GOP Candidate Critiques Chaotic Presidential Debate: Are American Voters the Real Losers in This Format?
Debate Format Critique
- North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum criticized the recent Fox Business Network and Univision’s Republican presidential primary debate.
- Candidates frequently talked over each other, leading to multiple instances of chaos during the debate. To maintain order, Varney had to interrupt and call for commercial breaks on several occasions to prevent the situation from escalating further.
Burgum said to reporters after the debate:
“It’ll be interesting to go back and watch the tape, because somebody said, ‘Oh, here’s the time people got.’ Were they counting all the crosstalk? Was that half of it?”
- Burgum highlighted the excessive crosstalk and insufficient opportunity for candidates to express their views clearly.
- During the first 45 minutes of the event, Burgum faced challenges in actively engaging and received less speaking time than many felt he warranted.
- This was widely perceived as a deliberate move by Fox News to sideline Burgum, potentially derailing his 2024 campaign, given that he was the lowest-polling candidate in the debate held last night.
Audience Becoming The Losers Of The Debate
- The debate format and conduct led to significant public dissatisfaction, making it difficult for viewers to understand candidates’ positions.
Burgum went on to tell reporters:
“I mean, the people that lost tonight [were] the American voters, becasue if they don’t get a chance to actually understand who’s on the stage and what they stand for, I think that’s a big loss for the voters.”
Adding, “Because the voters decide who’s going to move forward in this campaign, not televised clickbait debates.”
- Many social media users and Burgum emphasized that the event was “unwatchable” due to the hosts’ inability to manage candidates and pose relevant questions.
- Burgum asserted that such debates fail the democratic process and the American voters by prioritizing sensationalism over substance.
