Commentary
Personally, I was disappointed in the first Republican debate, although I cannot say I expected much from the participants going in. Here are a few leftover comments I found interesting.
The Debate in General
Here’s how Fox’s sister publications saw it:
“The biggest dividing line was the gulf between contenders when it came to leadership and seriousness. On one side were the grown-ups. On the other side, the poll-chasers.” – Kimberly A. Strassel, Wall Street Journal columnist
“How refreshing – GOP candidates hold serious debate on issues that Matter.” – New York Post
And Others
“Some of the answers were sooo bad, with delivery even worse.” The Hill
Regarding the Host, Fox
“Fox News is the debate’s biggest loser.” – The Hill
While The Hill made note that the debate drew fewer viewers than the first Republican debate in 2015, Fox announced that it drew 12.8 million total viewers, while noting it drew 2.8 million viewers in the advertiser-coveted demographic of adults age 25-54, and outdrew 70 percent of presidential primary debates in the 2016 and 2020 cycles.
Meanwhile, Naveen Athrappully of The Epoch Times reported how Tucker Carlson’s interview with former President Trump, aired on X (formerly Twitter) during the debates, garnered nearly 200 million views, with over 620,000 “likes,” 50,000 comments, and 180,000 retweets. Don Surber at Substack reported that the interview drew 75 million clicks while the Fox debate was on air.
On the Candidates
While most of the media predictably spoke of Nikki Haley’s smackdown of Vivek Ramaswamy, Wall Street Journal columnist Strassel noted that “Ms. Haley also spoke the truth about the Republican over-spending habit, especially in the Trump years – which earned her strong applause.”
“Mr. Trump’s rivals have all learned an important lesson from him: The GOP primary electorate wants a fighter,” Strassel added.
“Nikki Haley did well. Chris Christie was a disappointment. So were Tim Scott and Ron DeSantis.” – Lance Morrow,senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center.
“Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who was expected to boost his campaign with his debate performance, saw the limelight stolen away from him by the other contenders,” according to Athrappully.
A Kramerontheright subscriber said he viewed De Santis as “another Jeb Bush.”
Regarding the Absent Trump
“President Trump remained the prominent star of the debate night despite his absence,” wrote Athrappully.
“GOP sees turnout disaster without Trump.” – The Hill
Further, Morrow speculates that “Something – we don’t yet know what – will make Mr. Trump go away or persuade his supporters, in their millions, to abandon him.” He cites the “wishful thinking” of eliminating Trump by means of the 14th Amendment, but doubts it would work.
Regarding Biden
“For months I’ve kidded myself with the idea that Mr. Biden has intended, all along, to withdraw sometime before his 81st birthday, on November 20, wrote Morrow, adding “He’d be smart to do it. But he won’t.”
Meanwhile, Surber passed along a line from Radar Online: “Desperate Democrats Begging Michelle to Run in 2014: Party Insiders Secretly Testing Support for Former First Lady.”
Finally, on a side note, I couldn’t resist sharing this quote about Democrats from Surber’s piece in Substack:
“If you’re smart enough, truth is what you make the voter think it is. That’s why I’m a Democrat. I can make the Democrat voters think whatever I want them to.” – James Carville
May God continue to bless the United States of America.
