Topics and participation in the CNN Republican debate (March 2016)

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See also: Miami CNN Republican Debate (March 10, 2016)



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This article analyzes the central themes of the twelfth Republican presidential debate held on March 10, 2016, in Miami, Florida. The transcript prepared by The Washington Post was used to measure candidate participation and audience engagement.[1] Footage from the debate was consulted where there were ambiguities in the text.

To compare the statistics of this debate to those of the previous Republican debate, see the analysis of the FNC debate held on March 3, 2016.

HIGHLIGHTS
  • One-fourth of the discussion segments related to Trump's campaign and Republican Party politics.
  • For the first time in a Republican presidential debate, none of the candidates interjected himself into a discussion segment.
  • "People" was the most frequently spoken word by Kasich, Rubio and Trump. Cruz's top words were "need" and "Washington."

    • Segments

    Including opening and closing statements, this debate featured 20 unique discussion segments covering immigration, the economy, education, foreign affairs and the Republican Party These discussion segments were measured by any shift in the theme of a discussion prompted by one of the moderators: Jake Tapper, Dana Bash, Hugh Hewitt and Stephen Dinan.

    1. Opening statements
    2. Trade agreements
    3. H-1B visa program and foreign workers
    4. Common Core
    5. Sustainability of Social Security
    6. Republican Party and tariffs
    7. Islam and the United States
    8. Ethics of targeting terrorists' families
    9. Israeli-Palestinian conflict
    10. Ground strategy in Syria and Iraq
    11. Department of Veterans Affairs and benefits for veterans
    12. U.S.-Cuba relations
    13. Climate change
    14. Perception of the United States abroad
    15. Authoritarian governments
    16. Violence at Donald Trump's rallies
    17. Pathway to Republican nomination and the Republican National Convention
    18. Donald Trump's self-funded campaign
    19. Political flexibility
    20. Closing statements

    Approximately one-third of the discussion segments related to foreign affairs and national security. One-fourth of the discussion segments related to Trump's campaign and Republican Party politics.

    Participants

    Overall participation

    Participation in a discussion segment was defined as a substantive comment related to the discussion segment's topic. Jokes and attempts to gain permission from a moderator to speak were not considered participatory speech acts. In some instances, candidates who participated in a discussion segment diverted from the prompted topic.

    Candidate participation by behavior

    Participation in the debate was also measured by the candidate's behavior at the start of each discussion segment. This study considered whether a candidate was initially prompted by a moderator to speak during a discussion segment or whether he or she independently engaged in the discussion segment by interrupting another candidate or calling on the moderator for permission to speak. A candidate's conduct after they joined a discussion segment was not considered.

    For the first time in a Republican debate, none of the candidates interjected himself into a discussion segment. Trump commented on this courtesy, saying, "We're all in this together. We're going to come up with solutions. We're going to find the answers to things. And so far I cannot believe how civil it's been up here."[1]

    Candidate participation by speaking order

    This study also calculated the number of times a candidate spoke first, second, third, or fourth during a discussion segment, whether prompted by a moderator with a question or invitation to rebut or by interjection.

    Trump was called on to speak first or second more frequently than any other candidate.

    Candidate participation by speaking time

    According to speaking time estimates from NPR, Trump spoke the longest, registering 27.4 minutes on the clock. Kasich spoke for the least amount of time at 18.8 minutes.[2]

    Candidate participation by speaking rate

    Each candidate's speaking rate was calculated by dividing the total word count of the candidate's speech during the debate with his speaking time as measured by NPR. As in previous debates, Rubio spoke quicker than his peers at 231 words per minute.

    Audience engagement

    Audience engagement was measured by noting applause, cheering or laughter in The Washington Post's transcript. Footage from the debate was consulted when the text was ambiguous about to whom the audience was responding.

    Trump and Rubio tied for the most the most positive engagement from the live audience with 30 instances each.

    The discussion segments on the sustainability of Social Security and the pathway to the Republican nomination produced the most live audience engagement overall.

    Candidate analysis

    Word cloud of Ted Cruz's speech during the debate
    Ted-Cruz-circle.png
    • Candidate: Ted Cruz
    • Speaking time: 21.7 min
    • Number of words: 3,807
    • Most commonly used words:
      • Need: 29
      • Washington: 19
      • Work: 19
      • People: 19
      • President: 19
    Word cloud of John Kasich's speech during the debate
    John-R-Kasich-circle.png
    • Candidate: John Kasich
    • Speaking time: 18.8 min
    • Number of words: 3,829
    • Most commonly used words:
      • People: 23
      • Know: 22
      • Work: 20
      • Need: 20
      • State: 19
    Word cloud of Marco Rubio's speech during the debate
    Marco-Rubio-circle.png
    • Candidate: Marco Rubio
    • Speaking time: 21.4 min
    • Number of words: 4,936
    • Most commonly used words:
      • People: 29
      • Work: 21
      • Here: 20
      • Deal: 19
      • Change: 19
    Word cloud of Donald Trump's speech during the debate
    Donald-Trump-circle.png
    • Candidate: Donald Trump
    • Speaking time: 27.4 min
    • Number of words: 5,391
    • Most commonly used words:
      • People: 44
      • Very: 43
      • Deal: 43
      • Want: 35
      • Know: 32

    See also

    Footnotes

    1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 The Washington Post, "The CNN Miami Republican debate transcript, annotated," March 10, 2016
    2. ↑ NPR, "On The Clock: Trump Talks The Most, But Not As Much As Past Debates" March 10, 2016
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