presidential debate Archives

Republican presidential candidates Ben Carson, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), Donald Trump, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Ohio Gov. John Kasich (L-R) stand on stage for the Republican National Committee Presidential Primary Debate at the University of Houston's Moores School of Music Opera House on February 25, 2016 in Houston, Texas. The candidates are meeting for the last Republican debate before the Super Tuesday primaries on March 1. Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images

What does the future hold for presidential debates?

The Republican National Committee’s withdrawal from the Commission on Presidential Debates raises the question of what will happen to future forums and whether a GOP candidate will ever face off with another opponent again? A Northeastern political expert weighs in.

by Morgyn Joubert April 26, 2022

President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden participate in the final presidential debate at Belmont University on Oct. 22, 2020, in Nashville, Tenn. AP Photo by Jim Bourg

Here’s why Donald Trump failed to ‘rock the boat’ in his debate with Joe Biden

Though Trump practiced relatively courteous behavior in the second and final debate on Thursday. But the president failed to cut into Joe Biden’s lead in a meaningful way, said Nicholas Beauchamp, assistant professor of political science at Northeastern.

by Ian Thomsen October 23, 2020

A protestor holds up a sign during the U.S. Youth Climate Strike at Columbus Circle in New York on March 15, 2019. AP Photo by Anthony Behar/Sipa USA

Climate change has made history this election cycle. But how will it fare in November?

With this week’s debate canceled, the only presidential debate so far featured the longest discussion of climate change of any such showdown to date. But there’s still a long way to go, says Jennie C. Stephens, dean’s professor of sustainability science and policy at Northeastern.

by Molly Callahan October 14, 2020

President Donald Trump, left, and Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden, right, with moderator Chris Wallace, center, of Fox News during the first presidential debate on Sept. 29, 2020, at Case Western University and Cleveland Clinic, in Cleveland, Ohio. AP Photo by Patrick Semansky

Did anyone really win the first presidential debate?

Tuesday’s debate between Republican incumbent Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger Joe Biden was marked more by what it wasn’t—a coherent advocacy of policy differences—than what it was. The showdown was nearly 90 minutes of cross-talk, interruptions, and shouting that “both men probably lost,” said Nicholas Beauchamp, assistant professor of political science at Northeastern University.

by Molly Callahan September 30, 2020

From left, Democratic presidential candidates Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden, and Elizabeth Warren raise their hands to answer a question Thursday, Sept. 12, 2019, during a Democratic presidential primary debate hosted by ABC at Texas Southern University in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Make sense of the Democratic presidential race in real time

The latest presidential debate revealed the candidates’ strategies, says Northeastern professor Nick Beauchamp, who has helped develop a couple of visualization tools that bring new perspective to the election.

by Ian Thomsen September 13, 2019

Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, Kirsten Gillibrand, Kamala Harris, Bernie Sanders, and Eric Swalwell attend the 2020 Democratic Party presidential debates held at The Adrienne Arsht Center on June 27, 2019 in Miami Florida. AP Photo/mpi04/MediaPunch

Here’s why the second round of Democratic debates will be ‘an elimination round’

“The way the polling and fundraising stands now, there’s only a handful of people who will make that September cut,” says Alan Schroeder, an emeritus professor of journalism at Northeastern University who studied presidential debates. “For the candidates polling at 1 percent and below, this is their last chance to have a breakthrough.”

by Molly Callahan July 29, 2019

3Qs: Making sense of the encryption debate

Last week, presidential candidates in both the Republican and Democratic debates offered some interesting views about the Internet. Here, Daniel Wichs, an expert in modern cryptography and an assistant professor of computer science, weighs in on the debate about Internet security.

by Matthew McDonald December 21, 2015

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