Seven Republican Party candidates took the stage in the second Republican presidential debate ahead of the 2024 election, with former President Donald Trump once again absent. Despite this, Trump was without a doubt the winner of this debate, and the losers were Republican voters.
The debate did nothing but televise the chaos of the current GOP and the fact that they present voters with no good alternative to Trump. The moderator began by asking candidates to “keep it civilized,” but after two hours of deflecting, berating, and interrupting one another, it is safe to say that the showing was anything but.
In fact, it was more akin to a classroom of kindergarteners: the moderators often had to intervene, even threatening to cut candidates’ mics. All seven seemed more focused on tearing each other apart than discussing policy. So, while former Vice President Mike Pence was making himself completely unelectable with his distasteful joke about “sleeping with a teacher for the past 38 years,” Trump was garnering even more votes than he already has by giving a speech at an autoworkers’ rally in Michigan.
Even though the candidates attacked Trump for not attending the debate, it would have been nothing but a waste of time for the former President, who is up by 43 points in the polls over his closest competitor, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, and by more than 50 over everyone else.
Republican voters hoping for policy proposals which would solve some of America’s divisive issues had their hopes crushed that night. Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley was pretty much the only candidate who both avoided deflecting and proposed specific policies for the issues presented. When the candidates were asked to discuss immigration and border control each one practically just reiterated what every voter already knows: “we need to secure the border.” Haley was the only one who was specific when she suggested she would “defund sanctuary cities” and add “25,000 more border patrol and ICE agents.”
Nevertheless, Haley’s offensive stance against the other candidates – like when she told Vivek Ramaswamy that “every time I hear you, I feel a little bit dumber” – may make for amusing television, but doesn’t make her any more electable.
Other highlights of the debate include North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum’s near irrelevance on the stage and DeSantis proving once again that he is unable to smile in front of a camera. Ramaswamy seems to have a constant need to prove that he bleeds red, white, and blue – most of his points also sound like he simply googled ‘how to appeal to the extreme right wing’ especially when he started talking about how “transgenderism … is a mental health disorder.”
Finally, though it was entertaining to watch Senator Tim Scott try to blame Haley for the $50,000 spent on curtains in the White House before she was even in residence, a Republican primary debate should not be emulating the likes of a sit-com. After this debate the term “beggars can’t be choosers” seems particularly suitable for Republican voters.
Each candidate (bar Ramaswamy) tried to flaunt their political record that night, which is a terrible tactic since none of their records hold a candle to that of a former POTUS. The candidates should have focused on why they would make a better president than Trump rather than essentially proving that they are Trump – just on a smaller scale. None of the candidates proved even close to worthy of the highest office in the land.
“Donald Trump” by Gage Skidmore is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.