2024 killed the presidential debate. Here’s why it should still matter.

Presidential debates can create moments that can make or break a candidate's candidacy.

Walter Mondale's “Ronald Reagan's Laugh Lines”youth and immaturity” helped breathe new life into his 1984 re-election campaign.

Gerald Ford's puzzling claim is that “No Soviet control of Eastern Europe” sealed the ignominious fate of the 1976 presidential election.

Richard Nixon sweating, Al Gore's attempted physical intimidation and George H.W. Bush's watch check All of them silently undermined their expectations for the president.

Not so much anymore. 2024 will destroy the argument that presidential debates matter, and perhaps it is even the final nail in the coffin for this political practice. If we are indeed hearing the death knell of debate, the implications for political debate could be profound, and very unfortunate.

Donald Trump's landslide victory in the Iowa caucuses was not unexpected, but it was notable that Trump never stepped onto the debate stage to make his case. . Closer to victory with 30 points. More states appear ready to give Trump at least several delegates to secure his nomination. The strategy appears to be working, with Trump and his team predicting that he won't need to debate Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Florida) or Nikki Haley to become the Republican nominee.

While avoiding controversy may have seemed like a gamble in past election cycles, it may not be so much of a gamble this year. President Trump's disdain for debate has been tempered by the Republican National Committee. announced in december The plan is to stop sponsoring preliminary debates.

Assuming that the matchup in the general election is Trump vs. Biden, President Trump will be passive, coupled with the Biden camp's passive attitude. fear There is a good chance that the two candidates will not agree to face off in even one debate, given that the incumbent president is likely to make a gaffe that raises concerns about his age.

However, in 2024, the debate may no longer be important. should Are they important?

Presidential debates have long played an important role in the political process. They introduce candidates to the public. This allows voters to evaluate candidates and compare their ideas, issue stances, personalities and temperaments, with the goal of enabling them to make informed decisions at the ballot box.

For example, before President Reagan faced off against Jimmy Carter in the first debate in 1980, many voters were unsure whether he had the right temperament to be president. Reagan's performance reassured them and helped secure a landslide victory in the general election.

But these days, there are so many ways for candidates to share themselves with voters, which simply didn't exist a few years ago.Options include direct outreach via social media and Reddit Please ask me anything Forums and online town hall meetings. Moreover, as political polarization increases, fewer undecided voters are dependent on strong debate performance.

But presidential debates serve a function that these new forms of communication simply do not have. talk to each other. Election campaigns are as fragmented as political media, making it increasingly possible for voters to engage only with the candidates they like and avoid others. Debates maintain, at least on the surface, the notion that conversation between candidates is important, and that the warp and woof of a campaign are ultimately ideas and discourse.

Even if presidential debates survive this era, it seems likely that more candidates will choose to opt out. Those who have trouble dealing with unplanned situations may think that participating will only increase their chances of making mistakes that will hurt their political prospects. Rather, they may stick to highly choreographed events that are more likely to go unchallenged.

This path has become easier thanks to modern tools and technologies that are already emerging to support election campaigns.as New tools keep coming — one that values ​​connections with political allies and influencers over speech and debate — will become even easier in the future.

Political debate changed significantly after the war. lincoln douglas eraBut they've always adapted to changing times, from the rise of television to the need for shorter soundbites. But given Trump's seemingly unencumbered path to the Republican nomination and the Biden campaign's fear of unscripted events, time may simply have run out.

Trump and Biden could be a big blow to the debate, but they don't deserve it all Responsibility: More than ever, presidential campaigns have evolved into echo chambers, with less conversation between candidates and more emptiness.

It's up to us, the voters, to hold the political class accountable and demand opportunities to see how candidates handle high-pressure situations and how they work together. We are the ones who stand to lose the most when the state of political discourse deteriorates.

Jennifer Tiedemann I am the editor-in-chief of discourse A magazine housed at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.