Donald Trump’s absence from the first debate for the Republican primary was “a blessing” for the eight candidates present, who made themselves heard without the former US president’s “bombastic and vocal approach”, defended Lusa analyst Colin Anderson . But that’s not to say Trump, who chose to interview Carlson Tucker, wasn’t one of the night’s winners.
According to the professor in the Department of Political Science at the University at Buffalo in New York, voters may have been disappointed that the favorite was left out for the nomination, but his absence allowed the candidates to discuss their positions without being “trampled”. . According to him, there were two winners: former US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley, the only woman in the race, who did well on issues such as abortion and foreign policy, and former New Jersey governor Chris Christie, a critic of Trump.
One of the most tense moments of the debate came right when Christie was booed by those in attendance at the Milwaukee studio for saying that Trump had violated the constitution when he tried to reverse his defeat in the 2020 presidential election and oust the invaders of to stir up the Capitol. Many candidates defended former Vice President Mike Pence’s position and supported his decision to endorse Joe Biden’s election victory. In the debate, Pence performed averagely.
On stage, the ex-president’s big supporter was Indian-born biotechnology entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, 38 years old. Trump was the best president of the 21st century declared. Collin Anderson believes that, “although he started strong” – he was tipped as the winner of the debate by many analysts – Ramaswamy faltered as the night wore on. “He looked like he was having a hard time when other candidates started to press on him” said to Lusa.
One of the big losers of the night was the favorite behind Trump: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. “He had to use this debate to really stand out from the crowd. Unfortunately, his performance in the debate will not contribute to that”, to relaunch his campaign, he stressed. Throughout the debate, DeSantis refused to answer simple questions directly and was eventually overshadowed by the absence of Trump, who promised to apply pressure and shine the spotlight on Florida’s governor, but ultimately failed to do so.
For Collin Anderson: “Realistically, this debate has become a job interview for whoever is Trump’s vice president.”
On the eve of surrendering to authorities in Georgia over charges of trying to reverse the election results in that state, Trump chose to stay home rather than take part in the debate. His (pre-recorded) interview with Carlson Tucker, a former Fox News journalist, aired on Twitter (renamed X) while the debate was on the same channel. While the attacks on opponents and Biden drew no media attention, the 47-minute interview hit the mark with his supporters. Less than 24 hours after broadcast, the broadcast had already been viewed 200 million times. That makes Trump one of the winners of the evening.
With Lusa
Source: DN
