The types of smiles that politicians display can give us insights into their personalities and how they’ll lead.
Academic rigor, journalistic flair
Articles on Presidential debates
Displaying 1 - 20 of 51 articles
Trump’s allegation about immigrants eating pets is part of a long history of slurs demonizing people for what they do and don’t eat.
Trump’s display during the debate shows that his white male insecurity is a liability to his candidacy − and a threat to the country.
From inflation to abortion, foreign policy and democracy, the two presidential candidates went at it fiercely during their prime-time debate. Two scholars – of race and of journalism – weigh in.
Debates are moments in time, but even years later, key items can evoke their history and reinforce their importance in American democracy.
Featuring several unique rules, including no live audience and mics that cut off when it’s not a speaker’s turn, the debate might help shape the 2024 presidential race.
Prof. Daniel Martinez HoSang of Yale University discusses the rising popularity of the far-right with people of colour – what he calls multicultural white supremacy.
Long treated as a sign of anxiety or a delaying tactic, ‘filled pauses’ are a linguistic trick to signal that what you are about to say might be complicated.
Debates have played an important part in the American political process. And when candidates don’t participate, democracy suffers.
In principle, political debates should showcase an aspiring leader’s vision. It’s a lofty goal given their current format in Kenya.
From laughter to funneled lips, the presidential candidates at their last debate signaled via expressions and non-verbal responses what they were feeling.
Who belongs a heartbeat away from the president?
Mike Pence and Kamala Harris take centre stage this week to show voters who they are without their running mates in the room. This could also be a look-ahead to 2024.
Bullying tactics are increasingly under scrutiny, yet the display we saw during the first U.S. presidential debate is proof that some men still think those old rules are still at play.
A saucy, perfectly delivered retort by Democratic vice presidential candidate Lloyd Bentsen didn’t hurt the Bush-Quayle ticket. But it dogged Dan Quayle for the rest of his political career.
Functional political debates, like healthy democracies, require participants who respect the process and follow mutually agreed-upon rules.
The Conversation’s experts respond to the first US presidential debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden.
Three new approaches in the field of competitive academic debate offer ideas that could help presidential debates serve both their public purposes.
Jim Lehrer moderated 12 presidential debates between 1988 and 2012. His lessons on how to run a debate should be studied by today’s moderators, writes a former presidential speechwriter.
The only satisfactory debate arrangement everyone agreed to nearly 60 years ago largely remains in place today – the game show format.
Top contributors
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Assistant Professor, Miller Center, University of Virginia, and US Studies Centre, University of Sydney
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Lecturer in International Relations, La Trobe University
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Researcher, Crisis Negotiator, Law Enforcement, Columbia University
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Director of Research, US Studies Centre, University of Sydney
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Professor of Political Science, University of Arkansas
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Vice Chancellor's Fellow and Professorial Fellow, Institute for Human Security and Social Change, La Trobe University
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Lead Academic Teacher - Politics & Social Science (Swinburne Online), Swinburne University of Technology
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Professor of Communication Studies, Colorado State University
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Senior Lecturer and Director of Debate, Vanderbilt University
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Professor in American Politics, The University of Melbourne
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US Election Analyst, University of Sydney
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Honorary Associate Professor, The Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University
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Associate Professor, Washington State University
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Professor of Media Studies, Penn State
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Professor of Communication and Journalism, Texas A&M University
