--- ---  # See the Tricks Candidates Use During Debates ## Video: This Video Is No Longer Available [Watch (HLS stream): This Video Is No Longer Available](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/fKodeUO6.m3u8) (0:10)  _Published 2026-06-23. Josh Malina and Richard Klein break it down_ by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Sep 30, 2016 4:25 PM UTC by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Sep 30, 2016 4:25 PM UTC To win a [debate](http://time.com/4512852/hillary-clinton-donald-trump-russian-hacking-massimo-calabresi-alicia-machado-fox-news-trumps-helicopter-ride-high-confidence-democratic-national-committee/), politicians rely on a variety of tactics, from shifting the blame to throwing personal attacks and opponents. In a new video from the digital short film series _We the Voters: 21 Films for the People, Scandal’s_ [Josh Malina](http://motto.time.com/4320884/scandal-veep-change-damn-world/) and _Spin City’s_ Richard Kind break down the standard argument devices typically employed during [political debates](http://time.com/4499958/gerald-ford-debate-history/). From creating doubt over facts and an opponent’s character to sharing unverified anecdotes, watch the video for the full breakdown. _We the Voters: 21 Films for the People_ describes itself as “a nonpartisan digital slate of 21 short films designed to inform, inspire and activate voters nationwide with fresh perspectives on the subjects of democracy, elections and governance in the lead up to the 2016 elections.” The series is produced by Paul G. Allen’s Vulcan Productions and the production company Show of Force in partnership with sales and distribution company FilmBuff. See the Tricks Candidates Use During Debates ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4514652/debate-candidate-tricks/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4514652/debate-candidate-tricks/"},"headline":"See the Tricks Candidates Use During Debates","datePublished":"2016-09-30T16:25:59.000Z","dateModified":"2026-06-24T06:57:05.425Z","description":"Josh Malina and Richard Klein break it down","url":"https://time.com/4514652/debate-candidate-tricks/","keywords":["politics","2016 Election topic","elections"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8af3554bf7e99143/6988a8360b72e3ecb86eb30a/we-the-vote-debate.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8af3554bf7e99143/6988a8360b72e3ecb86eb30a/we-the-vote-debate.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"we-the-vote-debate","caption":"We the Voters","creditText":"","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/politics/","name":"politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4514652/debate-candidate-tricks/","name":"See the Tricks Candidates Use During Debates"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"This Video Is No Longer Available","description":"Josh Malina and Richard Klein break it down","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/fKodeUO6/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2026-06-23T15:00:44.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/fKodeUO6.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4514652/debate-candidate-tricks/","duration":"PT10S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4514652/debate-candidate-tricks/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```