Ahead of last week’s debate, MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell combed through the debate rules and format, before going on to suggest an entirely new way to hold such events. In a monologue on “The Last Word With Lawrence O’Donnell,” the host compared presidential debates versus the job, arguing there’s a much “better way to do this.” His response was met with laughter and criticism.
“A better way to do this tomorrow night would actually be to allow the candidates to have as many staff as they want join them on the stage throughout the debate and make sure all of them have microphones,” he said. “And the candidates should be allowed to turn to their staffs and confer with them about anything at any time during the debate, and we should be able to hear everything they say so we can hear if the candidate has competent or incompetent staff, we could hear the candidate overrule some adviser and say something else. We could watch the candidates actually think and process information, including possibly information they might not know. A candidate should actually be allowed to have staff members answer questions for them…that’s the way the presidency actually works. The presidency does not involve oral exams and memory quizzes…”
MSNBC host has a suggestion for a new debate format.
— MAZE (@mazemoore) July 4, 2024
This is beautiful.😂 pic.twitter.com/LxtQJziVZ0
Following the debate, O’Donnell sought to encourage viewers by reminding them that few voters actually watched the event. Even so, every member of the media did, and many are now turning on the president, making Biden’s mental fitness and age an even bigger issue in the news cycle than it ever was before.