Voters Admit They’d Prefer Spectacle Over Substance in 2028 Debates

WASHINGTON — A new survey has confirmed what many suspected: Americans are more interested in spectacle than substance when it comes to presidential debates. Nearly half of respondents admitted they would rather watch candidates enter an arena with theme music than hear another carefully scripted policy exchange.

The study, conducted by a nonpartisan research group, found that most viewers could not recall a single policy detail from the 2024 debates. They could, however, recall who sighed, who shouted, and who sweated the most under the lights.

“Debates have turned into a form of endurance television,” said one political analyst. “It’s less about the answers, more about who can survive the longest without collapsing or accidentally complimenting their opponent.”

Viewers themselves seem to agree. Respondents ranked “sharp one-liners” and “awkward moments” as more important than coherent economic plans. Some even suggested adding a shot clock to force shorter responses, or introducing “sudden death” overtime for ties.

You know the feeling: you tune in hoping for clarity on healthcare, and instead you end up talking about someone’s body language. Well, perhaps not entirely surprising. Politics has long rewarded performance over policy.

It raises a question: if debates no longer inform voters, are they simply a televised tradition kept alive for ratings? Or are they a ritual Americans endure the way they endure airport security lines — necessary, unpleasant, and mostly irrelevant to the actual outcome?

For now, candidates continue to rehearse their lines while voters scroll for memes. And the quiet consensus remains: real democracy may happen at the ballot box, but the real entertainment is still on stage.