The for NBA star wrote an op ed for The Hollywood Reporter is which he ridiculed the debate format and the debaters.
“The newest season of the reality show ‘Side-eyeing Toward Washington’ kicked off this week with the Democrats’ Horde of Hopefuls having engaged in two nights of televised scoffing, snarking and Spanglish.
“While it’s all very entertaining to witness the drama of ambitious politicians jockeying for the last seat in Presidential Musical Chairs, the abilities necessary to be successful in this quiz show format of debate are not the same abilities necessary to be the leader of the free world.
“Because of the structure of these debates, the facts become less relevant than the style of delivery. (The candidates have one minute to respond to questions and 30 seconds for follow-ups. No opening statements, but time for closing remarks.)
“With only one minute to answer questions about complex issues, the goal is to say something tweet-worthy rather than explore the issues in depth. To verbally elbow to the front of the pack.
“As a screen nation, we voters have come to rely on such funhouse mirror versions of the issues, with truth stretched, compacted and fractured into amusing memes and gifs rather than illuminating discourse.”
“Trump mastered this pageantry format in his 2016 campaign. The quagmire of immigration issues got reduced to ‘Build that wall!’
“And, rather than address the intricacies of his opponents’ policies, Trump just chanted, ‘Lock her up!’ or gave them middle school nicknames like ‘Sleepy Joe.’
“His idea is that American voters’ intellectual capacity is limited to three syllables,” he said in his opinion piece…
“I like most of these candidates and most of the ideas they offered for bettering the country, though not all are qualified to be president,” the basketball star said.
“The only winners are those whose personalities managed to shake loose enough donations to keep their campaign running. Interrupting, insulting or talking over others doesn’t show a forceful person, just rudeness engendered by the circumstances.
“It’s Battle Royale in a TV studio. It’s Luke P. kneeing a rival’s head on The Bachelorette. The loser is an informed citizenry,” he said.
Here’s my thoughts on the debates @THR https://t.co/3FpZ5JDEJz— Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (@kaj33) June 28, 2019
I don't agree with some of your positions (I believe in the dignity of human beings so I'm not a liberal) but I think that your criticisms of the debate format are well-taken. The format definitely tends to prioritize the "look at me" two-sentence cliche over substance.— davidrlawson (@davidrlawson1) June 28, 2019
Love that instant fact checking idea! I have a big problem with 20 candidates (10 per day) on stage not discussing the issues. Why not ask the exact questions of each candidate (non televised) & individually record answers for the viewers to view at their leisure? waste of time!— Cheryl Mitchell Wade (@cheryl_scriptw) June 28, 2019
Facebook has greatly reduced the distribution of our stories in our readers' newsfeeds and is instead promoting mainstream media sources. When you share to your friends, however, you greatly help distribute our content. Please take a moment and consider sharing this article with your friends and family. Thank you.Thought-provoking, insightful and intelligent observations. Well-written, Kareem.— Eric Herm (@sonofafarmer99) June 28, 2019
