Dr. Wordman, Columnist of the US-China Forum
The biggest highlight in American democracy is the presidential candidate debate. There are usually three debates hosted by television media entrusted by the presidential campaign committee. Voters observe and make judgments and comparisons. After the three debates, the voter votes to choose the candidate he or she thinks is most suitable to be president.
Fifty states in the United States elect their president on the same day every four years on the second day of the first Monday in November (between November 2 and 8). The results of each state's election are converted into electoral votes by each state's laws and then counted by the two houses of Congress to select the president and vice president. This method of counting electoral votes is very concerned with turnout in each state across the country. And turnout, of course, has some correlation with presidential candidate debate ratings and media coverage and commentary.
The 2024 presidential election in the United States is different from previous years in many ways, especially since the two presidential candidates, Biden and Trump, are facing each other for the second time. This debate was decided to be held without the approval of nominations at the party conventions of the two parties. Both candidates have been presidents for one term and have had an impact on the United States and the world, such as trade and tariffs, wars, and sanctions. It will be worrying for anyone to serve as president again. The author therefore pays special attention to Biden-Trump’s first debate. The following are some thoughts of the author.
First, let’s talk about why President Biden and former President Trump agreed to advance debates not only before being nominated but also privately without going through the Presidential Election Committee. This is unprecedented. No one is sure of the true cause, but observers can offer some ideas. Although the two candidates are both leading candidates of the two parties, they each have their concerns and are afraid of changes. Trump is entangled in legal battles, and he desperately needs to rely on media popularity and early positioning of presidential candidates to help delay the lawsuit and push for campaign and fundraising. Biden, under the pressure of lower poll numbers than Trump and questions about his physical condition, needs to prove that he can defeat Trump again. Therefore, under the almost unconditional arrangement of CNN TV station, without a live audience and time pressure, the two held a question-and-answer debate. In this debate, the two men each emphasized that their four years in power were better than the other's and that their domestic economic policies (epidemic prevention, inflation, and employment) were better than their foreign policy and foreign affairs (Afghanistan, the Russia-Ukraine war, and the Israel-Palestine war). Immigration and abortion are also hot topics in the debate, but neither side mentioned the Taiwan issue. This shows that it is not an issue of concern to the American people and is not an issue worthy of debate between the two candidates.
The average viewership of the 90-minute debate hosted by CNN this time was 7.3 million (the highest was 10.5 million at 62 minutes). With 22 simultaneous broadcasts, it was claimed that there were 51.27 million viewers. People watch. This is CNN’s highest ratings in 2024 except for sports programs, but it is higher than the first presidential debate in 2020 (73 million viewers) and the first presidential debate in 2016 (84 million viewers) Much less (30% to 40% less). There were 168.3 million legal voters in the United States in 2020, but only 66% voted for president (111 million votes), and 73 million people watched the first presidential debate (43.4 %). It is estimated that there will be 244 million legal voters in 2024. Based on the 51.3 million viewers of the first presidential debate in 2024, 105.83 million people should vote (Twice the ratings). The Democratic Party is lenient on illegal immigrants and lenient on voter qualifications, but these people are not debate viewers. So, will the debate ratings have a big impact on Biden?
Comments from both parties and observers followed the debate. The author's summary can be summarized as follows: 1. From the overall momentum, Trump performed better than Biden. Although Trump has made exaggerated and false statements, they have long been regarded as Trump’s character and are not surprising. 2. Biden’s physical condition and energy showed problems, which aroused doubts from funders and supporters. The Biden team admitted that the debate performance was poor but presented data to believe that Biden will improve. However, some Texas Democratic congressmen have proposed changing the general. 3. Objective comparison is very difficult, because the divisions in American society are deep, and the two major drawbacks of one-person-one-vote elections are that money can control the media and influence many voters (various radical groups), and many ignorant voters vote regardless of issue (e.g. recent immigrants).
Days after the debate, the Supreme Court justices explained that the president has absolute immunity in the execution of his official duties. This has a great impact on Trump and Biden's race for the White House. First, Trump’s case of inciting crowds to demonstrate in Congress on January 6, 2021, will not be prosecuted before the election. In addition, the president’s official immunity has been greatly relaxed. This will allow Trump to boldly issue executive orders after being re-elected, such as deporting illegal immigrants, increasing tariffs, firing administrative officials, strengthening the power of the Department of Justice, cracking down on drug cartels, establishing the death penalty for human trafficking, and regulating drug manufacturing prices, protect retired veterans, reform the education system, etc. Supporters of Trump welcomed the justice's interpretation, while opponents worried that Trump would become lawless. Of course, it is still too early to determine who will be elected president of the United States. There may still be variables in the next hundred days. The biggest variable may not be in the debate, but in the impulse of ignorant voters, because more than half of the voters may not have watched the presidential candidate debate at all. ! The fact that 66% of voters in the United States voted is considered very high, and many referendums fail to achieve a majority. Like Taiwan's 2024 election, Lai Ching-De was elected with only 24% of the voters' votes.
The biggest highlight in American democracy is the presidential candidate debate. There are usually three debates hosted by television media entrusted by the presidential campaign committee. Voters observe and make judgments and comparisons. After the three debates, the voter votes to choose the candidate he or she thinks is most suitable to be president.
Fifty states in the United States elect their president on the same day every four years on the second day of the first Monday in November (between November 2 and 8). The results of each state's election are converted into electoral votes by each state's laws and then counted by the two houses of Congress to select the president and vice president. This method of counting electoral votes is very concerned with turnout in each state across the country. And turnout, of course, has some correlation with presidential candidate debate ratings and media coverage and commentary.
The 2024 presidential election in the United States is different from previous years in many ways, especially since the two presidential candidates, Biden and Trump, are facing each other for the second time. This debate was decided to be held without the approval of nominations at the party conventions of the two parties. Both candidates have been presidents for one term and have had an impact on the United States and the world, such as trade and tariffs, wars, and sanctions. It will be worrying for anyone to serve as president again. The author therefore pays special attention to Biden-Trump’s first debate. The following are some thoughts of the author.
First, let’s talk about why President Biden and former President Trump agreed to advance debates not only before being nominated but also privately without going through the Presidential Election Committee. This is unprecedented. No one is sure of the true cause, but observers can offer some ideas. Although the two candidates are both leading candidates of the two parties, they each have their concerns and are afraid of changes. Trump is entangled in legal battles, and he desperately needs to rely on media popularity and early positioning of presidential candidates to help delay the lawsuit and push for campaign and fundraising. Biden, under the pressure of lower poll numbers than Trump and questions about his physical condition, needs to prove that he can defeat Trump again. Therefore, under the almost unconditional arrangement of CNN TV station, without a live audience and time pressure, the two held a question-and-answer debate. In this debate, the two men each emphasized that their four years in power were better than the other's and that their domestic economic policies (epidemic prevention, inflation, and employment) were better than their foreign policy and foreign affairs (Afghanistan, the Russia-Ukraine war, and the Israel-Palestine war). Immigration and abortion are also hot topics in the debate, but neither side mentioned the Taiwan issue. This shows that it is not an issue of concern to the American people and is not an issue worthy of debate between the two candidates.
The average viewership of the 90-minute debate hosted by CNN this time was 7.3 million (the highest was 10.5 million at 62 minutes). With 22 simultaneous broadcasts, it was claimed that there were 51.27 million viewers. People watch. This is CNN’s highest ratings in 2024 except for sports programs, but it is higher than the first presidential debate in 2020 (73 million viewers) and the first presidential debate in 2016 (84 million viewers) Much less (30% to 40% less). There were 168.3 million legal voters in the United States in 2020, but only 66% voted for president (111 million votes), and 73 million people watched the first presidential debate (43.4 %). It is estimated that there will be 244 million legal voters in 2024. Based on the 51.3 million viewers of the first presidential debate in 2024, 105.83 million people should vote (Twice the ratings). The Democratic Party is lenient on illegal immigrants and lenient on voter qualifications, but these people are not debate viewers. So, will the debate ratings have a big impact on Biden?
Comments from both parties and observers followed the debate. The author's summary can be summarized as follows: 1. From the overall momentum, Trump performed better than Biden. Although Trump has made exaggerated and false statements, they have long been regarded as Trump’s character and are not surprising. 2. Biden’s physical condition and energy showed problems, which aroused doubts from funders and supporters. The Biden team admitted that the debate performance was poor but presented data to believe that Biden will improve. However, some Texas Democratic congressmen have proposed changing the general. 3. Objective comparison is very difficult, because the divisions in American society are deep, and the two major drawbacks of one-person-one-vote elections are that money can control the media and influence many voters (various radical groups), and many ignorant voters vote regardless of issue (e.g. recent immigrants).
Days after the debate, the Supreme Court justices explained that the president has absolute immunity in the execution of his official duties. This has a great impact on Trump and Biden's race for the White House. First, Trump’s case of inciting crowds to demonstrate in Congress on January 6, 2021, will not be prosecuted before the election. In addition, the president’s official immunity has been greatly relaxed. This will allow Trump to boldly issue executive orders after being re-elected, such as deporting illegal immigrants, increasing tariffs, firing administrative officials, strengthening the power of the Department of Justice, cracking down on drug cartels, establishing the death penalty for human trafficking, and regulating drug manufacturing prices, protect retired veterans, reform the education system, etc. Supporters of Trump welcomed the justice's interpretation, while opponents worried that Trump would become lawless. Of course, it is still too early to determine who will be elected president of the United States. There may still be variables in the next hundred days. The biggest variable may not be in the debate, but in the impulse of ignorant voters, because more than half of the voters may not have watched the presidential candidate debate at all. ! The fact that 66% of voters in the United States voted is considered very high, and many referendums fail to achieve a majority. Like Taiwan's 2024 election, Lai Ching-De was elected with only 24% of the voters' votes.
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