| Election Name: | 1960 United States presidential debates |
| Country: | United States |
| Type: | presidential |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Election Date: | September 26, 1960 October 7, 1960 October 13, 1960 October 21, 1960 |
| Next Election: | 1976 United States presidential debates |
| Next Year: | 1976 |
| Image1: | Richard Nixon official portrait as Vice President (cropped).tiff |
| Nominee1: | Richard Nixon |
| Party1: | Republican Party (United States) |
| Nominee2: | John F. Kennedy |
| Party2: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| Home State1: | California |
| Home State2: | Massachusetts |
The 1960 United States presidential debates were a series of debates held during the 1960 presidential election.
Four presidential debates were held between Republican nominee Richard Nixon and Democratic nominee John F. Kennedy. All four presidential debates were the first series of debates conducted for any US presidential election.[1] The next presidential debate did not occur until 1976, after which debates would become a regular feature of all presidential campaigns.
In 1960, the Republican Party nominated the incumbent vice president Richard Nixon as their presidential nominee, with Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., the United States ambassador to the United Nations, as his running mate. John F. Kennedy, a senator from Massachusetts, was nominated by the Democratic Party as their presidential nominee. He chose the Senate Democratic leader Lyndon B. Johnson as his running mate. Most polls after the party conventions showed the NixonLodge ticket having a six point lead over the KennedyJohnson ticket.
| 1960 United States presidential election debates | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and time | Host | Location | Moderator | Participants | |||||||||||
| Key: Participant | |||||||||||||||
| Vice President Richard Nixon of California | Senator John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts | ||||||||||||||
| Monday, September 26, 1960 9:30 –10:30 p.m. EDT[2] | WBBM-TV studios | Chicago, Illinois | Howard K. Smith of CBS | ||||||||||||
| Friday, October 7, 1960 7:30 – 8:30 p.m. EDT[3] | WRC-TV studios | Washington, D.C. | Frank McGee of NBC | ||||||||||||
| Thursday, October 13, 1960 7:30 – 8:30 p.m. EDT[4] | ABC studios | Los Angeles, California (Nixon) New York City, New York (Kennedy) | Bill Shadel of ABC | ||||||||||||
| Friday, October 21, 1960 10:00 – 11:00 p.m. EDT[5] | ABC studios | New York City, New York | Quincy Howe of ABC | ||||||||||||
| First presidential debate | |
| Duration: | 60 minutes |
| Venue: | WBBM-TV studios |
| Location: | Chicago, Illinois |
| Participants: | Richard Nixon John F. Kennedy |
| Moderator: | Howard K. Smith of CBS |
| Transcript: | September 26, 1960 Debate transcript |
The first presidential debate between Vice President Richard Nixon and Senator John F. Kennedy took place on Monday, September 26, 1960, at the WBBM-TV studios in Chicago, Illinois. The debate was moderated by Howard K. Smith of CBS with Sander Vanocur, Charles Warren, Stuart Novins and Bob Fleming as panelists. Questions were restricted to internal or domestic American matters. The format decided was:
Nixon refused make-up for the first debate, subsequently his facial stubble showed prominently on black-and-white television screens. During the debate, Nixon started sweating under the studio lights. His light gray suit faded into the backdrop of the set and seemed to match his skin tone. Reacting to this, his mother immediately called him and asked whether he was sick. Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley in an interview said:
Nixon blamed his poor performance on hitting his knee on a car door in Greensboro, North Carolina, after which he had to be hospitalized for a staph infection.[6]
| Second presidential debate | |
| Duration: | 60 minutes |
| Venue: | WRC-TV studios |
| Location: | Washington, D.C. |
| Participants: | Richard Nixon John F. Kennedy |
| Moderator: | Frank McGee of NBC |
| Transcript: | October 7, 1960 Debate transcript |
The second presidential debate between Vice President Richard Nixon and Senator John F. Kennedy took place on Friday, October 7, 1960, at the WRC-TV studios in Washington, D.C.. The debate was moderated by Frank McGee of NBC with Paul Niven, Edward P. Morgan, Alvin Spivak and Harold R. Levy as panelists. Questions were related to internal American matters, foreign relations, economy, etc. The format decided was:
| Third presidential debate | |
| Duration: | 60 minutes |
| Venue: | ABC studios in Los Angeles (Nixon) ABC studios in New York City (Kennedy) |
| Location: | Los Angeles, California (Nixon) New York City, New York (Kennedy) |
| Participants: | Richard Nixon John F. Kennedy |
| Moderator: | Bill Shadel of ABC |
| Transcript: | October 13, 1960 Debate transcript |
The third presidential debate between Vice President Richard Nixon and Senator John F. Kennedy took place on Thursday, October 13, 1960, were held virtually at the ABC studios in Los Angeles, California (for Nixon) and New York City, New York (for Kennedy). The debate was moderated by Bill Shadel of ABC with Frank McGee, Charles Van Fremd, Douglass Cater and Roscoe Drummond as panelists. To ensure fairness, the journalists (who were in Los Angeles) and Nixon were placed in separate studios. All participants addressed the camera directly, with Kennedy and Nixon both situated without aides in studios that Shadel described as "identical in every detail." A major topic of the debate was whether military force should be used to prevent Quemoy and Matsu, two island archipelagos off the Chinese coast, from falling under Communist control. The format decided was:
This debate was considered a "monumental step for television".
| Fourth presidential debate | |
| Duration: | 60 minutes |
| Venue: | ABC studios |
| Location: | New York City, New York |
| Participants: | Richard Nixon John F. Kennedy |
| Moderator: | Quincy Howe of ABC |
| Transcript: | October 21, 1960 Debate transcript |
The fourth and final presidential debate between Vice President Richard Nixon and Senator John F. Kennedy took place on Friday, October 21, 1960, at the ABC studios in New York City, New York. The debate was moderated by Quincy Howe of ABC with Frank Singiser, John Edwards, Walter Cronkite and John Chancellor as panelists. Questions were related to Foreign affairs. The format decided was:
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