The Paw Print

By Steven Jiang

Although the presidential election is not until next November, messy infighting has already begun within the Republican Party over who will face President Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee. Eight candidates made their first impressions on debate stages in Wisconsin and California, with former President Trump being noticeably absent from both.

They went about as well as you would expect. The candidates exchanged jabs, interrupted each other, and fought for the spotlight in their bids to be the GOP presidential nominee in 2024. However, there were a few key moments that stood out among the otherwise bland political discourse. 

I watched the debates and read through the transcripts so that you don’t have to. Here are my takeaways: 

Trump: The Elephant Not in the Room

Like it or not, the indicted former President remains the undisputed leader of the party, with 58% of the voter base according to FiveThirtyEight (as of October 2023). Given his solid position, Trump made the right tactical decision to skip the debates. It forces the candidates to not only promote an appealing conservative agenda but also convince the average Republican voter why they should support someone not named Donald J. Trump. The focus shifts from eight candidates to eight long-shot challengers to the overwhelming favorite.

Vivek: The New Guy

As a newcomer to the political sphere, Vivek Ramaswamy has stirred up a storm, sort of. He’s only 38 years old, making him the youngest candidate on a stage where the average age is 62. His fluid and engaging style of speaking, which is filled with rhetoric like “America First 2.0” and “Strike the Swamp” (sound familiar?), has captivated audiences. In the first debate, his hand was the first to confidently shoot up when questioned about support for Trump as the potential nominee. His swaggering outspokenness eventually backfired when the frustrated candidates banded together to target him for his lack of experience. As Pence put it, the Presidency is not the time for “on-the-job training.” A tough pill to swallow for the outsider.

Chris Christie: The Only Trump Critic

Christie is a fascinating character. The former scandal-plagued New Jersey governor turned lobbyist emerged as a leading and lone voice against Trump. Unfortunately, it seems to be his only selling point, and it flopped miserably. At the first debate, he attacked Trump for “disrespecting the Constitution,” which was (predictably) drowned out with boos from the Fox News audience. That’s the reality of the current GOP. 

Toeing the Line: Mike Pence & Ron DeSantis

Former Vice President Pence and Florida Governor DeSantis have a similar problem but to different extents: How to gain support without alienating Trump supporters? On one hand, Pence stated he was “proud of the record of the Trump-Pence administration,” even as he passionately defended his actions regarding the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021 as standing firm for the Constitution in the face of political pressure…from Trump. Meanwhile, over the past few years, DeSantis has waged an extensive campaign against “wokeness” as a staunch Trump ally, which has made it awkward to differentiate himself from Trump’s firebrand on the campaign trail. He’s sitting at 12% in the polls.

Climate Change Conversation?

It didn’t really happen. Even when the moderators brought up recent events, not a single candidate personally acknowledged the victims of wildfires in places like Hawaii, which was a huge miss. Instead,  Vivek Ramaswamy declared the “anti-carbon agenda” a “hoax”, while Nikki Haley blamed India and China for pollution. Then they changed the subject. All in all, for a party struggling with appealing to young people, hardly mentioning an issue that 67% of American youth are worried about (according to Pew Research) is not the way to go. 

Regardless of your political views, these debates provide an interesting and authentic perspective into the state of affairs within the party before all eyes are on the general election, even if the candidates are all long-shot. It’s a snapshot of the strengths and weaknesses of the GOP and provides insight into what kind of direction our nation is headed in.