Why do so many people watch Presidential Debates when it’s 99% lies

I couldn’t resist after watching the Trump / Harris debate.

Most importantly, we first need to clarify that lies come in different levels. Here’s my scale:

1. Irrefutable: There is no nuance, it’s so clear, it’s 100% pointless to debate them. You can’t trust ANYTHING they say — because it’s obvious they won’t hesitate to blatantly lie, and they will TWIST ANYTHING and EVERYTHING to make it conform to their lies. (E.g. Flat Earthers, claiming it’s legal to kill babies after they’re born)
2. Obvious: It’s very obvious, but nuances in definitions can make people weasel out of it by cherry picking certain facts and refusing to talk about other ones. If you debate them, you might get lucky, but it’s probably a waste of time. (e.g. That Trump didn’t try overthrowing the election results or that it doesn’t matter, they’re taking away ALL our guns, abortion is ALWAYS bad)
3. Biased: It’s probably a lie, but maybe not. The facts certainly indicate that it’s a lie, but you should be willing to listen. You might want to look for signs that the person is lying (e.g. higher level lies), but you’ll have to work hard to keep an open mind. Be careful, don’t say anything that locks you publicly into a position for which you’ll be embarrassed to change. (e.g. A president explaining one of their failures).
4. It’s hard to say: You really don’t know. Worth a serious investigation — if you have the time! (e.g. most things politicians talk about). Remember — “There are lies, damned lies, and statistics”

The idea is that if somebody tells a lie (e.g. Level 3), your level of trust in them is set at that level for most everything else. And each time that position is strengthened. But it only takes very few (or one) Level 1 lie to completely not trust them

In normal times, BOTH slides in a presidential debate are SPEWING Level 3 and Level 4 lies, and maybe an occasional Level 2. Almost EVERYTHING BOTH SIDES say is a lie of some type. We expect this. But in THIS debate, one side is making multiple Level 1 and Level 2 lies. Thus, you cannot trust ANYTHING he says. Even if it sounds credible, or if you want to believe it’s a Level 3 and investigate (because you’re a good person) or because you think you might actually learn something. Reminder: LITMUS test — if somebody tells Level 1 and/or Level 2 lies, especially Level 1 (which Trump did multiple times), YOU CANNOT TRUST ANYTHING THEY SAY. LISTENING TO THEM IS POINTLESS & IT IS OFTEN DESTRUCTIVE. (e.g. giving power to the platform/ratings, fueling other people’s hate, wasting your time, affecting your health, etc.)

Is it really pointless though?

Why do people watch debates?

Let’s look at it by market segment:

• No change in position: They are so sure about their candidate, nothing will change their mind (This includes ME in this election). If they manage to listen openly to the other side, they are extremely biased. This is just entertainment and fodder for vomiting into the echo chambers of their friends for chit chat. There might be some value regarding talking points with the other types of voters — if they had such an opportunity which is rare because they likely don’t interact much with other types of voters at that level. This is vast majority of people — Est 85% — 90% of active voters.
• Swing Voters: The debate might change their minds — Est 10% — 15% of active voters. This could swing the election.
• Chose to NOT vote: This might have the biggest impact. This represents approximately 1/3 of the eligible voters (in 2020). If all of them voted that would increase the total number of votes by 50%, way more than enough to swing the election. I would hope the more crazy, the more Level 1 lies a candidate tells, the more of these folks might get out and vote AGAINST that candidate. But the candidate might be banking that they will vote FOR THE candidate! And that could happen, given the power of social media and propaganda.

What category do you fit into? If you’re in the first category (No change in position), is this just entertainment to you, or are you going to actively target the 2nd two types?

And what is Trump doing? He’s certainly feeding his base. He has to keep feeding his base the Level 2 lies, and tons of Level 3 and Level 4. And maybe he’s hoping his newest Level 1 lies (e.g. The Democrats support killing newborns) will galvanize the Chose to NOT vote people to get out and vote for HIM. I think he’s so delusional, he believes his level 1 lies! I’ve personally worked with people like that. They get so panicked when they glimpse the possibility that the lies they have telling over many years aren’t true. The very prospect of it frightens them so much, they grasp around for powerful lies to give them ammo — they will believe ANYTHING.