From Gerald Ford’s catastrophic Soviet gaffe to Ronald Reagan’s witty remark about his age and Joe Biden’s infamous implosion, US presidential debates have featured jaw-dropping moments.
Here are some of the most memorable in modern US politics.
It was the first televised debate of its kind, when broadcasts were in black-and-white, and it established the importance of a politician’s public image. Republican Richard Nixon looked poised to win the election, having served two terms as vice president under Dwight Eisenhower.
“I’m Bill Shadel ABC News…The 2 candidates will not be sharing same platform. In NY John F Kennedy. Separated by 3,000 miles in L.A. studio, Richard Nixon. Joined for discussion by network of electronic facilities which permits each candidate to see & hear the other”
10/13/1960 pic.twitter.com/9GottJMbPP
— Howard Mortman (@HowardMortman) October 8, 2020
But the debate did not go well for him. Nixon refused to wear makeup and appeared pale and sweaty in front of more than 66 million viewers, while young Massachusetts senator John F Kennedy looked tanned and relaxed. While Nixon addressed the moderator, Kennedy looked at the camera, speaking directly to his voters.
How much the debate visuals pushed the needle is disputed, but Kennedy went on to defeat Nixon at the polls.
The first debate between Republican president Gerald Ford and Democratic challenger Jimmy Carter was marked by a 27-minute loss of audio. The second debate didn’t go well for Ford either when he made a gaffe that arguably cost him the presidency.
At the height of the Cold War, Ford uttered that “there is no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe, and there never will be under a Ford administration,” even though the Soviet Union had troops deployed across the Eastern bloc.
Six days passed before Ford explained himself, saying he spoke not of the literal military presence but meant that people’s spirits there hadn’t been crushed.
Republican president Ronald Reagan was 73 when he ran for a second term against 56-year-old Walter Mondale. But he turned his age into his strength with a witty answer that went down in history.
“I will not make age an issue of this campaign,” Reagan said when asked whether he was fit for office. “I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent’s youth and inexperience.”
The second presidential debate in the 1992 race pitted incumbent president George Bush against both his future successor Bill Clinton and Ross Perot, an independent candidate.
Bush was caught on camera looking at his watch while Clinton talked to an audience member during a town hall debate, a move that cost Bush dearly.
The then US presidential candidates Ross Perot (L), Bill Clinton (C) and George Bush (R) answer questions at the athletic center at Washington University in St Louis, Missouri during the first of three US presidential debates
Photo Credit: AFP
Years later, Bush admitted he hated debates. “Maybe that’s why I was looking at it — ‘Only 10 more minutes of this crap.'”
During a debate against president Barack Obama, Republican challenger Mitt Romney lamented that the US Navy had fewer ships presently than it did in 1916.
Democrat Barack Obama (R) debates with Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney on October 22, 2012, at the start of the third presidential debate at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida
Photo Credit: AFP
“Governor, we also have fewer horses and bayonets, because the nature of our military’s changed,” Obama retorted.
“We have these things called aircraft carriers, where planes land on them. We have these ships that go under water, nuclear submarines.”
Obama’s comments went viral.
The second debate of the 2016 US presidential election pitting Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump was particularly vicious.
Coming shortly after the release of a video in which Trump was heard boasting that his fame allowed him to grope women, the Republican billionaire went after his opponent’s husband, former president Bill Clinton, accusing him of being “so abusive to women.”
The then US Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump shake hands after the second presidential debate at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, on October 9, 2016
Photo Credit: AFP
Trump also vowed to have Hillary Clinton investigated over her use of a private email account when she was secretary of state.
“It’s just awfully good that someone with the temperament of Donald Trump is not in charge of the law in our country,” Clinton said.
Trump shot back: “Because you’d be in jail.”
The first debate of the 2020 presidential election, featuring Trump and Democrat Joe Biden, devolved into shouting and insults.
With Trump constantly interrupting him, Biden snapped, saying, “Will you shut up, man?”
The then US President Donald Trump (L) and Democratic Presidential candidate Joe Biden exchange arguments during the first presidential debate at Case Western Reserve University and Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio, on September 29, 2020
Photo Credit: AFP
The Democrat also called his opponent a “clown” and “Putin’s puppy.”
Trump for his part kept evading the question of whether he would recognize the results of the election.
Powerless to control the two candidates, the debate moderator, Fox News journalist Chris Wallace, later described feeling “desperation.”
Organized an unprecedented four months ahead of this year’s November vote, the June debate was supposed to give Biden, 81, a chance to shore up concerns about his age.
But it was a debacle for the Democrat, who repeatedly lost his train of thought, stared blankly and spoke at times incoherently and with a raspy voice.
The dismal performance set the stage for Biden to eventually drop out of the race — passing the torch to Trump’s new challenger, Vice President Kamala Harris.
Harris and Trump will now debate on Tuesday.
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