The first debate for the 2024 presidential election witnessed Republican candidates engaging in heated arguments. In the absence of Donald Trump, they aimed to assume the leadership role.
Eight competitors gathered on a stage in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to argue about various topics including Ukraine and abortion.
While most people were hesitant to criticize Mr. Trump, a few of the candidates did criticize the absent former president.
The person who wins will compete against the Democratic candidate, most likely President Joe Biden, in November 2024.
On Wednesday night, some important people appeared on stage for a TV show on Fox News. These people were Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, former Vice-President Mike Pence, former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson and North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum.
Mr DeSantis, who is currently in second place for the election, is having some difficulties with his campaign. He has made a promise multiple times to “send Biden back to his basement. ”
But even though he was in the main spotlight, the governor of Florida had a hard time getting attention during the two-hour forum compared to Vivek Ramaswamy, who is a successful new politician and billionaire.
“Do you prefer a person controlled by a super PAC, as if they were their puppet,” the 38-year-old son of immigrants from India asked, “or do you want a patriot who honestly speaks the truth. ”
Mr Pence, who has a lot of experience in debating, criticized Mr. Ramaswamy for not having much experience. He said that it is not the right time for Mr. Ramaswamy to be learning on the job. We don’t need to have someone new and inexperienced.
Christie also criticized Mr. Ramaswamy, calling him an inexperienced person, and compared his speaking style to that of a computer-generated chat program.
As the candidates argued, Ms. Haley interrupted and said, “This is exactly why Margaret Thatcher said, ‘If you want someone to speak, ask a man, if you want someone to take action, ask a woman. ‘”
The discussion showed that there were disagreements within the party regarding their stance on helping Ukraine and allowing women to have abortions.
Many of the candidates promised to support Ukraine in its conflict with Russia.
ButRamaswamy made fun of “professional politicians who will go to Kyiv like they are going on a religious journey to see President Zelensky. ”
MsHaley criticized Mr. Ramaswamy’s stance of isolating himself from other countries, stating that he lacks experience in foreign policy.
There was a disagreement about whether it should be allowed to restrict abortion all across the country.
MsHaley, the only woman on stage, expressed her belief that it is unfair to pressure women into making a decision on this matter when Republicans do not have enough votes in the Senate to successfully pass it.
MrPence responded that this was not a display of leadership.
The debate moderators asked the candidates if they would support Mr. Trump if he became the Republican nominee.
Out of the eight people on stage, Mr. Christie and Mr. Hutchinson were the only ones who didn’t raise their hands.
Mr Christie received both negative and positive reactions when he claimed that Mr. Trump’s behavior is below what is expected of a US president.
Mr Hutchinson received louder and louder negative reactions as he claimed that Mr. Trump should not be allowed to be president.
Mr Trump did not take part in the debate because he believed he was already doing better than others in the race. Instead, he decided to have an interview with Tucker Carlson, a former host on Fox, and put it online at the same time. He did this to try and outshine the televised event.
The ex-president said he didn’t want to deal with smaller competitors bothering him. This interview got 100 million views on Twitter.
After the debate, Trump’s spokesperson Jason Miller said that even though the former president wasn’t there, he still won. He also said that Governor DeSantis’ performance signaled the start of his decline.
The argument happened shortly before Mr. Trump’s trip to Georgia, where he might be arrested for trying to overturn the 2020 election results in that state.
According to a recent poll by CBS News, Mr Trump is leading the Republican race with 62% of the votes, which is much higher than the combined total of all his opponents. This is despite his ongoing legal problems.
Mr DeSantis is in second place with 16% of the votes. Ramaswamy ranked third with a score of 7%.
Last week, a poll from Quinnipiac University showed that Mr. Trump, who is 77 years old, was nearly tied with Mr. Biden in a potential election matchup. 47% of the people surveyed supported Mr. Biden, while 46% supported Mr.
During a debate-watching event in Atlanta, Georgia, around 100 young Republican voters evaluated the candidates.
Richard Polk, who is 33 years old, believed that Mr. Trump was a good president. However, he felt that Mr. Trump often sabotaged his own efforts.
Ashlee Jackson, a voter who does not belong to any political party from the area, believed that the candidates should provide less empty phrases and more specific information about their policy stances.
The upcoming Republican debate will happen in Simi Valley, California, on September 27th.
In January, voters will start picking the person they want to support for president in a bunch of state elections called primaries. The very first primary will be held in Iowa.
The final candidate for the Republican Party will be chosen at their convention in Milwaukee in July, before the general election takes place four months later.