Presidential debates are informative, respectful, and factual. At least, that’s how it used to be. While there’s always been some rude remarks between presidents, the advent of Donald Trump has forever changed the landscape. Debates are now more meme factories than scholarly talks. How did we end up here?

I took this opportunity to interview both Dr. Armentrout and Dr. Murrillo to give their insight on this issue. What I learned is that there is no singular start date to this decline, but it’s the rise of the media as a whole that has exacerbated the issue. The first televised presidential debate was in 1960, but since then, the debates have become more and more about presentation and perceived winners. If candidates are  sweating, if they’re wearing the right suit, everything begins to come into play. Former president Ronald Reagan was a master of memorable debate lines that left him looking victorious.

But if they’ve always been tense , why have debates degraded so much in the last few years ? Well, it’s the algorithm. In the past, there were a few broadcasting channels, but now there are hundreds of thousands of them, all competing for your attention. Radicalism emerges because it’s fed with engagement, and curated content lands voters in a political echo chamber. Now it’s not the information, but the entertainment factor that pulls in viewers. Trump has even stated that he raises ratings, and that proves to be true.

So what was the real turning point in the fall of the presidential debates? According to Dr. Murrillo, it was the 2016 Republican Party presidential debate. During the debate, Trump engaged in interruptions, name-calling, and sexist remarks. In, at times, stark contrast to his peers.

Yet his tactics work, as his appeal is in “being real” and speaking for the people like the people. He gains support in his blunt tone because he can claim to ‘say it like it is’ and ‘say what we’re all thinking.’ Even now, almost 10 years later, he acted similarly against his last opponent, Kamala Harris. The 2024 debate between Trump and Harris will likely go down in history for its incoherence.

This pattern is likely to follow Trump’s lead, as debates have begun to lack meaningful enforcement and the political landscape has become, perhaps permanently, more polarized. The best way to stay informed and make a difference is to vote, remain informed through unbiased sources, and think critically of the media you’re consuming. The nation’s fate is in the hands of the voters.