Topics and participation in the FNC Republican debate (March 2016)
 Date: November 8, 2016 |
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This article analyzes the central themes of the eleventh Republican presidential debate held on March 3, 2016, in Detroit, Michigan. 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 the previous Republican debate, see the analysis of the CNN Republican debate held on February 25, 2016.
Segments
Including closing statements, this debate featured 24 unique discussion segments covering economic policy, national security and Michigan-specific issues. These discussion segments were measured by any shift in the theme of a discussion prompted by one of the moderators: Bret Baier, Megyn Kelly and Chris Wallace.
- Mitt Romney's speech against Donald Trump's candidacy
- Marco Rubio's personal attacks against Trump
- Super Tuesday
- Trump's business ventures
- Taxes and the federal deficit
- Federal minimum wage
- Immigration reform and amnesty
- Foreign worker visas
- Ground strategy in Libya
- Ethics of torture and targeting terrorists' families
- Edward Snowden
- Trump's national security advisers
- Trump's policy inconsistencies
- Trump University lawsuits, 2016
- Water crisis in Flint, Michigan
- Public schools in Detroit, Michigan
- Strengthening manufacuturing in the U.S.
- Religious liberty and gay marriage
- Restrictions on the Second Amendment
- Trump's fitness to be commander-in-chief
- Nuclear threat from North Korea
- Vladimir Putin and Russia
- Pledge to support Trump as Republican presidential nominee
- Closing statements
One-third of the discussion segments directly related to Donald Trump's candidacy or professional and ethical qualifications to become president of the United States.
Additionally, several discussion segments were initially framed by Trump's position on the issue, e.g., Trump's populism and performance during Super Tuesday, his endorsement from U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) and immigration reform, and his relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S.-Russia relations.[1]
Participants
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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.
The median number of discussion segments per candidate was 13. Trump participated in the most at 16, while Kasich only participated in 11.
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.
Although the candidates frequently talked over each other within each discussion segment, they generally waited until a moderator prompted them to speak before joining the discussion at first. Kasich was the only candidate who attempted to join a discussion segment and failed.
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.
The moderators called on Trump first or second in approximately half of the discussion segments.
Candidate participation by speaking time
According to speaking time estimates from NPR, Trump spoke the longest, registering 26.7 minutes on the clock. This was nearly double the amount of time Rubio and Kasich were given.[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 significantly quicker than his peers at 245 words per minute.
Candidate participation by segment vs. speaking time
The amount of time a candidate spoke did not necessarily align with the number of issues he covered during the debate. In this debate, Trump dominated in both speaking time and the number of discussion segments he participated in. Rubio, although he spoke less than any other candidate, had more subject-based engagement than Kasich.
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.
Once again, Trump had the most positive live audience engagement. He registered 26 instances, approximately 60 percent more than each of his rivals.
The discussion segments on the results of the Super Tuesday presidential primaries and Trump's policy inconsistencies produced the most live audience engagement overall.
Candidate analysis
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See also
- Presidential candidates, 2016
- Presidential election, 2016/Polls
- 2016 presidential candidate ratings and scorecards
- Presidential election, 2016/Straw polls
Footnotes
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