Since the first of the Republican debates for President is being held tonight on Fox News , I am starting a thread where we can talk about the debates that will be happening over the next year or so. It seems to me like they are starting the debates earlier than usual, because the election is over a year away at this point. It is still seemingly undecided whether the Democrats will have any debates or not, but since we have at least one candidate (RFK Jr.) running as a Democrat at this point, something should be happening with that, too. It is still possible that he could end up as a VP for Trump, if his own people reject him for Biden. Tonight is the opening debate and has eight candidates that were approved for the debate. President Trump has refused to attend the debate, which makes sense to me, and instead will be doing a blockbuster interview on Twitter (now called “X”) at the exact same time as the Fox News debate starts. Here are the candidates for tonight’s debate: North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson Former Vice President Mike Pence Businessman Vivek Ramaswamy Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, former Rep. Will Hurd of Texas, businessmen Perry Johnson and radio host Larry Elder were left out.
LOL, good for President Trump. Anyone want to place your bets now on which gets watched the most Here's stupid for you and how out of touch I am though, I thought it was this November we get to vote and I was wondering why the debates were starting so late! Maybe it's just better I stay out of anything I feel I have to say about anything
I watched a little of both last night and some excerpts on YouTube this morning. What I came away with is this: The debate was, in my estimation, an exercise in chaos with DeSantis at the helm as the self appointed lead of the debate and Ramaswamy following close behind as an antagonizer. Note: Ramaswamy’s statement saying that he was the only candidate who wasn’t bought and paid for started a back and forth between he and Christy and also created a visible degree of “angst” with the rest of the candidates. Ramaswamy did however state from the beginning that he would free up the energy sector if he were the President. Nikki threw in a couple of jabs, one against the Republican party and one touting her sex with a quote from Prime Minister Thatcher. Note: It’s just me but when a candidate has to point out their sex or race to garner votes, I mentally turn the page. Christy, tried to rely on his stats as governor which was very reminiscent of how John Kasich presented himself in the 2016 debates. *I did this and that as governor with little as to what he would do as the President.* Tim Scott was probably the most controlled individual and gave his oral resume’ quite well but like the others, gave little to grasp onto as to what he would do if he were the President. From what I experienced, the debate should have been split with the main four or possibly 5 in one debate and the others including those who qualified but weren’t allowed in the debates to be on another night. Notably, I didn’t watch the whole debate so there might have been some redeeming qualities that I didn’t see. They all basically want to tear up whatever Joe Biden has decreed and done and go back to what I believe to be the Trump policies. I doubt it but there might have been. Over all, from the portions I saw, .I’d give it to Ramaswamy.
I did about the same thing as Bobby did, watched part of Trump-Tucker and then watched parts of the Fox debates. This morning, there are all sorts of snippets from the Fox debates on Twitter. It looks like Ramaswamy came in about the best from what i can see and what I heard. Even though President Trump was not there for the other candidates to attack last night, most of them spent the entire debate attacking him anyway, with the exception of Ramaswamy. He said (to HUGE cheering from the audience) that Trump was the best president of the 21st century, right on the stage, when most of the others were promoting criminal charges for Trump. De Santis was definitely NOT the leader last night ! He appeared to watch what everyone else did before raising his hand about anything, like he wanted to follow the majority. One of the questions that was asked was about all of the candidates signing a pledge to support whomever becomes the republican candidate, and whether they would support Trump if he is the candidate. Vivek raised his hand immediately, and slowly some of the others did, too, (probably because they had signed the pledge), and DeSantis was the last one. He usually raised his hand in a halfway fashion, and did that same thing this time, too. The most interesting thing might be that the crowd in the audience was cheering for Trump, and booing people like Christie when they attacked Trump. Fox was careful who they allowed to attend (Donald Trump Jr. and Kimberley Guillfoile were refused entry), and still the crowd cheered for Trump. Tucker had over 100 million views for his interview with Trump, more than Twitter has ever had. I am wondering if this will open the door for Trump coming back to Twitter again ?
Just dropping by because I noticed this thread yesterday and I was hoping more people would be interested in the debate. I'm interested in reading your opinions and I wish there were more. Like some others I tried to watch both Trump and the debate. I ended up watching the first part of Trump and Tucker and thought Trump was doing a great job. Then I switched to the debate and UGH. Regardless of who may have won, if anyone did, the big, big loser was Fox News, IMO. When will they learn that Bret Baier cannot handle a debate? And Martha was useless. Does anyone know who the moderators are on the next debate? It's on Fox Business, I believe. I sure hope they don't bring those 2 again. What did you think. I liked the ND governor but he didn't get much time. Mike Pence was absolutely obnoxious which was a bit of a surprise. Christie was of course obnoxious as he always is. I will absolutely never vote for either of them. Ramaswamy always impresses me but I really don't want to vote for him anymore. I liked that his hand shot up immediately when they asked who will support Trump if he wins. The rest were wishy washy. And he almost always has the right answers but ...... I dislike Nikki Haley to the point of wanting to turn down the sound when she speaks. Women vote for women because they are women. Not me. Asa Hutchison has no business on that stage. He's a vanity candidate and has nothing to be vain about, IMO. Tim Scott is a good guy with a lot of right answers. I could vote for him but he doesn't give me the confidence that he can hold tough. My first choice is still DeSantis. Yes, he doesn't have the best personality and sometimes he seems a little odd on stage. I don't care. I would vote for him strictly on his Florida record assuming that Trump is not the candidate. Well, that was way more about what I thought than anyone wants to know but I will come back because I want to know more about what you think.
I watched the first half only. Hoping it would be on YouTube this morning, but can't find it. First, they need to ditch the audience. It makes the Republican voters look like a bunch of tailgaters in the parking lot at a football tournament in south Georgia . I can't stand panderers. The two biggest panderers were DeSantis and Ramaswamy. They don't even believe what they are saying. Ramaswamy acts like he's auditioning for a late night Fox talk show. It's obvious with DeSantis because he seems annoyed at having to explain anything he says. Christie is simply there to show the Republican party there is another way. The guy from ND reminds me of Elon Musk - I got the money, if you've got the time. Scott was disappointing with the lie that the Justice Department referred to parents as domestic terrorists. Too easily disproven. He is probably campaigning for future office. The serious grown ups: Haley, Pence, and Hutchinson I almost feel sorry for them, especially the first two, who would normally be front runners. Of those 3 I'd pick Hutchinson, then Haley. Pence I disagree with too much, except on Ukraine.
I do definitely respect your opinion but the problem they’re all facing isn’t who will be the next pick for the Republican party to run for the Presidency, but rather who can beat whomever the Dems give the nod to including Joe Biden. Though the “grown ups” showed more reserve than the rest, Haley, Pence and Hutchinson can’t possibly put up a good showing at the voting booth than any Democrat that might be the Dem pick. Note: Yes, you’re right Nancy. The JD didn’t directly call parents who opposed CRT and other teachings as domestic terrorists BUT, Garland absolutely did order the FBI to use the Patriot Act, an anti-terrorist act post 9/11, against those same parents who openly defied various school boards. https://www.dailysignal.com/2021/10...bout-treating-parents-as-domestic-terrorists/
I watched the junior varsity debate later. It looked like a big loss for Chris Christie, but that was to be expected. He was already near the bottom, but I would have slinked away during the first bathroom break if I were him. Overall, from that audience, Mike Pence probably gained a little bit, given that he was starting from way behind, but he did have to beg for the accolades so, for a more objective audience, that probably didn't play so well. The audience loved the war talk, though. I barely noticed Nickie Haley; she was more like a non-biting mosquito, sometimes annoying but harmless overall. The guy on the far left (their right), whose name I never did learn, seemed like he might have thought it was a Democrat debate. DeSantis probably didn't hurt himself, except by virtue of the fact that he didn't help himself, despite being the clear choice of the venue. Vivek probably annoyed some of the same people who would have been annoyed by Trump, but he showed what many of us already knew, that he was quick on his feet and that he knew what his positions were without having to hang back and get the feel of the audience first. Where he might have seemed weak was actually a strength, although it didn't play well with the audience that everyone else was playing to - people who know that Republicans love wars and that a true Republican will support any war, anywhere, anytime, and at any cost. Scott was a stereotypical Republican, but I don't think he stood out from the other stereotypical Republicans. The others, I didn't know their names when the debate started, and I still didn't know who the hell they were by the end.
It's kinda scarey to realize I thought DeSantis was so great, but I remember when I first saw how good he was doing for Florida, I thought right away he would eventually be Presidential material. I didn't think he could beat Trump, but come in later. 'swammy, guess I can't spell his name, but I know how to say it, sounds very honest, and that shines pretty bright compared to others. He too doesn't really sound like a politician, he's smart, and from what I've heard, has done his homework, speaks clearly and with his whole heart. The Village Idiots of our country don't like men like that do they. I and most of you will never forget what JFK said, think not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country. Seems we have a powerful many who only want what they think is best for themselves, and don't give a care for other people. You should have seen an example of that happening in our town right now during this wildfire disaster. You can sure separate the goats from the sheep in this little town Matthew 25:31-33
Although he was late to the game, DeSantis did do some good things in Florida, but I think the larger part of his appeal was that he was presented to us as the acceptable alternative to Trump since the neoconservatives in the Republican Party - and even the Democrats - badly needed an alternative to Trump, given that Trump was - and is - the only one they were afraid of. Since DeSantis wasn't up to attracting that base of the Republican Party, it is entirely possible that Ramaswamy was brought in as a Trojan horse. He did come in from nowhere in the political spectrum, but I don't know. If this is an act, then he's even more impressive than I thought.
Thanks Ken, makes me have a better idea (at least), plus I wondered as well where the heck Ramaswamy came from. Your feedback makes good sense, and yes, Ramas is almost too good to be true in a way, for me anyway. People do fall (and I am including myself) for the damndest things.
Good comments. You've given me things to think about in choosing a candidate, especially the idea that Ramaswamy could be a trojan horse. Hmmm...I need to think about that. I'm surprised I didn't think of it myself.