These presidential debate moments need to be seen to be believed. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the most unforgettable moments during a presidential debate when a politician was publicly embarrassed, outsmarted, or decisively shut down by their opponent.
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00:00Who, from everything I see, has no respect for this person?
00:06Well, that's because he'd rather have a puppet as president of the United States.
00:09No puppet, no puppet.
00:11Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks
00:14for the most unforgettable moments during a presidential debate
00:17when a politician was publicly embarrassed, outsmarted,
00:20or decisively shut down by their opponent.
00:22When I hear your new ideas, I'm reminded of that ad,
00:25where's the beef?
00:27Yeah.
00:30Number 10. Ronald Reagan vs. Walter Mondale
00:33You already are the oldest president in history,
00:36and some of your staff say you were tired
00:38after your most recent encounter with Mr. Mondale.
00:41Throughout his re-election campaign,
00:43Ronald Reagan was comfortably ahead,
00:45leading Democratic challenger Walter Mondale
00:47by several points in the polls.
00:49However, that lead wobbled ever so slightly after the first debate,
00:53when Reagan's tired and confused performance
00:55raised concerns about his age.
00:57At their second debate, journalist Henry Truitt
01:00directly asked if the president was too old to continue the job.
01:03Is there any doubt in your mind
01:05that you would be able to function in such circumstances?
01:08Not at all, Mr. Truitt, and I want you to know
01:11that also I will not make age an issue of this campaign.
01:15In classic Reagan fashion, he flipped the script,
01:18turning it into a playful jab
01:20at Mondale's relative youth and inexperience.
01:22The witty comeback not only made the audience,
01:24as well as his opponent, laugh,
01:26it also demolished any momentum Mondale had gained.
01:29Even Mondale acknowledged it was the moment
01:31he knew Reagan had the election in the bag.
01:33I am not going to exploit, for political purposes,
01:38my opponent's youth and inexperience.
01:47Senator, frankly, you have a record in the Senate
01:49that's not very distinguished.
01:51You've missed 33 out of 36 meetings in the Judiciary Committee.
01:54Almost 70% of the meetings in the Intelligence Committee.
01:57Vice presidential debates rarely ever grab headlines.
02:00Well, unless they come with sick burns like this one.
02:03At the 2004 VP debate,
02:05Democratic candidate John Edwards
02:07kept hammering about Dick Cheney's ties to Halliburton,
02:10Cheney's former company which profited from the Iraq War.
02:13In response, the vice president brought up
02:15Edwards' abysmal attendance record in the Senate,
02:18criticizing him for missing numerous meetings and key votes.
02:21You've missed a lot of key votes on tax policy,
02:23on energy, on Medicare reform.
02:26Your hometown newspaper has taken to calling you Senator gone.
02:30To further drive home his point,
02:32Cheney then claimed that this debate
02:34was actually the first time he had met Edwards,
02:36despite his role presiding over the Senate as VP.
02:40Edwards tried to shift the heat
02:41onto Cheney's own voting record in the House,
02:43but all anyone remembers is the first strike.
02:46Now, in my capacity as vice president,
02:48I am the president of the Senate.
02:50I'm the presiding officer.
02:52I'm up in the Senate most Tuesdays when they're in session.
02:55The first time I ever met you
02:57was when you walked on the stage tonight.
03:02Are you willing to tell the American people tonight
03:04whether or not you will support
03:06either ending the filibuster or packing the court?
03:10Whatever position I take in that, that'll become the issue.
03:12The issue is the American people should speak.
03:14The first 2020 presidential debate
03:16between Donald Trump and Joe Biden
03:18was so chaotic that one commentator referred to it as,
03:21quote, a hot mess inside a dumpster fire inside a train wreck.
03:25Most of that chaos came from Trump,
03:27who kept interrupting, shouting and throwing insults
03:30while moderator Chris Wallace struggled to maintain order.
03:33You're in voting now.
03:34Vote and let your senators know how strong you feel.
03:37Are you going to pack the court?
03:38Vote now.
03:39Are you going to pack the court?
03:40Make sure you in fact let people know you're a senator.
03:43He doesn't want to answer the question.
03:44At one point, Biden was asked a question
03:46about the Supreme Court,
03:47but he barely got a word in
03:49before Trump cut him off yet again.
03:51This prompted Biden to deliver the highlight of the night,
03:54asking Trump to shut it.
03:56The question is radical left.
03:59Will you shut up, man?
04:00Listen, who is on your list, Joe?
04:02Who's on your list?
04:03That spirit of interruptions carried into the VP debate
04:06the following week when Mike Pence
04:08tried talking over Kamala Harris,
04:10but she was having none of it.
04:12He will not raise taxes on anybody
04:14who makes less than $400,000 a year.
04:16He said he's going to repeal the Trump tax cuts.
04:17Mr. Vice President, I'm speaking.
04:19Number seven, Barack Obama versus Mitt Romney.
04:22Our Navy is older, excuse me,
04:24our Navy is smaller now than any time since 1917.
04:27The Navy said they needed 313 ships
04:30to carry out their mission.
04:31We're now down to 285.
04:33We're headed down to the low 200s
04:35if we go through with sequestration.
04:36That's unacceptable to me.
04:38Foreign policy took center stage
04:40in the 2012 presidential election.
04:42While Mitt Romney tried to cast President Barack Obama
04:45as cutting down military spending,
04:46Obama countered by portraying Romney's views
04:49as relics of the past.
04:50This clash came to life in the third debate
04:53when Romney claimed that the U.S. Navy
04:55had fewer ships than a century ago.
04:57Obama quickly latched onto this,
04:59pointing out that technology had evolved significantly.
05:02You mentioned the Navy, for example,
05:04and that we have fewer ships than we did in 1916.
05:07Well, Governor, we also have fewer horses and bayonets
05:10because the nature of our military has changed.
05:13We have these things called aircraft carriers
05:15where planes land on them.
05:16He then twisted the knife in
05:18by schooling Romney on aircraft carriers
05:20and nuclear submarines.
05:22By the end of the night, the phrase, quote,
05:24horses and bayonets was trending on social media.
05:27This move echoed Obama's 2008 tactic
05:30when he shifted the focus
05:31from his relative foreign policy inexperience
05:33to John McCain's temperament.
05:35John, you're absolutely right that
05:37presidents have to be prudent in what they say,
05:39but, you know, coming from you,
05:41who, you know, in the past
05:42have threatened extinction for North Korea
05:44and, you know, sung songs about bombing Iran,
05:47I don't know, you know, how credible that is.
05:49Number six, Ronald Reagan versus Jimmy Carter.
05:52Governor Reagan, as a matter of fact,
05:54began his political career
05:55campaigning around this nation against Medicare.
05:59Now we have an opportunity
06:01to move toward national health insurance.
06:03Just one week before Election Day,
06:05Jimmy Carter faced off against Republican challenger
06:08Ronald Reagan in their only debate of the season.
06:11For Carter, who was very unpopular at the time,
06:13it was a last-ditch effort to sway undecided voters.
06:16These are the kind of elements
06:18of a national health insurance
06:19important to the American people.
06:21Governor Reagan, again,
06:22typically is against such a proposal.
06:25While he detailed his policy ideas,
06:27Reagan effortlessly stole the spotlight
06:29with charm and a few well-timed zingers.
06:31The standout moment came when Carter
06:33took Reagan to task for opposing Medicare in the past.
06:36There you go again.
06:38When I opposed Medicare,
06:41there was another piece of legislation
06:43meeting the same problem before the Congress.
06:46But instead of getting defensive,
06:48Reagan remained calm
06:49and completely derailed all of Carter's criticisms
06:52with one unforgettable line.
06:54That was all anybody remembered from the debate.
06:57One week later, Reagan won the election in a landslide.
07:00I happened to favor the other piece of legislation
07:03and thought that it would be better
07:05for the senior citizens
07:06and provide better care
07:07than the one that was finally passed.
07:09I was not opposing the principle
07:11of providing care for them.
07:12I was opposing one piece of legislation
07:15as versus another.
07:17Number five,
07:18Elizabeth Warren versus Mike Bloomberg.
07:20In my company,
07:21lots and lots of women have big responsibilities.
07:24They get paid exactly the same as men.
07:27And in my, in City Hall,
07:30the person that's the top person,
07:32my deputy mayor was a woman.
07:34Following his late entry into the 2020 race
07:37for the Democratic Party nomination,
07:39Mike Bloomberg stepped onto the debate stage
07:41for the first time in round nine.
07:43If anyone had a bone to pick with his candidacy,
07:46it was Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren.
07:48Warren wasted no time tearing into Bloomberg,
07:51calling out his history of sexual harassment allegations
07:54and his support of apparently racist policing tactics
07:57during his time as New York City's mayor.
07:59So Mr. Mayor,
08:00are you willing to release all of those women
08:03from those nondisclosure agreements
08:05so we can hear their side of the story?
08:08She then added insult to injury
08:10by comparing Bloomberg to Donald Trump,
08:12branding them both as, quote,
08:14arrogant billionaires.
08:15Although other candidates also took shots at Bloomberg,
08:18Warren's punches landed the hardest.
08:20Less than a month later,
08:22he quietly bowed out of the race.
08:24We have a very few nondisclosure agreements.
08:28How many is that?
08:29Let me finish.
08:30How many is that?
08:31None of them accused me of doing anything
08:33other than maybe they didn't like a joke I told.
08:37Number four, Hillary Clinton versus Donald Trump.
08:401,800 nuclear warheads,
08:42and she's playing chicken.
08:44Look, Putin, from everything I see,
08:47has no respect for this person.
08:51Presidential debates used to be somewhat civil,
08:53even though candidates would throw
08:55the occasional subtle jab.
08:57However, the emergence of Donald Trump in 2015
09:00changed the game.
09:01The eventual Republican nominee
09:03ushered in an era of interruptions,
09:05name-calling,
09:06and exchanges reminiscent of a schoolyard fight.
09:09Case in point,
09:10this moment from the third debate
09:11between him and Hillary Clinton.
09:13Well, that's because he'd rather have a puppet
09:15as president of the United States.
09:16No puppet, no puppet.
09:17And it's pretty clear.
09:18You're the puppet.
09:19It's pretty clear you won't admit
09:21that the Russians have engaged in cyber attacks
09:24against the United States of America.
09:26After claiming that Russian President Vladimir Putin
09:29had no respect for Clinton,
09:30the former Secretary of State
09:32fired back with a sharp retort,
09:34calling Trump Putin's puppet.
09:36This remark clearly struck a nerve,
09:38leading Trump to spiral into a series of comebacks
09:41that didn't quite land the way he hoped.
09:43You continue to get help from him
09:47because he has a very clear favorite in this race.
09:54But I think there is a fundamental difference,
09:56for example, between Vice President Mondale and myself.
09:59That is, I think we can meet
10:01the basic human needs and commitments
10:04of the people of this country
10:05by restoring entrepreneurship.
10:07During the 1984 Democratic presidential primaries,
10:10Senator Gary Hart enjoyed a rise in the polls,
10:13thanks in part to his catchy slogan,
10:15New Ideas.
10:17This phrase resurfaced during a debate
10:19when Hart tried to highlight the contrast
10:21between his policies and those of his main rival,
10:24former Vice President Walter Mondale.
10:26And I think the dedication of the Democratic Party
10:29to minority people in the South and elsewhere
10:31shouldn't just be jobs.
10:33It should be the opportunity to own
10:35and operate businesses that create jobs.
10:38Mondale, however, was not having it.
10:40He delivered a quick comeback,
10:42borrowing a line from a popular Wendy's ad
10:44to poke fun at Hart's so-called New Ideas.
10:47This remark perfectly captured the criticism
10:49Hart had been facing all along,
10:51that his policies were flashy but lacked substance.
10:54In the end, Mondale was able to raise enough doubt
10:57to retake the lead over Hart
10:59and clinch the Democratic nomination.
11:01When I hear your new ideas, I'm reminded of that ad.
11:04Where's the beef?
11:05Yeah.
11:09Number two, Chris Christie vs. Marco Rubio.
11:12I think he directly mentioned me and my record in there,
11:15so I think I get a chance to respond.
11:16You see, everybody, I want the people at home
11:18to think about this.
11:19That's what Washington, D.C. does.
11:21Politicians often slip into stump speeches
11:23and well-rehearsed talking points during campaigns.
11:25But for Florida Senator Marco Rubio,
11:28this habit led to a major misstep.
11:30In a 2016 Republican primary debate,
11:33Rubio confidently delivered a polished line
11:35criticizing Barack Obama for, quote,
11:37knowing exactly what he's doing.
11:39There was just one issue.
11:40He repeated that same line again and again and again.
11:44The drive-by shot at the beginning
11:46with incorrect and incomplete information,
11:48and then the memorized 25-second speech
11:51that is exactly what his advisers gave him.
11:54While grilling Rubio for lacking executive experience
11:57and labeling him an out-of-touch Washington insider,
12:00Chris Christie called out the rehearsed script.
12:02Then, in a moment of pure irony,
12:04Rubio responded with the exact same line.
12:07Christie didn't even miss a beat.
12:09He jumped back in to point out the robotic response,
12:11leaving Rubio visibly rattled.
12:13See, Marco, Marco, the thing is this.
12:17When you're president of the United States,
12:18when you're governor of a state,
12:20the memorized 30-second speech
12:21where you talk about how great America is at the end of it
12:24doesn't solve one problem for one person.
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12:42Number 1.
12:43Lloyd Benson vs. Dan Quayle
12:45I have as much experience in the Congress
12:47as Jack Kennedy did
12:49when he sought the presidency.
12:52These days, the name Lloyd Benson
12:54might not ring any bells for most people.
12:56But for those who do remember him,
12:58it's likely because of the legendary remark he made
13:01during the 1988 vice presidential debate.
13:03At 41, Benson's opponent Dan Quayle
13:06was seen as young and inexperienced,
13:08a point that kept popping up during the campaign
13:10and, of course, in the debate.
13:12Quayle tried to brush off the criticisms
13:14by comparing his congressional experience
13:16with that of President John F. Kennedy.
13:18Huge mistake.
13:20Benson, who actually served with Kennedy in Congress,
13:23took issue with this comparison
13:24and delivered the now famous verbal smackdown.
13:27Senator,
13:29I served with Jack Kennedy.
13:31I knew Jack Kennedy.
13:33Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine.
13:36Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy.
13:40Although Quayle ultimately became vice president,
13:43that line haunted him for years.
13:45I thought that remark was a cheap shot
13:48in unbecoming a senator of the United States.
13:51Do you watch presidential debates?
13:53What's been your most unforgettable moment over the years?
13:56Let us know in the comments below.
13:58This is so un-presidential.
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