The GOP debate devolved into media spectacle — and the media is to blame

Voters who wanted to see a media spectacle got their wish Wednesday night when eight GOP presidential candidates took the debate stage in Milwaukee. Citizens who hoped for a sensible discussion of the nation’s challenging issues, however, were surely disappointed by the theatrics.

There is an inherent problem with trying to force hefty political dialogue into the medium of television. Serious political debate requires depth and nuance, something sorely missing in the visual and highly produced yet superficial nature of television today.

Wednesday’s format allowed for candidates to get only one minute to answer moderator questions. Heck, some of the long-winded questions took that long to set up. But candidates had to play along in the fast-moving, glitzy world of television, trying to answer questions about the Ukraine war, climate change, education, crime and so on in under 60 seconds. It is little wonder that candidates diminished themselves and the event itself by talking beyond their time limits, interrupting each other and overreaching to try to launch that memorable sound bite or zinger.

Political debates staged for television are actually simultaneous press conferences for the candidates, punctuated by consultant driven catch phrases and the occasional launch of verbal brick bats. Vivek Ramaswamy benefited the most from this rhetorical environment, showing his big personality and polished speaking style. The other candidates came off more like, well, the politicians they are.

The debate format allowed a whopping 30 seconds for a candidate to respond if he or she had been specifically criticized by an opposing candidate. That unnecessary guideline provided a disincentive to comment about opponents, because doing so gave the opponent extra air time. That didn’t keep former Vice President Mike Pence from calling Ramaswamy a “rookie” or former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie from calling Ramaswamy an “amateur,” thus allowing Ramaswamy to get almost 12 minutes of speaking time on stage. But the personal attack rule hurt former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, who were never specifically criticized by the field, both getting less than eight total minutes to talk about anything.

A major problem with televised political debates is that broadcast personalities/anchors necessarily serve as moderators and, as a result, expect to be part of the event. Fox News Channel’s Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum moderated the Milwaukee circus. They are seasoned and respected journalists. But they nonetheless fell victim to the demands of the shiny television medium. The hosts struggled to keep control of candidates who went over time, not to mention the interrupting audience.

The television producers, who ultimately ran the event, didn’t help the moderators by establishing a “Lightning Round” segment late in the program, confirming the zany game show nature of what was supposed to be serious political dialogue. MacCallum quickly adapted to her new role as Wink Martindale to ask Christie about UFOs.

Televised political debates have seldom impacted the trajectory of political seasons, and this one won’t either. Then-candidate Kamala Harris got complimentary reviews in the early Democratic primary debates in 2020, but her performances did her little eventual good — she dropped out before primary voting even started. Primary voting is still five months away and few voters will be thinking about the Milwaukee debate when they cast their ballots.

Further adding to the “so what?” nature of Wednesday’s debate was that GOP primary frontrunner former President Trump did not think the event important enough to show up. Remarkably, Trump’s name wasn’t even mentioned in the forum until 15 minutes had elapsed, when Pence said he was proud of the Trump-Pence administration. The former president, meanwhile, was forcing himself into the news agenda by doing an interview on social media with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson.

The “debate” in Milwaukee was surely not the big leagues of political rhetoric. It wasn’t even the minor leagues, but more like a practice game in the summer softball beer league. The insignificance of the event, however, won’t keep more of them from happening. Such events are too important to the establishment media that host and report on them, along with the political insider crowds who wring their hands. Most Americans have more important things to think about than which long-shot GOP candidate can make a fleeting splash on television.

Jeffrey M. McCall is a media critic and professor of communication at DePauw University. He has worked as a radio news director, a newspaper reporter and as a political media consultant. Follow him on Twitter @Prof_McCall.