Presidential debates provide a national platform for candidates to put forth their message to the American public, debate with other candidates onstage and gain the approval of voters. Widely considered to be an unusual election year, the 2016 presidential race necessitates rigorous academic research. This study applies the Functional theory of Political Campaign Discourse to examine the rhetoric of the 2016 American Presidential debates. The purpose of this research was to see whether or not the 2016 presidential candidates’ rhetoric used during debates conformed to previous election cycle’s debates. The use of The Functional Theory of Political Campaign Discourse allowed the researcher to identify the patterns of political debate rhetoric and analyze the communication functions used by each Presidential candidate. A content analysis of the 2016 debates’ rhetoric was performed on a random sample of half of the total debates that occurred during the election. The sample included debates from both the Democratic and Republican primaries, as well as one from the general election. Limitations of the current research and possible routes for future research are discussed.
