Why VP debates aren't all that important

Question

Historically, VP debates haven't really moved the polls. This claim comes after ABC News published articles building up importance of the VP debate prior to the result.

Comments

Although in comparison to the Presidential debate the Vice Presidential debate does not gain as much traction, this does not correlate that the VP debates are not “that important”. As referenced in the article according to the Nielson analytics and media company (https://www.nielsen.com/news-center/2024/over-67-million-viewers-tune-in-for-abc-news-harris-trump-debate/) it is found infact true that the average listeners of the presidential debate are significantly higher than the vice presidential debate. At an average of 65.7million to an average of 54.1 million the difference definitely sparks questions of effectiveness in influencing the voting polls. However it doesn't take away from the Vice presidential debates overall importance for our country. The purpose of a debate is to showcase and spread the opinion and plans for the upcoming presidential term. Due to the close  partnership between the President and VP, the spread of information and communication through the debate only further educates the American people on the future president's purpose for our country. Importance is not a definite term or scale but being informed and knowledgeable about who you are voting for definitely seems necessary and significant. Arguably claiming that the VP debate holds crucial importance for the future of our country.

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I agree with your response to the original post. While it's true more people tune into the presidential debate than the one for the VP's, that doesn't mean their debates aren't as important. It's important to formulate opinions about the presidential candidates as they are the potential leaders of a nation. I would argue though that it's just as important to get to know the vice presidents. Should anything happen to the candidate that gets elected, and they can no longer fulfill their duties to the nation, the VP is the person who takes over their responsibilities. While it may be unlikely, the VP's are the potential presidents of the U.S. should something happen to the President.

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I definitely agree with your stance on this article. Although these debates don't gain as large of an audience and coverage at a presidential debate, they can help voters feel reassurance about who they plan to vote for and shines light on what our possible future VP's plan to accomplish in the following term. And when you vote for a presidential candidate, the VP comes with him so it is especially important to know what both the president AND vice president stand for, given they influence each other's decisions.

Answer 1

Overall, this is pretty misleading. First, ABC claims that the VP debates get fewer views than the Presidential debates, which may be the case but that doesn't make them less important. But then the article explains that they don't make much of a difference in the polls. While they acknowledge that it is because the Vice Presidential debates are so close to the Presidential debates, it is hard to be sure. Brookings claims that the VP debates help add to the narrative of the whole race (https://www.brookings.edu/articles/will-the-vice-presidential-debate-matter-a-review-of-the-modern-debates/). In the same article they mention how in a race as close as this election is, it's hard to determine how impactful the VP debate will be. In their article, they examine almost every televised debate and how it played a role in the election. However, a BBC article does agree with the claim that they are generally unimportant, except for the Vice Presidential debate this election year (https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8j7pd8ey3xo ). While in most election cycles it is true that they aren't that important in this election specifically the debate can help narrow down the close race. The main reason this post is misleading is because it gives the impression that they don't serve a purpose when they do.

Comments

Overall I can see what you are saying, but there are a couple issues I have with this check. The first source shows different VP debate results and the subsequent election, but there really isn't anything to definitively say that those debates were key factors. It may be true that this is misleading, but there isn't exactly evidence to go against it. Also, things like the lack of time between VP debate and election limiting how clear the impact is seem to be true, but it doesn't change the fact that with the modern election calendar, vp debates don't have a very clear impact. The second source that focuses on Vance and Walz's recent debate says they aren't usually important but that this one is with little evidence, making it seem a little reactionary. It is easy to imagine that being said for several past elections as well where there was little obvious impact, and the basis of this claim seemed to just be because the current VP candidates contrast heavily.

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I think your claim addressing Brookings is completely accurate. The vice presidential debate is not necessarily the utmost important factor of the whole race but it does add its part to the overall narrative of becoming president. It helps build the case for our future president and seeing that our future president has a right hand man or woman we as society can trust, respect, and support plays a big part into voting polls.