2023-08-24 06:10:14
TV debate: This is how the Republican field is reshuffled in the primary campaign
New favorites are emerging in the first Republican debate: While Ron DeSantis remains vague, a young entrepreneur stands out. Trump is becoming a side issue – for now.
08/24/2023 | by Sarah Sendner
DeSantis, Ramaswamy und Haley
© Bloomberg
New York Quarrels, mockery, laughter and an unexpected outsider: The first TV debate of the US presidential candidates on Wednesday evening showed the republican keen to chart a course for the 2024 election. Among the eight contenders were many familiar faces and one unexpected outsider.
However, the star of the party was missing: Donald Trump had previously announced his absence from the debate because “the public knows who I am and what a successful presidency I had,” said the ex-president on social networks.
He still had an appearance on Wednesday evening: A previously recorded interview with ex-Fox News moderator Tucker Carlson was broadcast parallel to the debate on the online platform Twitter, which has since been renamed X. Meanwhile, on Fox News, the candidates squabbled over inflation, foreign policy and abortions. Trump himself was only briefly discussed in the debate.
Were involved Ron DeSantis, Trump’s biggest rival and current governor of Florida, and Mike Pence, Trump’s former vice president. Tim Scott, Senator from South Carolina, was the only African American and Nikki Haley, former UN Ambassador, was the only woman.
Asa Hutchinson, Gov. of Arkansas, was the oldest of the round at 72. Doug Burgum is the governor of North Dakota and Chris Christie is the former governor of New Jersey. Vivek Ramaswamy, an immigrant tech entrepreneur, is the only candidate without political office and, at 38, the youngest.
Ramaswamy turned out to be a dynamic outsider early on. He communicated his clear and sometimes radical theses eloquently and always with a big smile: With him, the voters would get a “patriot” who “tells the truth” – a “revolution”. He considers the climate crisis to be a “hoax” and anti-CO2 policies a “wet blanket” on the US economy. He sees his lack of experience as an advantage: “If the car is broken, you don’t give the keys to the people who broke it.”
Eight Against Trump © Bloomberg
Attacks, especially from Pence, he fended off seemingly effortlessly. The ex-vice-president kept lashing out at Ramaswamy and his resume: “Now is not the time for on-the-job training.” And later that evening, Pence said, “We don’t need a president who’s too young.” At the same time, he touted his White House experience. Pence’s confrontation with Ramaswamy was repeated many times over the course of the debate.
However, the eight candidates represented similar themes on many issues: When it came to abortion, they positioned themselves as “pro life”, even if opinions differed on the type and extent of legislation. A brief irritation followed the request for a show of hands who believed in man-made climate change. Ron DeSantis broke the brief silence: “We’re not school kids, we should be debating!”
There was a common culprit for many economic problems: US President Joe Biden. An exception was Nikki Haley, who in a sweep also on her own republican targeted, specifically at spending during the coronavirus pandemic when Trump was President.
Haley was also able to score with her core topic, foreign policy. Well informed, she summed up her opinion on Ukraine politics. The aid to the country is measured and justified, resistance against Russia is also a moral duty. She also dedicated her closing statement mainly to national security. In the context of their opponents, their answers were mostly balanced and calm.
In particular, the debate was carried out by the dynamic between Pence and Ramaswamy. Burgum, Hutchinson and Scott only spoke marginally and, like Haley, were not attacked by the other candidates.
And then there was Ron DeSantis. The governor of Florida has always been considered Trump’s fiercest opponent. In polls earlier this year, he was close to overtaking Trump. Recently, however, his campaign came to a standstill, and a third of his campaign team had to go.
During the debate, Ramaswamy accused him of being too vague. In fact, DeSantis was able to clearly distinguish himself with only a few statements and none of the candidates went into direct confrontation with him. The politician from Florida indirectly avoided the subject of Trump: “We Republicans must not allow ourselves to be distracted, but must look ahead,” he said.
Nikki Haley und Tim Scott
© Bloomberg
Trump stays away from the first TV debate of the Republican presidential candidates
The debate participants avoided mentioning the ex-president. When asked to show who would support Trump if re-elected, some responded hesitantly.
New Jersey’s Chris Christie spoke out most strongly against Trump: He will not bow to a president who does not respect the constitution. At the same time, he accused Ramaswamy of hypocrisy, who was enthusiastically pro-Trump. The topic moved the event noticeably. Again and again the audience broke out in cheers and boos.
The debate in Milwaukee in the US state of Wisconsin marks the start of the 2024 presidential election. The debate was organized by the conservative US news channel Fox News. Topics were given by the two moderators. The candidates then each had a maximum of one minute to express themselves and could also reply to their opponents if they were addressed directly.
Pence, DeSantis und Ramaswamy
© Bloomberg
In the primaries, both parties choose the candidate who is to run in the race for the White House in 2024. Anyone who is officially registered as a voter in their respective party is entitled to vote.
All candidates who garnered at least 40,000 donors and garnered at least 1 percent of the vote in three national polls were invited to the first Republican debate. The primary elections will take place in spring 2024 in most states.
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