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With the exception of the debate between 45th President Donald J. Trump and 46th President Joseph R. Biden Jr. held on June 27, 2024, presidential debates are typically held late in the election cycle, after the political parties have nominated their candidates.
- The history of presidential debates is surprisingly short. In the early years of the United States, presidential candidates considered it unseemly to campaign, let alone debate their opponents.
- The first presidential debates required an act of Congress. The Communications Act of 1934 required that American broadcasters offer all candidates for public office—not just those from the major parties—equal time on air.
- At one presidential debate, the candidates were separated by nearly 3,000 miles. When Kennedy and Nixon appeared for their third debate of the 1960 campaign, they didn’t share the same time zone, let alone the same stage.
- During one debate, the candidates stood silently for nearly half an hour. With just nine minutes remaining in the first debate between President Gerald Ford and Democratic challenger Jimmy Carter on September 23, 1976, the audio suddenly failed.
Jun 24, 2024 · In 1948, the presidential debate would get a boost with a radio broadcast of a debate between Republican primary contenders Thomas Dewey and Harold Stassen. Between 40 and 80 million listeners tuned into the radio broadcast of the pair's debate over outlawing communism in the United States.
Aug 19, 2024 · Debates between presidential candidates have become an important part of the election process every four years, but in historical terms, these events are relatively new. The first widely seen debates between presidential nominees were held in 1960 when John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon squared off on television four times.
Jun 24, 2024 · From Kennedy v. Nixon to Bush v. Gore, here are some of the most important presidential debates in history.
Oct 7, 2020 · Despite two other presidential debates being aired on TV in 1952 and 1956, the debates between Democrat John F. Kennedy and Republican Richard M. Nixon in 1960 are widely remembered as the...
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May 15, 2024 · But it might look a little different this year: the candidates will first debate on June 27 on CNN, months ahead of the usual fall matchups, in events that will not be organized by the Commission...
