980 Reagan V. Carter debate. Prior to the debate, the American people had “deep concerns about Reagan’s experience and temperament” (Howard), which is no different about how the American people feel about President Trump. With that being said, President Reagan was able to “sufficiently convince the American voters that he was up for the job” (NBC). I would recommend that president Trump definitely follow in the footsteps of Reagan because he needs to not only gain the confidence of the American people, but also needs to ease the public’s concern regarding his temperament.
A president that I would not recommend for Trump to look after is former President Obama in the 2012 debate against Mitt Romney. President Obama failed to relate his answers to an overarching theme. According to the book, “Obama had trouble developing an overarching theme in the first debate because he was attempting to do too much” (Denton 235). Essentially, Obama tried to achieve too much in a little amount of time, which made him arguments confusing and hard to follow for audiences. As Trump’s debate coach I would definitely be mindful of the fact that he does like to “do too much” and work to avoid that and to stick to a theme.
Mariam Shawish (2/2)
DeleteAccording to different polls taken across the nation, “47% – predicted Trump will win the debates than the 41% who said Democratic candidate Joe Biden will” (Groppe and Elbeshbishi). In order to keep that momentum up, President Trump needs to stay focused on an overarching theme, like is said earlier, and not vary off topic. This is because President Trump does have the tendency to go completely off topic which results in him not only losing the crowd, but he gives the news cycles too many sound bites. President Trump is constantly in the eye of the media, and they are always finding ways to take his sound bites out of context. In order to help not only his performance but to avoid being the topic of conversation, President Trump needs to stay on the right track.
Works Cited
“Chapter 9.” Political Campaign Communication: Principles and Practices, by Robert E. Denton et al., Rowman & Littlefield, 2020, pp. 231–235.
Howard, Adam. “10 Presidential Debates That Actually Made an Impact.” NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, 7 Feb. 2017, www.nbcnews.com/storyline/2016-presidential-debates/10-presidential-debates-made-impact-n650741.
Maureen Groppe and Sarah Elbeshbishi, USA TODAY. “Exclusive: More Americans Predict Trump Will Win the Presidential Debates than Biden, USA TODAY/Suffolk Poll Shows.” Yahoo! News, Yahoo!, 7 Sept. 2020, www.yahoo.com/news/exclusive-more-americans-predict-trump-090024826.html.
Matt Gallo
ReplyDeleteEvery four years the country is able to enjoy one of the most anticipated events, the Presidential Debate. Obviously, there has been much back and forth between the two candidates prior to the debate, but for a casual citizen who does not pay attention to politics, this is their one true time seeing and hearing their views and plans for the future. I for one, am extremely excited to watch Donald Trump and Joe Biden battle it out on air. One thing the textbook, Political Campaign Communication Principles & Practices, mentioned was Trump’s approach in 2016. The author states “He would meet with his informal group of advisors… They would meet on his golf course and ‘test out zingers and chew over ways to refine the Republican nominee’s pitch’”(Denton, 233). Although golf and politics sounds like a great time, this time around a little more preparation is in order. Trump should continue to meet with his advisors such as former New York mayor, Rudolph W. Giulani or Fox News Chanel chair Roger Ailes to further solidify his platform. Speaking upon how the candidates will be handling the future of our country and really digging into their platforms will be very important during this election.
One candidate I would definitely suggest studying would be John F. Kennedy. Trump and Kennedy are two very charismatic men, that have used more than just their platform to reel in voters. Much like what Trump is dealing with in the upcoming election, JFK ran against an opponent who did not focus on his public speaking in Nixon. The Kennedy versus Nixon debate was the first U.S. Presidential debate that aired on television. JFK stole the show with his charming looks and smooth fluent answers about his platforms. Nixon on the other hand stuttered a lot on camera and did not look as pristine as Kennedy did. The same type of situation is unfolding this year with Joe Biden and Donald Trump. Joe Biden does have a stutter and coming from someone who also has a speech impediment I can only begin to imagine how stressful a Presidential debate can be. However, when it comes to voters there is not much sympathy for not looking presentable. In 2016, Trump stole the show with his entertainer skills. He focused more on pleasing the audience with making them laugh and enjoy the debate, rather than providing in depth explanations on certain topics (Haltiwanger). This time around the world is under a totally different climate than it was in 2016. If Trump, provides a little more explanation for issues in a nice manner while pleasing the audience, he has a great opportunity to win the debate. The spotlight will be shining on the two of them, and Trump definitely has the advantage in that aspect.
One candidate mistake I would say to avoid is Jimmy Carter in his debate against Ronald Reagan. Reagan was much like Trump, who both became popular prior to their presidency. Debating against a man of their status is not an easy one, and Carter struggled in his. In an article written by Business Insider the author mentioned, “Reporting on the debate at the time portrayed Carter as lacking a sense of humor and far too serious while Reagan was viewed as ‘calm and reasonable’”( Haltiwanger). As one may be able to predict, Joe Biden will do his best to attack Trump throughout the debate rather than focusing on his side. If Trump is able to stay on course and worry about his plans of action rather than attacking the Democrats, he will come off much more reasonable than Biden. In a Yahoo! News article when speaking about the debates the authors states, “’Trump is gonna run all over Biden’ said Curtis Saffi,38, an independent from Hampton Georgia, who plans to vote for Biden. He expects a different outcome, however, in the vice presidential debate. ‘Kamala Harris,’ Saffi added, ‘she is gonna be all over Pence’”(Groppe & Elbeshbishi). Saffi brings up a quality point with Kamala Harris. If Biden struggles in his debate, Harris definitely has the potential to run the floor against Pence. It will be very interesting to see who wins the debate if Trump wins over Biden and Harris wins over Pence.
DeleteI think one thing Trump can do to help him win the debate is focusing on himself. A lot of the media has been making the headlines seem as if the two candidates are constantly butting heads and attacking each other’s platforms. As Trump’s Twitter account may show, attacking Biden is something he does often. Nonetheless, if he able to focus on his platform and focus on what changes he wants to make to this country he will be in great shape. Regardless of how the debate turns out, it will be one of the most important and entertaining we have seen in recent elections.
Work Cited
Denton, Robert E., et al. Political Campaign Communication: Principles and Practices. Rowman & Littlefield, 2020.
Haltiwanger, John. “Presidential Debates Have Always Been Political Theater. Here Are Some of Their Most Memorable Moments.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 12 Sept. 2019, www.businessinsider.com/presidential-debates-memorable-moments-political-theater-2019-9.
Maureen Groppe and Sarah Elbeshbishi, USA TODAY. “Exclusive: More Americans Predict Trump Will Win the Presidential Debates than Biden, USA TODAY/Suffolk Poll Shows.” Yahoo! News, Yahoo!, 7 Sept. 2020, www.yahoo.com/news/exclusive-more-americans-predict-trump-090024826.html.
If I were a debate coach hired by Biden campaign, some debate strategies that I would recommend for Biden to follow would be determining the targeted audience, along with devising and rehearsing possible questions and answers. I believe it is important to gain as many true followers as possible with the same interests, who feel passionate about the same worldwide issues enough to preach your stances and positively spread your political name. I also feel like preparing for unknown questions can only help to prove their knowledge in topics handed to them.
ReplyDeleteCarter-Reagen and Obama are great public figures to look at as examples for prepping for a debate by devising and rehearsing possible questions and answers. After following Carter-Reagen, Obama too was successful in his campaign with the proper precautions that they took.
Trump’s focus on business and lack of compassion for the people and the country is one of the reasons that drove him to such a low negative rating. It is important to hear the people out and show sympathy for theirs and the country’s needs. Proving that you can stand and understand them on their level is also important and this was one of the qualities that Trump was lacking, giving him such a low rating. Relate and connect with the people is my advice.
Currently, there are predictions that Trump is going to outrun Biden, so based on these accusations, Biden needs to nail these faults and overcome them if possible. At this point, I think it is important to use the failures from Trump’s past four years and show the people that these problems can be resolved, and he is here for them. This can address the main issues and show hope for American’s in the future. He can accomplish this by targeting the proper audiences and preparing for possible questions that might be thrown at him regarding the countries downfalls these past four years.
Work Cited
Maureen Groppe and Sarah Elbeshbishi, USA TODAY. “Exclusive: More Americans Predict Trump Will Win the Presidential Debates than Biden, USA TODAY/Suffolk Poll Shows.” Yahoo! News, Yahoo!, 7 Sept. 2020, www.yahoo.com/news/exclusive-more-americans-predict-trump-090024826.html.
Trent, Judith S., and Robert V. Friedenberg. Political Campaign Communication: Principles and Practices. Praeger, 2000.
Matthew Bruin
ReplyDeletePART ONE
During this year’s election cycle, it has been evidently clear that both Joe Biden and Donald Trump are two completely different candidates with vastly opposite invasions of the future of America. Due to these circumstances, it is evidently clear that the three presidential debates are going to be quite interesting for Americans to watch in the upcoming weeks. With the first debate just one week away (Sept. 29th), things are about to get interesting.
With this being said, although people more recently have claimed the debates can be more entertaining than they necessary, it is important to understand the significance of the presidential debates, especially during this election cycle. To start off, presidential debates act as a way to capture national attention allowing for candidates to reach audiences regarding national topics and concerns in a different type of setting than seen so far along the campaign trail. These debates also allow each candidate to confront each other in a public and live setting allowing for each candidate to question and refute back and forth (Denton 218). And… in the grand scheme of things, debates are important because they attack large audiences, they reinforce many of the pre-existing attitudes of audience members, they help shift a limited number of voters, they help set the political agenda for candidates, they help contribute to the education of audience members and the audience learns more while watching, they affect the images of candidates, and lastly, debates contribute to the publics confidence in government institutions and leaders (Denton 253). In saying this, it is clear that presidential debates are crucial when looking at the outcome of any election, and it is clear that regardless of annoying theatrics, they are integral in the US election systems.
Now after getting a better understanding of the importance of these presidential debates, it is time to put this year’s candidates to task. To start off, I want to point out a few important things for both candidates especially with the pandemic in mind. For example, due to uncertainty surrounding debate style for the upcoming election due to COVID-19, it is clear of the risk that might come if Biden or Trump were to not show up for a debate. For example, it says that “today, presidential candidates risk the possibility of severe backlash if they decline to debate, they would be perceived as less than open to share ideas on issues, afraid to face challengers, or violators of historical campaign practice,” (Denton). In saying this, although there has been previous uncertainty regarding if Biden or Trump would show up for any of the debates, it is clear to me that if they do not show up, they will be hurting themselves in many ways. With that being said, to start off I would highly recommend both the Biden and Trump campaigns to have their candidates show up for the three scheduled debates.
Matthew Bruin
ReplyDeletePART TWO
Now, aside from that recommendation alone, I have a few strategies that I think both Biden and Trump should utilize in these upcoming debates. For the Trump campaign, I would recommend that Trump should try to lower public expectations going into the first debate, set an overall theme and image during the debate to reflect his vision of America, while also targeting undecided voters and those in battle ground states. I also believe that Trump should remain a force as seen in the 2016 debates with Hillary Clinton in which he should call out Biden regarding his fitness for president while also questioning his previous record of 47 years in public office. Interestingly enough, Trump claimed on Monday (09/21), that he believes that Joe Biden is “going to do great” during the first presidential debate scheduled for next week. He then went on to slamming Joe Biden saying that he has done more in 47 months than Biden has done in 47 years (Kaplan). When Trump says these things, not only has he started to try lower the expectations of his debate by hyping up Biden, but he is also making a stance by openly criticizing Biden off the bat. In the end, due to his successes with the debates and the multiple mic drop moments that he performed when facing off against Hillary Clinton, I believe that Trump strategy will be strong again against Joe Biden.
On the other hand, for the Biden Team, the following debate strategies are what I would recommend Biden try utilizing. For starters I think that like Trump, Biden needs to try and lower public expectations and go into the debate overly prepared and ready to pack punches. While doing this I think that Biden needs to set a symbolic message / image of his vision of the United States while simultaneously showing America that he is physically and mentally fit to hold the office of the President. Also, Biden needs to focus on being able to respond to debate questions while not mumbling, stuttering, or completely going off topic, as seen during many recent live interviews more recently. Biden also needs to put his controversy of his bad gaffes to sleep by being a powerhouse on the debate stage. Although this strategy has been determined due to some political bias I have, I think that these debates are what will make or break Biden and ultimately determine the fate of the election.
Matthew Bruin
ReplyDeletePART THREE
Now, when looking back at American history and with previous candidates and previous debates it is important to reflect on the mistakes and the techniques that previous candidates made and used. Some mistakes that have stood out in the past it says that “Jimmy Carter in 1980, Ronald Reagan in 1984, and Barak Obama in 2012, often stumble in their first debates because they arrived both over confidant and out of practice” (Tumulty). In saying this, President Trump, an incumbent nominee, like the Presidents previously listed needs to make sure he is ready to debate more than ever by spending more time practicing and preparing than originally planned. The same thing goes for Biden. I think that he has to be overly prepared too. Additionally, Trump and Biden need to make sure they connect with voters and not let this debate be seen as “pointless.” In the end, I think that Trump and Biden should try to emulate a hybrid of both Ronald Reagan and John F. Kennedy during their debates acting both calm and reasonable, while also remaining professional and stern.
Work Cited:
Denton, Robert E., Judith S. Trent, and Robert V. Friedenberg. Political Campaign Communication: Principles and Practice, 9th ed. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2020.
Kaplan, Talia. “Trump Says He Assumes Biden's ‘Going to Do Great’ at First Presidential Debate.” Fox News, 21 Sept. 2020, www.foxnews.com/politics/president-trump-biden-first-presidential-debate.
Tumulty, K. (2020, June 26). Opinion | It's time to rethink the presidential debates. Retrieved September 20, 2020, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/its-time-to-rethink-the-presidential-debates/2020/06/25/d763e3e6-b6f7-11ea-a510-55bf26485c93_story.html
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ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteChristyna Stagg (1/2)
ReplyDeleteOne of the questions that this chapter poses are “Am I a good debater?” (Denton 225). In the past, Biden has showed the public that he has not been the best debater because of his stutter. This is one of his weaknesses is his campaign compared to Trump, who thrives when talking to people and knows how to work a stage. Because of Biden’s stutter, Biden can sometimes be viewed by the public as a weaker candidate. He has grown with the public about addressing his stutter, which has allowed him to be confident about his debate ability. He has also had practice with his team with stuttering. With the first presidential debate coming up, this is something the public will view that he has gotten stronger in or something that makes him look weak. Because of Biden’s stutter, I would advise for Biden to “Devise and Rehearse Possible Answers” (Denton 230). By practicing and rehearsing possible answers, Biden will be able to improve his speaking skills and work on his stutter when debating with Trump. Practicing in answers in a situation as similar to the real one as possible will lead to a more successful debate, leading in Biden winning the debate (Denton 230). In Obama’s practice sessions, the real stage would be available with real stage dimensions and the podiums exactly where they would be on the real stage (Denton 231). By holding mock debates, I believe this would be the best debate strategy to use to result in a successful debate for Biden.
One previous presidential candidates of the best debate practice that Biden should emulate is Obama. Obama has many examples in past debates where he has had a good comeback to his opponent. One of these debates took place in 2012 with Mitt Romney. Even though debates have called in the past as “political theater”, presidential candidates have always had very memorable and strong comebacks in their debates (Haltiwanger). In this one debate with Romney, Obama discusses foreign policy. Obama stated in this debate “The 1980s are now calling to ask for their foreign policy back because the Cold War’s been over for 20 years” (Haltiwanger). This was one of the most discussed moments after the debates as a blow to Romney. This was seen as a blow to Romney because the Republican’s claim that Russia was the country’s “geopolitical foe” (Haltiwanger). Moments like this is what ultimately lost Romney the election against Biden. Biden should use examples like this in his debate to help him sway the different audiences watching the future debates.
All presidents have made mistakes in this past that should be avoided in future elections. One of these debates took place in 2008 with Hillary Clinton. In this 2008 debate, Clinton brought up a report that she was hurt by that stated that she was not as likeable as her opponent Obama (Webley/ Rosenfled/ Sun). She brought this up in the debate and called Obama very likeable (Webley/ Rosenfled/ Sun). He responded and said Clinton was “likeable enough” (Webley/ Rosenfled / Sun). A comment like this in a debate should be avoided because this moment was viewed as a show of superiority on the past of the future president (Webley/ Rosenfled/ Sun). This was seen as a clumsy remark to make because it showed an attitude of patronizing superiority on Obama’s part that should be avoided. Biden should not follow in Obama’s past mistakes like this one in particular.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteChristyna Stagg (2/2)
ReplyDeleteEver since recent debates, Biden has been doing everything he can to make his debate performance stronger and more appealing to the public. He has been doing this by being more assertive in his debating. This has been a key issue for Biden in the past and by improving on it, he has been succeeding. Biden has stated that in future debates he is going to be more assertive with his arguments, which is something he needs to work on (Glueck/ Burns). He has also stated that he is going to be more active on stage to help his campaign and be more vocal about his campaign issues (Glueck/ Burns). Senator Chris Coons, Democrat of Delaware and a Biden ally has stated that Biden is not going to let people misrepresent his record and he is going to take this up to Trump with being more active on stage because Biden has had enough with Trump (Glueck/ Burns). Even though this past month might have been Biden’s worst month in his campaign because of his slow and halting pushback against Trump, Biden is now going to take a stand and push through by being more aggressive with his beliefs as a presidential candidate for the United States.
Work Cited:
-Haltiwanger, John. "Presidential Debates Have Always Been Political Theater. Here are Some of Their Most Memorable Moments," Business Insider 12 Sept. 2020.
-Denton, Robert E., et al. Political Campaign Communication: Principles and Practices. Rowman & Littlefield, 2020.
-Glueck, Katie, and Alexander Burns. “Can Joe Biden Deliver the Debate Performance He Needs?” The New York Times, The New York Times, 14 Oct. 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/10/14/us/politics/joe-biden-democratic-debate.html?searchResultPosition=1.
-Webley, Kayla, Everett, Rosenfeld., and Feifei, Sun., et al. See the Top 10 Political Debate Flubs, 14 Sept. 2016, time.com/4493402/see-the-top-10-political-debate-flubs/.
Ryan Miller pt 1
ReplyDeleteAs Maureen Groppe and Sarah Elbeshbishi point out in their work for Yahoo, I agree with most Americans that Donald Trump has an edge over Joe Biden in the upcoming debates. Public speaking has never been a strength of Biden’s, something that’s only been compounded with age, the stress of the pandemic, and differences in opinion with the increasingly progressive beliefs of his party.
If I were preparing Biden for the first debate, I would have him focus on his stark difference in morals and policy from Trump. As discussed in Political Campaign Communication, developing an image is a key debate strategy. I would home in on this one because when voters criticize Joe Biden’s past appearances, a frequent concern is not knowing what he stands for.
If, as the textbook states, Biden can, “include the development of a leadership style, personification, and identification,” I believe he should have no problem standing his ground against Trump. Biden has years in the White House, however, that brings me to my next concern about past performances.
During the primaries, one of the largest warts of the Biden campaign was his indecisiveness on how he discussed his time serving under Barack Obama. Biden namedropped Obama when it was convenient for him to, but when he was attacked for shortcomings of the administration, distanced himself claiming he had nothing to do with the decision. Life, especially politics, is complicated. It’s not black and white, there’s a lot of grey area. If Biden wants to uphold his intended image as your “average Joe,” that he brought back out again recently when handing out beer to Pennsylvania firefighters, he needs to embrace having a complicated history.
If Biden looks the camera directly in the eye and admits that the Obama administration, and his political career in general, has had its ups and downs, I believe that would strengthen his image. Biden can have a complicated past, focus on the good, pivot failures to successes, and talk about how he’s grown and changed over the years. Trump on the other hand, has changed his mind on very little since taking office. He refuses to listen to anyone on the other side of the aisle, and Biden must do the above to truly capitalize on this.
Ryan Miller pt 2
DeleteSeeing Biden essentially say those things would display more accountability than Trump has ever shown and even potentially silence some of his haters.
It would also provide the most likeable form of Biden, as he could begin to channel some of John F. Kennedy’s charismatic debate performances. As pointed out by John Haltiwanger’s for Business Insider, Kennedy’s biggest strengths often came from how personable he came across. The same can be said for candidates that remain calm, cool, and collected, such as Ronald Reagan. That means “come on man!” Biden cannot make an appearance. Biden needs to pull out his, “look, here’s how it is” mantra instead.
Something that I thought of while mapping out a successful Biden debate was footage shown in the Hulu docuseries, Hillary. When discussing the 2016 debates, Hillary Clinton spoke over b-roll of her preparing to debate Trump. Her team had hired an actor to portray Trump, to stalk her around stage and loom over her, (something that occurred in real life afterwards), and to simply taunt and annoy her. Clinton revealed that in those practices she sometimes struggled, but those struggles did help her be ready for the real thing. If Biden does similar prep, he can have answers and reactions ready to go, which Denton et al mention as devising and rehearsing possible answers.
Sources:
Denton Jr., Robert E., et al. "Political Campaign
Communications in the 2016 Presidential election." Political Campaign Communication: Principles and Practices, 9th ed., Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Groppe, Maureen and Elbeshbishi, U Sarah. (2020, September 07). Exclusive: More Americans predict Trump will win the
presidential debates than Biden, USA TODAY/Suffolk Poll shows. Accessed September 22, 2020, from https://www.yahoo.com/news/exclusive-more-americans-predict-trump-090024826.html
Haltiwanger, J. (2019, September 12). Presidential debates have always been political theater. Here are some of their most memorable moments. Accessed September 22, 2020, from https://www.businessinsider.com/presidential-debates-memorable-moments-political-theater-2019-9
Hulu. (2020, March). Hillary. https://www.hulu.com/series/hillary-793891ec-5bb7-4200-ba93-e3629532d670.
Steinhauser, Paul. “Biden delivers beer to Shanksville firefighters: ‘I keep my promises.’” Fox News, 11, Sept. 2020. https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden-delivers-beer-to-shanksville-firefighters-i-keep-my-promises. Accessed 22 Sept. 202
Hunter Stern
ReplyDeleteBecause this election cycle is unlike any other, mainly because of the pandemic, much more will be riding on these next upcoming debates than the debates of the past. Since we have not seen as much of the candidates as we usually do when they’re on the campaign trail, these debates can make all the difference for each candidate. For President Donald Trump who is my candidate that I’m helping in my election-eve project, he is coming in the expected favorite in the debates for a host of reasons. Trump is the most unique debater in presidential debate history for his abrasive style and his love for ad hominem attacks. Trump is expected to outperform Biden mainly because the public is concerned for his mental state especially his oratory skills. If I were Trump and the campaign I would instead of lowering expectations for my candidate and lifting the expectations for his opponent so that he could outperform, I would instead go in for the total knockout. What that means to me is I would highlight my opponents insecurities, mainly his mental fragility and low verbal IQ and I would lead into the debates with constant attacks on his speaking skills pushing out highligh clips and compilations of my oppoentns gaffes online and through attack ads. This is much riskier but has a much higher pay off than if he would come in the old fashion way. I would also only do this if certain in your lack of confidence in Joe Biden’s ability which it seems the public already is, “Independents picked Trump over Biden as the likely winner of the debates by 10 percentage points: 47%-37%.”
One of the biggest pre debate tactics is memorizing and preparing with “work through possible questions and answers, consistently keeping in mind overall themes and target audiences.” (Denton) Knowing this and that Joe Biden will be putting special emphasis on his pre-debate preparation if I were Donald Trump I would make it my mission from the second I step on the the stage to completely dominate the debate not only through being on the offensive but I would do so by thwarting Biden off every single talking point he is on and direct it to something he could have never anticipated or prepared for so you force him to go off the cuff and that is when he is at his most vulnerable. Another pre-debate strategy I would implement if on the Trump campaign is actually an idea I got from Jeff Zucker when on the phone with Michael Cohen before CNN’s republican debates. “Whoever’s around him today should just be calling him a con man all day so he’s used to it, so that when he hears it from Rubio, it doesn’t matter.” (Jeff Zucker) In order for Trump to completely dominate Biden and go for the total knockout, he’s going to need his composure so he can’t be thrown off of attacks being thrown his way either. Trump’s temperament is one of his biggest vulnerabilities so hr should anticipate the attacks being thrown his way and desensitize to the for when or if the time comes.
Hunter Stern
DeleteWork Cited
Maureen Groppe and Sarah Elbeshbishi, USA TODAY. “Exclusive: More Americans Predict Trump Will Win the Presidential Debates than Biden, USA TODAY/Suffolk Poll Shows.” Yahoo! News, Yahoo!, 7 Sept. 2020, www.yahoo.com/news/exclusive-more-americans-predict-trump-090024826.html.
Stieb, Matt. “Leaked Audio Reveals CNN Head Jeff Zucker Floated a Trump 'Weekly Show' in 2016.” Intelligencer, Intelligencer, 10 Sept. 2020, nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/09/cnn-head-jeff-zucker-floated-a-trump-weekly-show-in-2016.html.
Denton, Robert E., et al. Political Campaign Communication: Principles and Practices. Rowman & Littlefield, 2020.
Samantha Mesbah
ReplyDeleteBlog #4:
Political debates play an essential part in the presidential election cycle. Political debates give both nominees the opportunity to address the entire nation and discuss key components of their own campaign. If I were to be a debate coach for the Trump campaign, there are multiple strategies that would be beneficial to successful outcomes, portraying Trump in a positive light.
Before debate night it would be beneficial for, “The candidate and a limited number of aides to work through possible questions and answers, consistently keeping in mind overall themes and target audiences.” (Denton et. Al 231) By working with his staff, Trump will be able to compose well-developed answers to expected questions. After preparation for the event night, Trump should then focus on the strategy of “Relating Issues to an Overall Theme.” (Denton et. Al 234) In 2016, this strategy had ultimately led Trump to his victorious win over his opponent Hillary Clinton. Trump had multiple ideas relating to the economy, immigration, and terrorism; all these individual concepts correlated under the theme of “Make America Great Again.” Trump was able to make this slogan the basis of his platform, engaging voters, and giving them a concept they can relate too.
While political debates are a chance for candidates to broadcast their ideas for the public, they also provide entertainment value and a chance for voters to see how a candidate acts quickly on their feet. Trump was very successful on the debate stage in 2016 as “He tapped into his skill as an entertainer and focused more on making the audience laugh with insults and quips than offering in-depth takes on the issues.” (Haltiwanger) Trump’s ability to bring humor and life to the stage is a way to engage with voters on a more personal level.
Trump is using similar strategies that he used in 2016 due to their previous successful outcomes. He will be focusing his policy issues and ideas under the slogan, “Keep America Great.” This tactic is also similar to the approach Barak Obama took in 2012 when he was running for reelection. Obama’s theme focused on, “The question here tonight is not where we’ve been, but where we going.” (Denton et. Al 234) Both Obama and Trump are using the concept of their first term being the starting point for their time in office. They are emphasizing to the voter that they have done a great deal in four years, but just imagine what more can be accomplished in the next four years.
As stated, preparation prior to the debate is a key strategy that Trump should engage in. In the 2012 debates, it was noticeable that Obama’s lack of preparation compared to Mitt Romney had set him back in the polls after the first debate. CNN politics had analyzed the debate stating, “Some 70 million people watched a flat-footed and lethargic Obama get hammered by a well-prepped and aggressive Mitt Romney. Obama spoke in run-on sentences. Romney spoke in bullet points.” (Henderson) The lack of preparation from Obama was evident in the debate and voters were able to notice. Trump should avoid this setback and prepare to answer questions that focus on current political issues such as COVID19 and racial injustice. Polls as well as the media have emphasized voters prioritizing these two issues, and Trump can expect to see questions surrounding what his approach to these policies is on debate night.
Ultimately, Trump has a good foundation going into the debate cycle. If he prepares efficiently and focuses on the overall theme of, “Keep America Great,” he can expect a successful outcome from the debate stage.
Work Cited:
DeleteDenton, Robert E., et al. Political Campaign Communication: Principles and Practices. 9th
ed., Rowman & Littlefield, 2020.
Haltiwanger, John. "Presidential Debates Have Always Been Political Theater. Here are Some of Their Most Memorable Moments," Business Insider 12 Sept. 2020.
Henderson, Nia-Malika. 8 Unforgettable Presidential Debate Blunders. 26 Sept. 2016, www.cnn.com/2016/09/26/politics/presidential-debate-mistakes-history/index.html.
As the campaign manager for the Biden campaign, I would advise former Vice President Biden to present “(1) a confrontation” (Denton et al 218). The vice president is often called a coward due to his unconfrontational nature and “When they go low, we go high” (Scipioni) personality, but at this stage in the election, confrontation is highly necessary. Especially since President Trump, the Republican candidate has shown no mercy. Additionally, “(5) to gain an audience decision” (Denton et al 218) both candidates are on different ends of the political spectrum when it comes to the big issues this election such as police reform and brutality, reproductive rights, and immigration. I believe it will be up to Vice President Biden to unify Americans as best as possible for a positive outcome this November. However, in an article written by Maureen Groppe and Sarah Elbeshbishi from USA Today, that many Americans think that President Trump will win the presidential debates. A poll conducted by USA Today and Suffolk University showed that “47% – predicted Trump will win the debates than the 41% who said Democratic candidate Joe Biden will” (Groppe and Elbeshbishi 2020). I believe attitudes such as these are primarily due to the cowardly reputation the Vice President has cultivated.
ReplyDeleteDespite former Vice President Biden being unimpressed with President’s antics, he would be a decent example of a debater to emulate. The president was able to tap into a side of himself that many politicians cannot say they can. His history as an entertainer allowed him to perhaps put on a façade and appeal to the American who is less concerned with policy than with the image of a president who is assertive and blunt.
It would behoove the vice president to channel the charisma and he sustained through the early moments of his career, and emulate an image of Joe Biden, the friend.
I would advise Vice President Biden to recall the debate between Al Gore and George W. Bush. In this debate, former VP Gore acted extremely childish and unprofessional, so much, to where Saturday Night Live, made him into a national laughingstock for his behavior. It will be extremely important for Joe Biden to stay poised during the debates unlike Gore has in the past,”… Bush criticized the Democrat’s plans for their “fuzzy math,” Gore was seen on the split-screen rolling his eyes and shaking his head in frustration” (Zelizer, Julian E., et al. 2016).
Due to the fragility of this election, the president must present himself as ready, willing, and able to lead this country. As many Americans feel like our nation is suffering under the current administration, it is crucial that he appear as a strong and diligent leader, not like the coward the constituents feel he is.
Foy 2/2
DeleteFriedenberg, Robert E. Denton Jr.; Judith S. Trent; Robert V. Political Campaign Communication. Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, 2019. [VitalSource Bookshelf].
Maureen Groppe and Sarah Elbeshbishi, USA TODAY. “Exclusive: More Americans Predict Trump Will Win the Presidential Debates than Biden, USA TODAY/Suffolk Poll Shows.” Yahoo! News, Yahoo!, 7 Sept. 2020, www.yahoo.com/news/exclusive-more-americans-predict-trump-090024826.html.
Scipioni, Jade. “Michelle Obama: Why Going 'High' When Faced with a Challenge Is so Important to Her.” CNBC, CNBC, 6 July 2020, www.cnbc.com/2020/02/12/michelle-obama-on-famous-catchphrase-when-they-go-low-we-go-high.html.
Zelizer, Julian E., et al. “The 8 Biggest Unforced Errors in Debate History.” POLITICO Magazine, 24 Sept. 2016, www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/09/presidential-debates-errors-mistakes-gaffes-biggest-history-214279.
Hannah Tebo
ReplyDeletePresidential debates have long had an impact on the election process in this country. Today, the media has made these debates into more of a show and less about going in depth about policy. Candidates have allotted times to speak and during that time it is up to them to hit the audience and media with snazzy one liners or charm that could be next day headliners. If I were hired as Trump’s debate coach, I would advise him to use the “Devising and Rehearsing Possible Answers” approach as explained by Denton. This strategy gives him the ability to rehearse possible answers to real questions, but also helps him portray a more organized persona. In the past, his debate strategy has been focused on the one liners and shock value of what he’s said during these debates. This worked well for him in the 2016 debates because it made it difficult to know how to prepare an adequate attack against him. However, with the current state of the pandemic and his last four years as president, I think it would be smart if Trump kept his target audience in mind and prepared organized responses to possible questions to give him the appearance of an organized president who is still capable of leading this country. Some strategies Denton suggests for nationally televised presidential debates, “simulating the television or studio or auditorium to be used and often utilizing a stand-in for the opponent”(Denton 232). These debates are important and practicing will make the incumbent president feel more prepared and less like he has to go off script.
I think it would be important for Trump to also look at past debates of presidents who weren’t former politicians. Trump has a background as a reality star and businessman which puts him at a slight advantage when he’s around cameras. Many of his voters do well with some of his somewhat shocking statements in the past and I think completely eliminating them would be too off brand for the president. Instead, I think it would be smart if the president tailored what he said to one liners and remarks that aren’t as controversial on the surface. For example, Ronald Reagan in a debate against Jimmy Carter focused on charming the audience and hitting the press with one liners. When his opponent would go on a lengthy dialogue, he hit back with a smile and said “There you go again.” This showed that “delivering a quick zinger in a debate could quickly shift the conversation away from policy and devastate the opponent”(Haltiwanger). In an interesting twist, the Trump campaign released statements in the past few days using Denton’s other strategy of Lowering public expectations. In an article written by Andrew Solender at Forbes, Solender reported that Trump contradicted himself after saying that Biden was one of the worst debaters he had ever seen and then saying at a rally in Dayton, Ohio on Monday September 21, that Biden’s “been doing it for 47 years, I've been doing it for 3 and a half” and “he should be able to beat me,” because “he’s much more experienced” and “he’s great.” This is an interesting twist in campaign strategy. Apparently Trump has not conducted much preparation for the debates with his campaign not holding a single mock session and making no plans to do so (Solender). Ultimately, I believe the Trump campaign could use a bit of organization and preparation for the debates as the incumbent president is facing a long-time politician.
Works Cited:
DeleteDenton, R. E., Trent, J. S., & Friedenberg, R. V. (2020). Political campaign communication: Principles and practices. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield.
Haltiwanger, John. “Presidential Debates Have Always Been Political Theater. Here Are Some of Their Most Memorable Moments.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 12 Sept. 2019, www.businessinsider.com/presidential-debates-memorable-moments-political-theater-2019-9.
Solender, Andrew. “Trump Predicts Biden Will Win Debates In Last-Minute Effort To Lower Expectations.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 21 Sept. 2020, www.forbes.com/sites/andrewsolender/2020/09/21/trump-predicts-biden-will-win-debates-in-last-minute-effort-to-lower-expectations/.
Nicholas Ciampanelli
ReplyDeleteIn the 2020 Presidential election, candidates and their voting bases are consistently leveraging the internet to project their platforms and distaste for the other nominee/party – this use of the internet is promoted due to its historical influence in elections following the 2008 Election. This year was a turning point in the importance of social media because it resulted in the success of Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump, and the failures of Senator John McCain and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The election’s victors often had a complex, data-driven understanding of internet users, allowing them to engage in granular microtargeting of their audiences – this included collecting data to determine messaging from everything to the policies on their frontpage to the color of a donation button. However, the election’s losers failed to establish a strong online presence in this virtual battleground. In addition to the internet’s influence, online campaign communication is increasingly important in 2020 because of physical communication barriers in the ongoing pandemic. This unanticipated barrier requires most campaign communication to occur virtually and provides additional opportunities for campaigns to collect data and conduct more intensive and granular data analysis when microtargeting in an increasingly high-traffic cyber environment. Knowing this, the Biden campaign is abandoning the social media practices employed by the previous Democratic Nominee – Hillary Clinton.
In the 2016 election, Twitter was a primary source of online political communication. According to Political Campaign Communication: Principles and Practices by Robert Denton, Judith Trent, and Robert Friedenberg, “the primary function of Twitter is ‘authentic personal communication’” with a wider audience, solely aiming to write “a speech in 280 characters” (348). Clinton failed to remain “authentic” on Twitter because her staff developed a significant amount of her responses to Trump’s digs on the platform; her most notable response stated “Delete your account.” This simple (yet inadequate) tweet was known to have been developed by her campaign team because, according to “Clinton, Trump battle on Twitter: ‘Delete your account’” by Eugene Scott, “the message was not signed ‘-H,’ which is how Clinton usually signs tweets she authored.” This impersonal online behavior contrasted that of Trump, who solely controlled his Twitter account, allowing him to remain more “authentic” with the electorate.
Due to these online pitfalls of the Clinton campaign, Biden’s staff are not attempting to combat Trump’s firm grip upon political communication in the virtual battleground. Conversely, the Biden campaign is leveraging those with pre-established influence in the virtual domain: influencers. According to “Inside the Democrats’ Plan to Win Back the Internet” by Charlotte Alter, Biden’s strategy aims to direct political messaging through influencers who’s sphere of influence are talking about and “are already fired up about” certain issues. Recently, “Biden’s team has organized Instagram Live sessions with influencers,” such as Cardi B and major TV personalities, such as “Keke Palmer and Jerry Harris” (Alter). This messaging strategy is effective for the Biden team because it connects his message with a variety of voting blocs (i.e. black, millennial, and women voters). Although this is successful for his campaign, I would recommend the Biden campaign has influencers continuously promote calls to action to their respective audiences. This extra step ensures that these voting networks are better mobilized to support Biden and ensure he can tally up their vote at the polls.
Works Cited
DeleteAlter, Charlotte. How Joe Biden, Democrats Plan to Win Back Internet in 2020. 6 Aug. 2020, time.com/5876600/joe-biden-internet-2020-election/.
Denton, Robert E., et al. Political Campaign Communication: Principles and Practices. 9th ed., Rowman & Littlefield, 2020.
Scott, Eugene. “Clinton, Trump Battle on Twitter: 'Delete Your Account'.” CNN, Cable News Network, 10 June 2016, www.cnn.com/2016/06/09/politics/hillary-clinton-donald-trump-delete-your-account/index.html.
Nicholas Ciampanelli (1/2)
ReplyDeleteWith the conclusion of the 2020 election, it becomes apparent which of the candidate’s forms of political campaign communication were, and were not, the most effective for the respective candidates. Throughout the campaign, Biden and Trump’s ads sought to depict themselves via a “‘collage of images, hopes, habits, and intentions shared by the nation,’” according to Political Campaign Communication: Principles & Practices by Robert E. Denton, Robert Friedenbert, and Judith Trent (63). These campaigns conveyed these images by producing video commercials and microtargeting campaigns – however, each campaign did one of these better than the other.
The Biden campaign effectively developed video commercials for the candidate by highlighting “the positive attributes of the candidate to link the candidate to voters in a positive way” (125). One such attribute is Biden’s focus upon bipartisanship and being a collaborative President for all Americans – this comes to fruition in the campaign’s Go From There ad, stating that there are “No Democratic rivers. No Republican mountains. Just this great land… Joe Biden doesn’t need everyone in this country to always agree, just to agree we all love this country” (YouTube). However, the Biden campaign failed in its microtargeting campaigns towards marginalized communities. This is evident from the article “Biden Apologizes for Controversial ‘You Ain’t Black’ Comment” by Quint Forgey and Myah Ward, where Biden stated that “‘If you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump, then you ain’t black.’” This received a surge of political backlash from People of Color, the Trump campaign, and his Democratic allies, serving as a key example how the campaign failed to effectively target marginalized voters.
The Trump campaign often suffered the inverse of this, for they effectively targeted their political communication at Latinx voters, particularly in Florida. According to his YouTube channel, Trump developed forty-two (42) ads specifically for Latinx voters, most of which either praised the candidate or negatively attacked Biden’s “personal weaknesses, voting record, or prior public behavior,” such as collaborating with socialist, Latin American dictators (Denton et al, 125). However, the campaign failed to communicate with moderate voters. This is evident from the President’s use of Twitter, where he often posts deeply Republican and politically polarizing content. One example is the President’s “Red Kingdom” tweet of a video of truckers trying to drive a Biden-Harris bus off of a highway with the caption “I LOVE TEXAS” (Twitter). This received political backlash from Democratic news outlets, highlighting how the campaign unsuccessfully targeting moderate, undecided voters.
Nicholas Ciampanelli (2/2)
DeleteRegarding the election results, media coverage differed between networks. Traditionally liberal/progressive outlets continued expressing concern about the possibility Trump reclaiming the Presidency, but conservatively reported outcomes throughout the process. Come Friday, these networks were relieved once Biden won the Electoral College. However, traditionally conservative programs consistently defended the President throughout the night. In the coming days, they were disappointed with Trump’s downfall and shifted their narrative towards the potential of recounting votes and ongoing protests in key swing states. Despite these differences, media coverage continues shifting towards projections of what a Biden administration could look like as he begins laying the foundation for his presidency.
Based upon my social circle, most voters were relieved and optimistic following Biden’s victory. This was seen on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, where various articles and graphics about Biden’s and Harris’ victory were reposted. This surge of relief and celebration likely arose from increased tension due to delayed election results. Additionally, those in my network who supported President Trump were primarily willing to give Biden an opportunity to lead the country. With these anecdotal observations, I believe our country may progressively unify in the coming years, as Biden dreamed.
Works Cited
DeleteBiden, Joe. Go From There | Joe Biden For President 2020. 20 Oct. 2020, www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2Xufahbaq4.
Denton, Robert E., et al. Political Campaign Communication: Principles and Practices. 9th ed., Rowman & Littlefield, 2020.
Forgey, Quint, and Myah Ward. “Biden Apologizes for Controversial 'You Ain't Black' Comment.” POLITICO, POLITICO, 23 May 2020, www.politico.com/news/2020/05/22/joe-biden-breakfast-club-interview-274490.
Trump, Donald J. “En Español.” YouTube, YouTube, www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKOAoICmbyV3HOousjVGsnPRcMryiZqM-.
Trump, Donald J. “I LOVE TEXAS!” Twitter, Twitter, 1 Nov. 2020, twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1322700188624932869?s=20.