Tracking the Attacks in the First Presidential Debate
The New York Times tracked speaking time during this year’s first debate between President Biden and former President Donald J. Trump, and broke down how much time the candidates spent attacking and talking over each other.
Time spent attacking opponent’s policies or character
Presidential debates are a delicate balance highlighting a candidate’s accomplishments and attacking their opponent. The Times tracked how much of each candidate’s time was directed at his opponent, rather than spent on his own records and policies.
Which issues gave rise to the most attacks?
How much time the candidates spent attacking each other on key issues, sorted by combined time spent.
How the debate compared with 2020’s debates
Percentage of time the candidates spent attacking each other’s policies and character.
How much did the candidates talk over each other?
Percentage of time Biden and Trump spoke simultaneously.
In an effort to avoid interruptions and cross talk, CNN, the debate’s host, announced it would mute each man’s microphone when it is not his turn to speak. Each candidate was given two minutes to answer questions, followed by one-minute rebuttals and responses to the rebuttals.
The candidate’s microphones were not muted during the first debate in 2020, but they were muted some of the time during the final debate.
Experts said they were watching to see whether Mr. Trump again relied on personal attacks and name-calling, and whether or not Mr. Biden focused his attacks on Mr. Trump’s recent felony convictions.