How to win a US Presidential Election: Lessons from history

President Joe Biden and Donald Trump face off in their first televised debate on Thursday night, with millions of Americans expected to tune in. ITV News' Charlie Frost looks at US election debate history and how the pair could shift the political dial

President Joe Biden and former president Donald Trump will meet for their first televised debate, with a chance for both candidates to reshape the political narratives following them.

For Biden, the Democratic incumbent, he has the chance to reassure voters that at 81, he is still capable of guiding the US through a range of challenges.

Meanwhile Trump may use the moment to try and move past his felony conviction in New York and convince voters that he is still suited to the Oval Office.

With public opinion and the keys to the White House on the line, ITV News takes a look through history of the TV debate, and what has and hasn't worked for US presidents on the campaign trail.

Kennedy V Nixon: The birth of the debate

Kennedy V Nixon in the first televised US election debate. Credit: AP

Now a staple of American elections, history has shown that debates can shift public opinion and alter who wins the race to the Oval Office.

The first of which was between John F Kennedy and Richard Nixon in 1960.

Underdog Kennedy ultimately beat then Vice President Nixon, with people touting his youthful and vibrant presence during the debate - Kennedy wearing make up with Nixon looking "tired".

While this theory has been called into question, there's no doubt being seen on TV legitimised lesser known Kennedy as a credible candidate.

Reagan V Mondale: Battle of the one liners

President Ronald Reagan had his one liners to thank after he clinched the presidency from Jimmy Carter in 1980.

Some four years on he faced off against Democratic candidate Walter Mondale.

Pushed on the question of age, the then 73-year-old flipped the script and told voters that he "will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent's youth and inexperience."

And some 40 years on, it is something Biden may want to take notes on, as it is almost a certainty that he will face questions on his age and how that would affect his tenure as president.

Bush V Clinton: Changes to the recipe

President Bush was famously caught looking at his watch as he was asked about the national debt.

In 1992, when Democratic Governor Bill Clinton of Arkansas took on incumbent Republican President George H. W. Bush, it was Clinton's team that suggested a shake up in format.

Instead of the debates that had dominated previous elections, questions were posed by voters instead of journalists in a more relaxed "town hall" style affair.

The risk was a calculated one, Clinton went on to win the election after connecting with the electorate.

Perhaps helped by a moment in history, when then President Bush was famously caught on camera looking at his watch as he was asked about the national debt.

Viewers thought he was either bored, or didn't care. Neither of which sat well with voters – Further illustrating the power of a picture.

Bush V Gore: Don't be a know-it-all?

In 2000, the sounds were powerful too.

Al Gore's sighs over George W. Bush's answers during the debates were audible to viewers.

By the third clash, he'd taken to intimidation as well.

But, whilst he may have outsmarted Bush with his answers, his 'know-it-all' persona failed to win over the electorate.

Clinton V Trump: 'Because you'd be in jail'

In 2016, Donald Trump first entered the political arena. In an election that he would go on to win over Hillary Clinton, it was marred with nasty quips between the two from the first.

Speaking on a national television debate, Trump said he would use the power of the presidency to prosecute Clinton.

When Clinton responded by stating that it is "awfully good that someone with the temperament of Donald Trump is not in charge of the law in our country", Trump replied: “Because you’d be in jail.”

Now a convicted criminal himself, and with a sentencing looming and a potential prison sentence to boot, it is surely something that'll come up when he and President Biden take to the stage.

Have you heard our new podcast Talking Politics? Every day in the run-up to the election Tom, Robert and Anushka dig into the biggest issues dominating the political agenda…