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

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See also: Detroit, Mich., Fox News Republican Debate (March 3, 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.

HIGHLIGHTS
  • Donald Trump spoke for twice as long as Marco Rubio did.
  • One-third of the discussion segments related to Trump's qualifications to be president.
  • For the second consecutive debate, Ted Cruz's most commonly spoken word was "Donald"; he said it 32 times.
  • 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.

    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

    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

    Word cloud of Ted Cruz's speech during the debate
    Ted-Cruz-circle.png
    • Candidate: Ted Cruz
    • Speaking time: 19.4 min
    • Number of words: 3,562
    • Most commonly used words:
      • Donald: 32
      • People: 18
      • President: 16
      • Right: 16
      • Know: 15
    Word cloud of John Kasich's speech during the debate
    John-R-Kasich-circle.png
    • Candidate: John Kasich
    • Speaking time: 15.3 min
    • Number of words: 3,064
    • Most commonly used words:
      • People: 26
      • Know: 24
      • Want: 15
      • Work: 14
      • Country: 13
    Word cloud of Marco Rubio's speech during the debate
    Marco-Rubio-circle.png
    • Candidate: Marco Rubio
    • Speaking time: 13.5 min
    • Number of words: 3,316
    • Most commonly used words:
      • People: 29
      • Issue: 19
      • Money: 17
      • Donald: 16
      • Well: 15
    Word cloud of Donald Trump's speech during the debate
    Donald-Trump-circle.png
    • Candidate: Donald Trump
    • Speaking time: 26.7 min
    • Number of words: 5,780
    • Most commonly used words:
      • Very: 68
      • People: 60
      • Know: 29
      • Take: 25
      • Many: 23
      • Think: 23

    See also

    Footnotes