The first Republican primary debates started with a bang last Wednesday. Fox News moderators Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum posed a series of hot topic questions to the eight presidential hopefuls. The polling frontrunner, former President Donald Trump, was noticeably absent from the first major debate. He, instead, decided to take up an interview with former Fox News reporter Tucker Carlson at the same time. With now four indictments under his belt, Trump is a major source of attention for the Republican Party with those on stage in varying support of the former president.
Ron DeSantis
However, the eight politicians in the debate had different intentions and goals to get out of their first mutual public appearance. After Trump, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is seen as his biggest rival. With strict conservative views and a history of passing significantly restrictive legislation on abortion rights, sexuality and gender in classes, and pro gun laws, DeSantis holds many of the same ideals as Trump. The governor is posing as a better alternative to Trump––someone who holds the same values but does not come with the strings. His opponents, however, claim he lacks the ability to form a personal connection to his constituents. Political columnist Myra
Adams states that DeSantis “should be the younger, smarter, more nimble Trump. But the numbers just don’t speak well for how he’s going to overcome Trump.”
On the debate stage, he really did not pull the audience’s attention for long periods. The attacks usually reserved for the leading polling candidate were not directed towards DeSantis, emphasizing his lackluster presence on the stage.
Vivek Ramaswamy
In a surprising twist, it was 38-year old newcomer Vivek Ramaswamy that fielded most of the fiery exchanges on Wednesday. A new face to many of these seasoned politicians, Ramaswamy, a pharmaceutical businessman turned politician, took fire from all sides, especially from former Vice President Pence. Without a doubt, Ramaswamy seized the spotlight and achieved his goal of making Republican voters talk about him. Talking about his immigrant experience as his idea of the American dream, Ramaswamy aimed to distinguish himself from the others on stage. Saying he’s “the only person on the stage who isn’t bought and paid for,” he portrayed himself as the fresh, new face to take over the Oval Office and steer the country in a forward-facing direction. He did make clear his ties to strict conservative legislation and promised to uphold these values in his closing statement.
“God is real. There are two genders. Fossil fuels are a requirement for human prosperity. Reverse racism is racism. An open border is not a border. Parents determine the education of their children. The nuclear family is the greatest form of governance known to man. Capitalism lifts us up from poverty.”
He was also the first and most ardent supporter of Trump on the stage. When asked who would pardon Trump for his indictments, Ramaswamy was a fierce supporter and claimed Trump “was the best president of the 21st century” to resounding cheers at the debate. Ramaswamy seems poised to pull in many of Trump’s supporters.
Mike Pence
Vice President Pence, in a more heated than expected presence, rallied back and forth with Ramaswamy multiple times. He, and his political peers, were pressed about his actions on January 6th. Chris Christie and Nikki Haley both supported Pence’s decisions that day, and slammed Trump for the actions deemed below the office of President. However, Pence is still trailing in the polls with little donor support.
Nikki Haley
Former UN ambassador and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley also had some defining moments in the debate. Former Mitt Romney advisor Kevin Madden claims “she has a really strong, natural political talent with audiences, and the debate stage allowed her to showcase that.” While Nikki Haley has shown strong support for the pro-life campaign, she had a more moderate presentation on stage. Arguing against Pence, she claimed it would be incredibly difficult to have a majority in Congress pass the restrictive laws the former Vice President was looking to pass. “Can’t we all agree that we should ban late-term abortions? Can’t we all agree that contraception should be available? And can’t we all agree that we are not going to put a woman in jail or give her the death penalty if she gets an abortion?”
Chris Christie
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie faced boos from the audience, even forcing him to stop talking and for the moderators to make a plea to the audience, when he claimed he would not pardon and support Trump. After the debate, Christie, in an interview, stated that he was running to beat Trump and that many on the stage who planned to support Trump were just ceding their own presidential challenge to the former President. In an interesting shift, Christie was asked about how he would deal with releasing information about Unidentified Flying Objects (or UFOs).
Other Candidates
Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, and North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum all provided lines in the primary debate, but they did not face as much of the fiery exchanges as the remaining five candidates. The next primary debate will be again hosted by Fox News and will be on September 27th.
To qualify for this debate, each candidate would now have to be polling “at least 3% in two national polls, or 3% in one national poll and two polls conducted in early states. Additionally, candidates are expected to have 50,000 unique donors, including at least 200 donors from 20 different states or territories” according to USA Today.