Maybe Some Fireworks?
Tonight’s GOP primary debate will be Trump-free, but there will be a few things to watch for.
“Never argue with stupid people; they will drag you down to their level, and then beat you with experience.” —Mark Twain
Though the first debate for the GOP presidential nomination will go on tonight without the current frontrunner—Donald Trump—there is still potential for insults to be exchanged on the stage between some of the candidates.
With Ron DeSantis remaining in second place and Vivek Ramaswamy closing the gap between the two of them in the polls, I am expecting to see the two come to blows throughout the debate. While Desantis’ poll numbers have been going down recently, Ramaswamy’s have been on the rise.
Up until now, DeSantis has been running a largely disappointing and lackluster campaign and has seemingly given Americans more reasons to dislike him than to vote for him. The Florida governor certainly has not been charming crowds with his personality or successfully winning over voters with his plans for moving the country forward. More than anything, he has shown himself to be incredibly awkward and overly focused on “woke-ism.”
Meanwhile, Ramaswamy conducts himself like an extra slick used car salesman as he goes out and talks to anyone who will listen about his ill-informed, problematic, and inexperienced ideas for the presidency. And voters (unfortunately) listen to him. Many even seem to like him. He actually “rapped” an Eminem song on stage at the Iowa State Fair in what I assume was an effort to stand out from other candidates as a younger, more exciting option. It’s unclear how people will respond when they realize the car he overcharged them for needs to have its timing belt, head gasket, and the entire fuel system replaced.
Regarding Trump and Trump voters, Ramaswamy appears to be much better positioned to win them over should the frontrunner drop out of the race. Many Trump supporters seem to really like Ramaswamy as either their second choice or as Trump’s running mate. DeSantis, however, has openly criticized the former president and made more enemies than friends by doing so.
I predict a few head-to-heads between the two and that Ramaswamy will be who the crowd supports.
Another possible dust up I will be keeping an eye out for tonight will be between DeSantis and Senator Tim Scott (R-SC). The two recently had a public disagreement about some of the language in Florida’s educational guide for discussing slavery.
Because Scott pointed out the obvious fact that slavery had “no silver lining,” DeSantis got his panties in a bunch and suggested Scott was something like a woke Liberal (insert eye roll). I expect the debate’s moderators to breach the subject and try to light some fireworks between the two. I also expect Scott to win.
Besides those two potential head-to-heads, I think and am hoping Chris Christie will go after most of the other candidates while Nikki Haley tries to figure out what her role in the race is.
Even though Trump will be hanging with Tucker, this first debate will still be important as long as voters are willing to keep their ears, minds, and options open. We just might end up being pleasantly surprised by someone.