The Most Important Moves and Most Memorable Lines of the Republican Debate
The former president outperformed his Republican rivals on at least 43 issues in November, according to the Washington Post’s average of polls. At his Tuesday town hall on “Hannity,” a sort of early counterprogramming occasion, he asked if “I would never abuse. In retaliation he opposes anybody,” Trump responded, “Except on day one,” before talking about oil drilling and the ultimate border.
Wednesday night’s matchup was necessarily the end of the semifinals for Haley and DeSantis as they battle for a second-place finish behind Trump in Iowa, which will host the first nomination contest of 2024 on Jan. 15. Haley was continuously the main target of DeSantis and Ramaswamy, but once again she stood her ground. The Florida governor set the tone for the debate when he attacked Haley in his first response, accusing her and the debate that she would “cavin” to Wall Street titans, liberal donors and GOP moderates, describing it as an establishment. A character from a bygone era. Ramaswamy called Haley “corrupt” in his first response, introduced her as a pawn of the donor puppeteers, and at the end displayed a handwritten sign in capital letters on her legal clipboard that read “NIKKI = CORRUPT. “
Haley shrugged off the attacks early in the debate with a gentle touch: “I like all the attention, guys,” and conscientiously chose when to interact and when to move on, rather than getting stuck on defense. The ability to throw a punch was the hallmark of their candidacy, and both were at a rally in Tuscaloosa on Wednesday night.
When DeSantis questioned his moves as governor or his policy positions, he wasted no time getting bogged down in details, relying on undeniable phrases that spoke to the reduced strength of his candidacy: “Ron kept lying because he’s losing. When she charged that she would be beholden to the big liberal donors helping her candidacy, she responded, “It’s crazy because those Wall Street donors used to help you and now they help me. “to respond to one of his tirades by calling her corrupt: “No,” she replied, “it’s not worth my while to take the time to answer you. “
Her performance is unlikely to place her within striking distance of Trump, but she continues to do what she needs to do to impress donors and build momentum toward what she hopes is a surprise upset in New Hampshire.
Christie is in the single digits in national polls, and his attacks on Trump have bombarded a No. 1 Republican electorate that adores the former president. But the former New Jersey governor found a way to re-insert himself into the verbal exchange on Wednesday, rarely acting as a Jack-of-all-trades Commentator who criticized the other applicants uninvited and continually returned the debate to a discussion about Trump, whom he called dictator and bully. He presented himself as the only “truthful” one who denounced Trump’s habit and risk. It is possible that he simply represents a threat to Republican hopes in the White House if he is irreparably ruined in the legal proceedings he will face next year. He would sometimes intervene to force other applicants like DeSantis to answer questions they evaded. to be president or not?” Christie asked DeSantis since the Florida governor did not directly respond to the moderator’s question about Trump.
Christie also created one of the most memorable moments of the night when he defended Haley from Ramaswamy’s attacks on her intelligence. Ramaswamy exchanged stating that his 3-year-old son could show Haley how far apart Israel and the U. S. were on a map. He then accused her of not knowing the names of three Ukrainian provinces to which he said he intended to send U. S. troops. “Delight in foreign policy is not the same as wisdom in foreign policy,” Ramaswamy said. “You want a foreigner to bring up this business. Look at the blank expression. She doesn’t know the names of the provinces.
It was Christie, not Haley, who responded, telling Ramaswamy that he would have been voted “America’s nastiest braggart” in the first 20 minutes of the debate.
“Look, if you need to disagree on something, that’s not a problem,” Christie chimed in. “But I’ll tell you this: I’ve known her for 12 years, which is longer than he [Ramaswamy] even started. “vote in the Republican primary. And while we disagree on some issues, and we disagree on who will be the president of the United States,” he said, referring to him and Haley, “what we don’t disagree on is that she’s an intelligent, well-rounded woman and you avoid insulting her.
DeSantis had hoped to make a dramatic change in his trajectory Wednesday night to counter his candidacy’s precipitous fall from its once-lofty position as Trump’s strongest and best-funded rival. Haley fends off issues such as her encouragement of investment from China when she was governor of South Carolina.
But she hasn’t been able to deliver the knockout blow she needed to overtake her at this level of competition. His main imperative was to demonstrate why the number one Republican electorate, looking for a candidate other than Trump, decides for him and not Haley. He had to prove that Haley is a less viable option for Trump — as his team has long argued — because she can’t appeal to the party’s pro-Trump, anti-establishment majority like he can. voters attacked her as a liberal and pointed out that she had approved spending that guided the timeline of Republican politics: Florida’s law restricting discussion of transgender issues in schools, for example. But DeSantis and Haley were tied Wednesday night, suggesting their momentary position war will continue in earnest.
Fact-checking on the fourth Republican presidential debate
Ramaswamy, who experienced a mini-boom in some polls this year but has since faded, seemed to many to be the nastiest candidate in every debate so far, and he lived up to that reputation in many tactics on Wednesday night. He was not checked by debate moderators when he espoused debunked conspiracy theories, adding that the 2020 election was rigged and that the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol was an “internal task. “He then gave credence to the “grand theory of updating” according to which Jews, racial minorities and immigrants seek to upgrade white Americans with higher fertility rates and migration. He continually went overboard in his attacks on Haley, from denigrating her intelligence to presenting her with the notepad by calling her corrupt. The audience responded several times by drowning him in boos. His ability to self-fund his crusade is likely to keep him in the race, but it’s no mystery why he doesn’t top 10% in national polls.
Trump transformed the tone of American politics forever — making name-calling, petty insults and personal attacks commonplace. These debates are a constant reminder of how uncivil our politics has become. Countless Trump acolytes such as Ramaswamy have adopted his style, trying to create viral moments with insults that attack their rivals’ character and convictions. Wednesday night’s debate often devolved into a shouting match among the contenders that seemed out of control.
Literally pointing fingers. Crisp lines of attack and responses like “Don’t interrupt me!”and “Ron helps lie because he’s losing” and “Nikki, if you can’t tell where Israel is and where America is on a map, I can ask my 3-year-old to show you the difference. “
‘No one can hear you!'” moderator Megyn Kelly at one point.
The candidates don’t bother to follow the rules anymore. And other than Christie’s defense of Haley’s intelligence, the moments of civility were few and far between.
Two hours is too long. Too long. The power of those debates has waned in the last 30 minutes.
See the winners, losers, and takeaways from the Republican number one’s fourth debate. Compare the 2024 presidential candidates’ stance on key issues like abortion, climate, and the economy.
Republicans: Top contenders for the GOP 2024 nomination include former president Donald Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former Trump U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley. Here is The Post’s ranking of the top 10 Republican presidential candidates for 2024.
Democrats: President Biden is running for reelection in 2024. Here is The Post’s ranking of the top 10 Democratic presidential candidates for 2024.