The aim of the study is to identify dominant discrediting tactics in the discourse of American political debates. The paper examines the characteristics of debates, mainly the actualisation of discrediting tactics in the genre under consideration. The analysis of linguostylistic means involved in the implementation of discrediting tactics is carried out using the discussion of issues relevant to American society during debates as an example. The scientific novelty of the study lies in conducting a comprehensive analysis of the discourse of debates, which makes it possible to determine the essential features of this genre of media political discourse and the leading discrediting tactics peculiar to the discursive personality of politicians and objectified by linguostylistic means. As a result, it has been proved that the dominant discrediting tactics in the genre of American political debates include the tactics of accusation, the tactics of denunciation, the tactics of comparison, the tactics of insult. The linguistic means contributing to the implementation of the discrediting strategy include evaluative and emotionally-charged vocabulary, as well as numerous lexical figurative and expressive means and figures of speech. Content-wise, the analysed material raises such socially significant issues as racism, women’s rights, the judicial system, environmental problems, health care and migration policy.