The 2024 presidential debates and public deliberation

There is a consensus among scholars that the societal functions of presidential debates are to educate the public about the issue positions and character of the candidates. Both social scientific and humanistic research indicates that from 1960 through 2008, presidential debates fulfilled these functions. However, research indicates that the 2012, 2016, and 2020 debates did not fulfill their educational functions. In this study, a review of public opinion, news reporting on public reaction, and commentator response is combined with a careful analysis of the argumentative quality of the two 2024 presidential debates to consider whether they fulfilled their societal functions. The analysis indicates that the 2024 debates functioned as political theater, continuing the pattern that began in 2012.