The fourth and final Republican debate of 2023 took place last night. Only four Republicans appeared on stage, these candidates being Chris Christie, Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, and Vivek Ramaswamy. With just four candidates on stage, one would expect a more civil, peaceful debate, but that was not the case.
All four candidates attacked each other relentlessly, and one candidate in particular received the brunt of the attacks. Despite the chaotic debate, one candidate stood above the rest and was a clear winner. The same cannot be said for their competitors, who went heavy on attacks, but provided little substance on their plans with the Iowa Caucus just one month away.
Losers: Almost everyone
Chris Christie
The former New Jersey Governor qualified for the debates on Monday, but should he have? Christie, who remains well behind former President Donald Trump and others in primary polls, performed poorly. There were bright spots for Christie, who laid out solid points and called out his opponents for being unable to answer questions directly.
At times, Christie sounded like the “common sense” candidate, but when he tried attacking Ramaswamy, the audience was reminded of Christie's incompetence in New Jersey. Ramaswamy hammered Christie on his own inability to answer foreign policy questions, Bridgegate, and even insulted Christie’s appearance. Christie's already low chances of rising in the polls are waning, and this debate did not help matters.
Ron DeSantis
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is coming off a strong showdown against California Governor Gavin Newsom, gave his best performance so far, balancing taking the attacks to his opponents and offering his own ideas. He criticized Nikki Haley’s often changing positions on sex reassignment surgery for children and lobbed a few shots at Vivek Ramaswamy as well, all while capitalizing on his policy wins as Florida Governor, like the economy and the state’s voting system.
However, he loses points for being unable to answer the basic question of whether or not Donald Trump was fit to serve as President due to his age, instead only saying that “father time is undefeated”. Overall, he probably gave the best performance and may be the closest thing to a winner from last night, but in reality, it probably isn’t enough.
Nikki Haley
Nikki Haley has risen in primary polling and has received endorsements from wealthy donors. However, with being a front runner often comes more attacks from competitors and Haley experienced that last night. Haley was attacked for “flip-flopping”, was accused of being corrupt, and was exposed by Ramaswamy on foreign policy.
It was a rough night for Haley, who despite having plenty of momentum, appeared to be just another establishmentarian neoconservative Republican, and nothing more. Sure, she raised some good points on the Fed and border security, but she was weak on everything else. Haley still has momentum against other candidates, but this debate will not help her against Donald Trump.
Vivek Ramaswamy
Ramaswamy dialed it up to eleven when attacking his opponents. His goal was to separate himself from the other “establishment politicians” and present himself as an outsider with fresh legs. He took the foreign policy question head-on and made a point that none of his opponents (Christie and Haley) who supported sending the armed forces overseas could actually name where they wanted to defend. When attacked, he would return fire and group his opponents alongside foreign policy failures like the Iraq War.
However, he did delve into conspiracy territory by calling the “great replacement theory” part of the Democrat’s platform, gave eyebrow-raising responses about the 2020 election, and spoke of how politicians are using the climate change issue to enrich themselves. Like Christie, DeSantis, and Haley, this debate won’t move the needle much.
The Moderators
Unlike the moderators from NBC, News Nation’s moderators seemed completely incapable of reigning in all four candidates when they went on the attack. They asked pointed questions which sounds nice on paper, but they blatantly asked Ron DeSantis if his campaign even mattered to open the night, which set the tone of the evening. The questions were tough, but some of them seemed unnecessary.
The most embarrassing part was that in the entire second part of the debate (there were four) Chris Christie did not even get asked a question. With better moderation, this could have been salvageable, but instead, it devolved into something more akin to an SNL skit than a presidential debate.
Winner: Donald Trump
The biggest winner was not on stage, and that was former President Donald Trump. Trump remains far ahead of everyone in the polls and is leading President Joe Biden in nearly every swing state. While the rest of his challengers bickered amongst each other, Trump laid back and laughed, as he remains miles ahead of his competitors.
Trump is a polarizing figure, and Americans across the nation do not want him or Biden to be President again. However, Trump at least has a detailed plan of what to do in office which most Republicans, with the exception of Ramaswamy, do not. At the end of the day, Trump can point to the chaos that unfolded last night as proof that he is the best Republican still in the race.
Have an opposing viewpoint to this opinion? Let us know. All views are welcome. Send your thoughts to our Editorial Staff – Editor Dylan Hicks dhicks@student.dean.edu or Dean Daily Faculty Advisor, Professor John Rooke jrooke@dean.edu
Comments