The Demise of U.S. Political Debate?

The vice presidential debate hosted last night by CBS News and broadcast nationally on TV is the first and only scheduled of its kind between Democratic pick Tim Walz and Republican select JD Vance. Following a heated debate between presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump last month, this round went remarkably smoothly, with the two nominees focusing largely on policy rather than personal attacks of one another. Topics covered included abortion, immigration and shootings.

The fact this debate went relatively drama-free has become something of an outlier in U.S. politics. According to a Pew Research Center survey in 2023, around eight in ten respondents said that the tone and nature of political debate in the United States has become less respectful and fact-based in recent years. Only two percent of respondents said that it had become more respectful and eight percent said it had become more fact-based. This view was shared by a majority of respondents who self-identified as being Republican-leaning and Democratic-leaning. 

Respondents were also asked about how much confidence they have in the future of the political system. Where 37 percent said either a lot or some, 63 percent said not too much or none at all. It remains to be seen how these figures have changed as of 2024.

When asked about how respondents feel when talking about politics with those they disagree with, Pew found that 61 percent said they found it generally “stressful and frustrating”, while 36 percent said they were generally “interesting and informative” conversations.