Watching the third Republican presidential primary debate on Wednesday night juxtaposed with Donald Trump giving a primetime rally speech to thousands was like watching the Thanksgiving kid’s table stuck at the other of the living room begging for mashed potatoes. Sorry kids, Grandpa ate them all and now he’s watching football in the den.
Time and time again, moderator Lester Holt lobbed softball questions giving candidates a direct chance to differentiate themselves from Trump and make their case that they would be the better option as a nominee. Time and time again, they whiffed on the pitch, for intentional reasons.
Vivek Ramaswamy had one of the most memorable lines of the night when he, in the first few minutes, turned the question around on the moderators, the RNC, and NBC:
? BREAKING: Vivek Ramaswamy destroys Ronna Romney McDaniel, demand she come on stage and RESIGN, says Joe Rogan and Elon Musk should be hosting the debate instead of hacks like Kristen Welker who pushed the Russian Collusion Hoax ? pic.twitter.com/hxcBxGrdPN
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) November 9, 2023
Yes, yes, and yes.
A debate moderated by Tucker Carlson, Joe Rogan, and Elon Musk would be something to behold. Perhaps drop Musk from the lineup, he doesn’t have time for such games, and give us Carlson/Rogan for ultimate viewing satisfaction.
RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel isn’t the only one to blame for losses on Tuesday night, but she’s part of the problem.
However, Ramaswamy’s point that NBC News, the chief architect of fake Russian collusion stories, should never have been rewarded with a primetime debate, is more than valid.
Back to the question at hand. Why did candidates take a new strategy of shying away from Trump-bashing? None of the candidates were taking the bait against Trump even though he is the by-and-away front runner. If you can’t make a case to chip away at his support, why are you on the stage?
Maybe they all learned from Chris Christie’s “Donald Duck” line at the second debate that fell flat and sounded embarrassingly rehearsed. Perhaps they’ve decided there’s no upside in attacking Trump, he’s Teflon Don when it comes to peeling away MAGA supporters. It didn’t happen in 2016 and it’s not going to happen in 2024. Just ask Jeb Bush.
There was almost a resigned sense on the stage that Trump was unbeatable in many regards, though DeSantis is still throwing Hail Marys with his late-breaking endorsement from Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds.
Trump countered by bringing a nearby Midwest governor, Sarah Huckabee Sanders from Arkansas, as his latest gubernatorial endorsement to speak at his Hialeah rally.
The result of another 2-hour debate is that Trump remains the front-runner, DeSantis and Haley are fighting for second, Ramaswamy has the best sound bites, Tim Scott lacks confidence but is probably the nicest guy in the room, and Chris Christie is, well, a nobody.
Compared to the first two debates, however, the moderators did a better job of preventing a chair-throwing WrestleMania event, and that was intentional. The dumb Fox News rule that candidates can respond when mentioned by name is an invitation to brawl. The network and moderators prefer it since fistfights get more eyeballs than spelling bees.
Despite NBC’s record as sitting virulently left-wing and spending the early Trump years trying to discredit his presidency, it provided a decent two hours of policy discussion without any “gotcha” questions.
The other positive of the night was a unified front from the entire stage against the terroristic barbarism of Hamas and the disgusting strain of anti-semitism on college campuses. Siding with Hamas in chanting “from the river to the sea” is advocating for the destruction of the state of Israel. It was nice to see unequivocal condemnation for the promotion of terrorism and hatred directed towards Jews.
There’s a fourth debate scheduled in December airing on NewsNation moderated by Elizabeth Vargas and Megyn Kelly. That might be the one to watch as the last weeks of desperation before the primaries start to set in.
