5 most influential US presidential debates, from Nixon-Kennedy in 1960 to Trump-Biden in 2024

But once in a while, they move the needle, influencing what happens in the race from that moment onwards and perhaps even its outcome. Here are five such instances.

1. 01

   Nixon vs Kennedy, 1960: when JFK won the looks battle

   John F Kennedy took on Richard Nixon in what is considered to be the first ever televised debate on September 26, 1960. Not only did the face-off help propel JFK, at the time still a young Senator from Massachusetts, to stardom and setback then Vice President Nixon’s career by nearly a decade, it established the dictum that “appearances matter” in politics.

   The popular narrative goes like this: Nixon ultimately lost the election because he looked old and tired during the debate, while Kennedy wore makeup, appeared young, and charismatic. Thus, those who watched the debate on TV believed that Kennedy had swept the floor even though those who listened-in on the radio thought Nixon had fared better.

   In the words of Frank Stanton, the president of broadcasting company CBS at the time of the debate, “Kennedy was bronzed beautifully... Nixon looked like death.”

   Modern assessments tend to agree that the impact of the debate (and the three subsequent debates that election season) on the election is likely overstated. What cannot be disputed, however, is the impact of the debate on the creation of Kennedy’s larger-than-life persona which transcended politics to enter popular culture. Moreover, the four debates were seminal moments in American television, providing the public the very first chance to see two presidential candidates together.

2. 02

   Carter vs Ford, 1976: when a faux pas cost Ford the election

   An off-the-cuff comment made in the second televised debate of the season on October 6, 1976 might have cost Gerald R Ford the election. Although he had never been elected to public office before — Ford took over the presidency after Nixon’s resignation following the Watergate scandal — and had managed to secure the Republican nomination by a mere whisker, Jimmy Carter’s 33-point lead was down to single digits leading into the debate.

   But Ford’s faux pas arrested any momentum the incumbent may have had. Responding to a question regarding the Helsinki Accords, he said: “There is no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe, and there never will be under a Ford administration”. This might have been excused if Ford had not doubled down by saying “I don’t believe that the Poles consider themselves dominated by the Soviet Union”.

   The remark came across as naive, leading the media to portray Ford as clumsy and “not up for the job”. And it cost Ford the support of key voters who had fled communist rule in Europe. Although Carter comfortably beat Ford in the popular vote, the results of the electoral college could not have been closer.

   The election’s outcome was ultimately determined by Ohio, where the families of Catholic immigrants from Eastern Europe formed a significant share of the vote. Carter beat Ford by just 11,000 votes in the state — less than 0.3% of the four million votes cast.

3. 03

   Bush Sr vs Clinton vs Perot, 1992: when the third candidate played spoilsport

   The presidential debates of 1992 were unique in more ways than one. First, all three of them took place over the course of only nine days, creating a sort of “mini-series” that generated unprecedented public interest.

   Second, the debates all had different formats, including the first-ever town hall-style debate in which, instead of standing behind lecterns, the candidates sat on stools and walked around the open stage, surrounded on three sides by the audience. President George HW Bush gave one of the debates’ most memorable moments in this setting when he was caught on camera looking at his watch as a voter asked a question about the national debt. Bush’s challenger Bill Clinton, on the other hand, cemented his image as an affable, more relatable candidate.

   Third, these debates featured three candidates unlike the traditional two — Republican Bush Sr, Democrat Clinton, and Reform Party nominee Ross Perot, who went on to win 18.9% of the popular vote in one of the most successful third party runs in American history. The billionaire business magnate’s anti-establishment positioning won him support from across the political spectrum.

   Bush Sr’s campaign believed that Perot cost the president a second term. “He got us off message. Every event that we found ourselves in — particularly the debates with him — caused President Bush to underperform,” Mary Matalin, Bush Sr’s campaign director later said. Others, however, dispute Perot’s impact on the electoral outcome.

4. 04

   Bush Jr vs Gore, 2000: when voters punished a ‘know-it-all’

   The first US presidential election of the new millennium remains the closest one in the country’s nearly two-and-a-half century long history. George W Bush, the eldest son of former President George HW Bush, lost the popular vote to Vice President Al Gore but won one more than the required majority of 270 votes in the electoral college to claim the presidency.

   While the machinations of US presidential elections definitely played a part in the outcome of the poll, Gore’s performance in the televised debates did not help. It was not that Gore fared poorly in terms of substance — quite the opposite. The problem was his demeanor and aggression.

   During the first debate, live mics caught Gore’s loud sighs while Bush spoke. He was seen on the TV screen rolling his eyes or shaking his head in frustration multiple times. During the third debate, in what was a poor attempt at intimidation, Gore walked up to his opponent’s lectern as Bush spoke. At the end of the debates, many experts were convinced that Gore had won. But the polls showed a different picture.

   As TIME Magazine wrote in 2000: “Last week, George W. Bush and Al Gore stood at podiums, and Gore, as befitting the furniture, gave what came across as a lecture: correcting his opponent, holding forth, sighing in exasperation at Bush’s answers. The pundits and the polls agreed: Gore had won the debate. Then he lost: within a week, Bush had opened up a lead in several polls, as voters apparently decided they were tired of Professor Know-It-All.”

5. 05

   Biden vs Trump 2024: when a disastrous performance ended a political career

   The political career of US President Joe Biden effectively ended on the night of June 27, 2024 after what has been called by some as the most “embarrassing” debate performance of all time. As Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings wrote for The Economist soon after in an article titled ‘Why Biden must withdraw’, it was “agony to watch a befuddled old man struggling to recall words and facts”.

   Biden, 81, came across as incoherent with his voice sounding weak, his answers unintelligible, and retorts blunt. Overall, he had the appearance of a man who was a shell of his former self, as he committed gaffe after gaffe. “We finally beat Medicare!” he said at one point, referring to the popular national health insurance programme for the elderly that he has long championed.

   Before, there were some doubts about Biden’s mental (and physical) capabilities to continue as President till the age of 86. Biden’s performance was so bad that some wondered whether he was fit to finish the current term. And although he put up a brave and defiant tone in the debate’s immediate aftermath, he dropped out of the race less than a month later.

   The eventual outcome of Biden’s decision, and the debate which pushed him to make it, will be seen this November.