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My debate analysis for The Economist included these charts:
:

…with the commentary

The final charts show the average pitches of the two candidates and their variability within each speaking turn (which can be a rough proxy for emotional arousal). Both candidates start at a lower average pitch and with lower variability, before showing a fair amount of range throughout the debate. Mr Trump was at his most animated (a highly variable pitch) when asked if he had any regrets about his behaviour during the Capitol attack on January 6th 2021.

A particularly striking difference can be seen at the right end of the chart. Ms Harris’s final statement returned close to the tone she began with—low and stable—much like a prosecutor closing a case that she thinks she made well. Mr Trump, in clear contrast, and unusually for a closing statement, gave one of his more animated turns of the night, rising in pitch and variability as he denounced “what these people have done to our country”; “they’re destroying our country, the worst president, the worst vice-president in the history of our country” was his final line. In other words, Mr Trump sounded like a man still trying to put energy into changing the narrative—or possibly just like a man who knows he has not had his best night.

Here's the text of Trump's "most animated" turn:

2699.510 2774.899 DonaldTrump You just said a thing that isn't covered peacefully and patriotically. I said during my speech, not later on. Peacefully and patriotically. And nobody on the other side was killed. Ashli Babbitt was shot by an out of control police officer that should have never, ever shot her. It's a disgrace. But we didn't do this group of people that have been treated so badly. I ask, what about all the people that are pouring into our country and killing people that she allowed deported? She was the border Czar. Remember that. She was the border czar are she doesn't want to be called the border czar because she's embarrassed by the border. In fact she said at the beginning, Well, I'm surprised you're not talking about the border yet. That's because she knows what a bad job they've done. What about those people? What what are they going to be prosecuted? When are these people from countries all over the world, not just South America, They're coming in from all over the world, David. All over the world. And crime rates are down all over the world because of it. But let me just when it does, every one of those people going to be prosecuted? One of the people that burned down Minneapolis is going to be prosecuted. Or in Seattle. They went into Seattle. They took over a big percentage of the city of Seattle. One of those people are going to be prosecuted.

And the audio:

Jerry Goldman sent this comment:

Sen. Huey Long was reviewing a speech he was to give on the Senate floor. He penciled in the margin, “Weak point; holler louder!”

There are interesting things to be said about Kamala Harris's variation in median and MADM pitch, but I'll leave that for another post.

September 15, 2024 @ 6:20 pm · Filed by Mark Liberman under Rhetoric

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