• by Adam Buckman , Featured Columnist, September 10, 2024

Televised presidential debates are as much about the visual as anything else.

In fact, how Trump and Harris look and comport themselves in Tuesday night’s ABC News debate in Philadelphia is even more important than what they actually say. After all, the word is television.

Although many have already formed impressions about Trump and Harris, the debate will be their first opportunity to make a first impression going toe-to-toe and face-to-face on the same stage.

The TV Blog has some suggestions:

The goal of their behavior and the visual images they project should be to come across as “presidential.”

What does that mean? It means staying away from petty exchanges. It means obeying the rules on time limits. 

It means behaving like adults and not schoolchildren at midday recess. It means adopting the bearing and behaviors that we hope to see in our presidents (but don’t always get).

Issues, issues, issues. Please tell us all what you plan to do on a whole bunch of fronts -- national defense, inflation, housing, energy (both fossil and green) and more. And do it with dignity.

Request to ABC News moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis: Please ask about these issues.

Basically, ignore your opponent. The debaters will likely be tempted to turn the debate into a verbal brawl by directly addressing each other at every opportunity to point out deficiencies in their arguments, their records on the issues under discussion, and their personal histories.

But to ignore an opponent is to dismiss them as not being worth the effort to even acknowledge their presence. Acting as if the other candidate is not even there is a powerful tool. 

Try to be normal. Speak clearly and simply. Use what our parents used to call “inside voices.” This is how to make a connection to people on TV. Talk to them as if they are there in front of you.

Pay attention to the moderators’ questions and answer them. Too often in these debates, candidates completely ignore moderators’ questions. Instead, they use their on-camera time to attack each other. Neither candidate benefits from this. 

Broadway shows, circuses, monster trucks and “Wheel of Fortune” are entertainment, but not televised debates with a presidential election at stake.

People are expecting a spectacle Tuesday night, which is why it would be nice if the candidates defy all expectations and put on a serious debate. It would also be miraculous.

C-Span screenshots: Donald Trump addresses the Fraternal Order of Police in Charlotte on September 6. Kamala Harris addresses a rally in Detroit on September 2.