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Presidential Debates

Newsom Throws Support Behind Biden Amid Calls for California Governor to Replace President

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who was once the subject of serious chatter regarding a possible but ultimately not pursued primary challenge to President Joe Biden this year, is throwing his full support behind the president and his reelection campaign after he delivered a debate performance this week that was causing a “five-alarm freakout” among Democrats […]

Greg Berlanti Screens ‘Fly Me to the Moon’ on Debate Night, Says Film Reflects “This Moment in the Country”

This pivotal year for the nation was on Greg Berlanti’s mind during an intimate screening of his period film Fly Me to the Moon that took place on the night of this week’s presidential debate. Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum star in Apple Original Films’ romantic comedy feature from director Berlanti that hits theaters July […]

TV Ratings: Biden-Trump Debate Draws 51M Viewers, Way Below 2020

The first debate face-off (of the 2024 election cycle, at least) between President Joe Biden and Republican challenger Donald Trump drew a big audience — but not nearly as big as their 2020 debates. The 99-minute debate, produced by CNN but aired on 16 other networks, averaged 51.27 million viewers, according to final same-day ratings from […]

CNN Pushes Back on Fact-Checking Criticism From Debate: “Up to the Candidates”

CNN is pushing back after critics blamed the channel for its handling of last night’s debate between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. The critics, most of them Democrats, took aim at CNN and moderators Dana Bash and Jake Tapper, with the absence of real-time fact checking one of the major issues. A […]

Dems Blame CNN Moderators After Biden Debate Disaster: “Unforgivable”

You can always tell who lost a presidential debate by which party is slamming the moderators afterwards. And in the wake of Joe Biden and Donald Trump’s first 2024 presidential debate, many progressives are focusing their fire on CNN’s Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, calling out the duo for not fact-checking Trump in real time […]

Senior Political Strategist on Last Night’s Debate: Everybody, Take a Breath

Let’s be honest. As a Democrat, last night was not great. There is no sugarcoating it. From the first few minutes into the debate, my incoming texts and social media feeds last night were rough. This morning’s are not any better. If there is one thing Democrats are good at, it is panicking. To be fair […]

Jon Stewart, CNN Panelists React to Trump-Biden Debate: “This Cannot Be Real Life”

Jon Stewart and CNN panelists reacted to that very dramatic — and disturbing — debate between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump on Thursday night. On a live edition of The Daily Show, host Stewart roasted the performances of both candidates, and seemed massively frustrated. Stewart was particularly concerned by Biden’s performance, with […]

Panic Ensues Over President Joe Biden’s Shaky and Stumbling Debate Performance

The concern over President Joe Biden’s advanced age and cognitive abilities crystalized in the front half of the first presidential debate on Thursday, leading to panic among his supporters and several notable individuals to call for him to be replaced on the ticket. Biden had multiple gaffes and stumbles as the debate began, trailing off […]

Biden and Trump Face Off in Testy, Insult-Laden First Debate

President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump came face to face in Atlanta for what was a testy debate that saw the sitting president fumble at the outset as the former president shouted out insults at his opponent over dozens of topics, only for the president to lob insults right back at him, bringing […]

NBC, CNN and Fox News Join 9 Other Outlets Urging Trump and Biden to Commit to Election Debates

The five leading broadcast and cable news networks joined six more major wire, print and radio organizations Sunday with a joint statement urging the 2024 presidential candidates to commit to participating in general election debates. “With the contours of the 2024 general election now coming into clear focus, we — the undersigned national news organizations […]

TV Ratings: NewsNation Sets Record With Republican Debate

NewsNation brought in the largest audience of its two-and-a-half-year existence Wednesday night with its telecast of a Republican presidential primary debate. The cable outlet drew 1.59 million viewers for the debate, which featured candidates Chris Christie, Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy. A simulcast on The CW (which, like NewsNation, is owned by Nexstar) […]

TV Ratings: Third Republican Debate Slumps

The TV audience for the third Republican presidential primary debate fell off considerably on Wednesday. The CMA Awards also narrowly avoided posting its smallest viewer tally ever. The Republican debate aired on NBC (but not cable siblings MSNBC or CNBC) and drew 7.5 million viewers on the network, Peacock and other streaming and digital platforms. […]

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