Signaling a official start to the 2024 campaign, Fox News hosts the first GOP presidential debate without 77-year-old former President Donald Trump. Trump’s commanding lead in the polls, some estimates over 40%, pulls the rug out from underneath Fox’s ratings, now turning into a chaotic free-for-all session with a lackluster group of candidates, polling at under 2% trying to come up in the ranks. GOP voters surprised pollsters with their enduring loyalty to Trump, despite his four indictments, totaling 91 felonies, for a wide swath of crimes designed to knock his out of the 2024 race. GOP voters don’t consider the charges legitimate but a political witch-hunt designed to rob Trump from another term in office. All other candidates have a slim chance of representing the GOP in 2024, raising the possibility of another candidate coming out of the woodwork.
Eight candidates will attend the Aug. 23 primetime debate hosted by Fox News Bret Baier and Martha McCallum, both respected journalists but not known for enforcing debate rules. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, once a close Trump confident in the 2016 campaign and transition, now a bitter enemy, spending most his time on liberal TV and radio blasting Trump as an untrustworthy criminal. Fox News hoped to showcase Christie’s vendetta with Trump, now forced to accept only Christie on stage with other candidates. Christie has traded barbs with Trump for months leading up to tomorrow’s debate, now leaving Christie without his favorite punching bag. GOP voters haven’t been kind to Christie with the 60-year-old former governor polling at around 2%. GOP voters don’t like Christie’s snark-and-sarcasm, saying little of what he’d do as president.
When it comes to other GOP candidates, 38-year-old tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy stands out as the most entertaining, apparently enjoying his time in front of cameras. Ramaswamy refuses to criticize Trump or comment about his 91 criminal counts, all of which GOP voters see as a political witch-hunt. GOP voters tell the real story of a divided government, where partisanship prevails in U.S. politics, leaving out the vast majority of independent, moderate voters. Unlike other candidates, Ramaswamy does not back 80-year-old President Joe Biden’s proxy war in Ukraine against the Russian Federation. While it’s not altogether clear why Ramaswamy opposes the Ukraine War, he seems to echo the views of Trump and 44-year-old Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, both opposed to the war primarily because it wastes untold sums of U.S. tax dollars, draining the Treasury.
Ramaswamy and DeSantis views contrast sharply with Christie who backs Biden’s proxy war against the Russian Federation. Christie says he has no admiration, like Trump, for Russian President Vladimir Putin, promising to continue the Biden policy on Russian and China. Biden has wrecked U.S.-Russian and U.S.-Chinese relations since becoming president, ending decades of diplomacy and détente between the U.S. and the world’s biggest nuclear superpowers. Because of the Ukraine War, Biden has shirked his responsibility on arms control and nonproliferation, leaving the world a more dangerous place. No longer can the U.S. call on Russia or China to participate in nuclear nonproliferation, but, more importantly, to help solve emerging threats around the planet. Under Biden, the U.S. has morphed from strategic partners into mortal enemies with world’s nuclear-armed superpowers.
When it comes to other candidates on stage, the lone woman, former U.N. Amb. Nikki Haley, offers some fiery rhetoric, not so much attacking Trump but a strong opposition of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Haley’s views, whether she likes it or not, mirror those of Biden, who has made a career in Congress and as Vice President as a Cold War warrior, a war hawk in the mold for the late Sen. John McCain (R-Az.). Haley isn’t polling well largely because it’s hard to tell where she stands on most issues. When it comes to Trump, you know he opposes Biden’s foreign policy and economic management. Voters know where Trump stands, making him the easiest candidate for GOP voters to follow. How ironic that GOP voters don’t trust the Department of Justice and FBI since they decided to persecute Trump over his four years in office with bogus allegations.
Tuning into the debate, few voters have an interest in listening to Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), the lone Black candidate, whose views on the economy or foreign policy aren’t too developed. When it comes to former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, polling at 1%, he says he’s going to bash Trump but no one’s listening. Presidential candidates qualifying under the Republicans National Committee [RNC] rules, don’t have much to bring to the debate other than seeking national publicity. Former Vice President Mike Pence has shown little popular appeal, especially to GOP voters viewing him as disloyal to his former boss, especially when it comes to Jan. 6, 2022 Capitol riots. Pence blames Trump for spreading falsehoods about his ceremonial role in certifying the Electoral College vote. Without Trump at the debate, Fox News lost its ratings, while GOP voters tune into Trump’s interview with Tucker Carlson
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
