After weeks of trading barbs on the campaign trail, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump will finally come face to face on Tuesday night for their greatly anticipated debate, which will air on ABC. In an unpredictable election cycle that’s already included such unprecedented events as the incumbent dropping out and the attempted assassination of the other candidate, the stakes couldn’t be higher for this primetime battle (which will actually mark the first time Harris and Trump have ever met in person).
It’s unclear whether this face-off will be the candidates’ only joint appearance before Election Day. As of now, this debate is the only one on the schedule, and given all the conflict over the rules (and Trump’s threats to drop out, even though he’d already agreed to participate), it may be unlikely that they’ll take the stage together again.
Either way, the pressure is exceedingly high for both parties, especially given new polling that shows 28 percent of voters say they need to know more about Harris to make a decision. And while only 9 percent said the same about Trump, we can be sure that both candidates will be looking to land decisive blows against one another to set the tone for the home stretch.
What impact will it have? That remains to be seen (though we’ve got some predictions from columnist Jonathan Alter right here). But history tells us that debates certainly have the power to turn the tide in a presidential race, or at least create moments that’ll be remembered for years after the elections’ winner has been declared. As we wait to see what Trump and Harris have in store for us, here’s a look back at some of those unforgettable exchanges.
The Most Memorable Presidential Debate Moments
1960: JFK’s charisma redefines how to win
We begin with the first-ever televised debates between two presidential candidates, the 1960 face-off between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon. Today, a candidate’s talent for communicating effectively on television (and Instagram, and TikTok, and the list goes on) is an essential test of their viability. But back in 1960, the significant importance of on-camera presentation was still a new concept. In this particular debate, Kennedy came off as charming and charismatic, and Nixon’s nervous, somewhat sweaty demeanor just couldn’t compete. This lesson about how politicians can sway voters with their personalities just as much as they can with their policies defined the dynamic of debates for decades to come.
1976: Gerald Ford’s major gaffe
In a 1976 debate with Jimmy Carter, incumbent President Gerald Ford uttered a line that arguably tipped the entire race: “There is no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe, and there never will be under a Ford administration.” Given the reality of the Soviet Union’s hold over that part of the world at the time, Ford’s words were a head-scratcher, to put it lightly — the debate’s moderator even asked whether he’d actually meant what he said, to which Ford responded that he did. The response to this line contributed to Carter’s eventual victory later that year.
1980: “I am paying for this microphone”
During the Republican primary for the 1980 race, Reagan was set to go head-to-head with George H.W. Bush in a debate held by the New Hampshire newspaper The Nashua Telegraph. When the FEC determined that a newspaper-sponsored debate wouldn’t comply with its election regulations, Reagan decided to hold the event anyway, using his own campaign funds. He also decided to invite the other, lower-polling candidates for the nomination, whom the newspaper did not plan to include. When things officially got underway, Reagan sparred with the moderator over his intention to make an introductory statement. When the moderator urged the sound engineer to turn off the candidate’s mic, Reagan forcefully shouted, “I am paying for this microphone!”, drawing a rapturous response from the crowd.
1984: Reagan’s quip for the ages
During the 1984 campaign, 73-year-old Reagan was the oldest president in history (a record that has been significantly extended by President Joe Biden, who sits in the Oval Office today at 81). Voters were concerned about his age, especially compared to his 56-year-old opponent Walter Mondale. Asked about this on the debate stage, Reagan responded with a joke: “I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent’s youth and inexperience.” The line prompted laughter from the audience and Mondale himself, who later admitted that this debate “was really the end of my campaign.”
1988: Dukakis’ take on the death penalty
The moderator’s question in this 1988 debate between Michael Dukakis and George H.W. Bush was pretty harsh to begin with: “If [your wife] Kitty Dukakis were raped and murdered, would you favor an irrevocable death penalty for the killer?” But Dukakis’ answer, in which he explained why he opposed the death penalty, even in that extreme circumstance, was seen by many voters as detached and insufficiently passionate.
1992: George H.W. Bush finds out what time it is
In this debate between Republican President George H.W. Bush, Democratic challenger Bill Clinton, and Independent candidate Ross Perot, an audience member asked the men on stage how they had been personally affected by the national debt. Bush struggled to understand the question and apply it to himself, whereas Clinton offered a thoughtful, impassioned answer. The exchange highlighted the charges against Bush that he was out of touch with the average voter, and this idea was made concrete by Bush being caught on camera checking his watch during the conversation, which many viewers read as a sign of impatience with this piece of the political process.
2008: The likability factor
The 2008 Democratic primary was a hard-fought battle between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, especially because of the historic nature of their candidacies — he was running to become the country’s first Black president, while she hoped to become the first woman to win the Oval Office. Illustrating a complicated trap faced all too often by powerful women, Clinton was asked about voters who found Obama more “likable” on a personal level than herself. “Well, that hurts my feelings,” Clinton responded. But it was Obama’s dismissive-sounding follow-up that got more attention: “You’re likable enough, Hillary” — a backhanded compliment that drew criticism afterward.
2012: “Binders full of women”
It’s hard to argue with the point Mitt Romney was trying to make in this 2012 debate with President Barack Obama. He explained that, while filling his cabinet as governor of Massachusetts, he noticed that his staff had suggested only men for these important jobs, and he’d responded by asking them to source qualified women who could fill some of the positions, too. Nothing wrong with pushing gender equality, right? The problem was his wording: “I went to a number of women’s groups and said, ‘Can you help us find folks?’ And they brought us whole binders full of women.” This awkward phrasing that reduced groups of professional women to a common school supply didn’t land well with voters, contributing to the feeling that Romney was tone-deaf on a key issue.
2016: Who’s the puppet?
Ever the untraditional candidate, Donald Trump’s unorthodox behavior in his debates with Hillary Clinton got plenty of attention and analysis in 2016. That included stalking the former Secretary of State around the stage, which Clinton later said made her “skin crawl.” But this particular moment is notable for the way it highlights Trump’s habit of projection against his political enemies, a charge he still hasn’t escaped. When Trump declared that Russia’s Vladimir Putin had “no respect” for Clinton, she responded that it was because Putin would prefer to have a “puppet” as U.S. president, prompting this infamous retort from Trump: “No puppet. No puppet. You’re the puppet.”
2020: “I’m speaking”
The 2020 vice presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Mike Pence generated two viral moments we still haven’t forgotten. The first was the fly that landed on Pence’s head, which became the inspiration for a sketch on Saturday Night Live. The second — and more substantive — was Harris’ tactic for dealing with interruptions from her opponent: “Mr. Vice President, I’m speaking.” The moment resonated with female voters who had plenty of experience being talked over in their professional and personal lives.
2024: Joe Biden crashes and burns
Perhaps no debate has been more disastrous for a sitting president than the first general election showdown of the 2024 race. Voters were already concerned about Joe Biden’s age before the debate even began, and once it did, he did nothing to assuage their fears. The president fumbled over his words, mixed up terminology, and occasionally seemed to freeze mid-sentence. The criticism of his performance was so universally negative that Biden eventually dropped out of the race entirely and called for Harris to replace him at the top of the ticket.
