This Wednesday witnessed presidential candidates from the Republican Party going to head-to-head on a slew of topics at the Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee. Each one of these candidates wants a shot at the 2023 Presidential elections, and they were at The Republican Debate 2023 to prove their worth by voicing their opinions on some of the most burning issues.
Erstwhile President Donald Trump was the forerunner for this debate, but he chose to not appear for this round. But, his opponents were to leave no quarter when it came to criticizing some of Trump’s policies.
To the surprise of many, Trump became a critical issue during the debate alongside important topics such as the abortion ban and illegal immigration. A lot of valuable points were raised and the debate got heated with loud cheers and boos from the crowd.
If you did not watch this debate tonight but want to know the primary takeaways, continue reading!
Ramaswamy Vs The Rest
Vivek Ramaswamy is running for the presidential candidature for the first time, and he was definitely one of the highlights of the 8 GOPs in attendance. He presented a different opinion from his colleagues on almost all issues that were discussed during the debate.
He debated foreign policies with Nikki Haley, the former Governor of South Carolina, and the former VP Pence and Ramaswamy battled it out regarding experience in the field. Ramaswamy chose to also defend former President Donald Trump regardless of the ongoing legal battles against attacks from Chris Christie, the former Governor of New Jersey.
Since Trump chose to sit this round out, Ramaswamy’s stance turned him into a great candidate for all those still in favor of the former President. Towards the end of the debate most of the other candidates were directly poised against Ramaswamy, and there was some lighthearted name-calling as well. However, the crowd definitely seems to love the new candidate, as he received huge cheers while defending Trump.
Desantis Couldn’t Make A Mark
Desantis was perhaps the candidate who held the most expectations in the public eye. But post-debate opinion polls seem to prove exactly the opposite. Most of his speeches were directly lifted from existing campaigns, and he chose to not get into much of the debate at all.
Most of his speech was an attack on Biden instead of directly approaching any of the issues being discussed. Even when pressed about certain issues such as abortion ban, he clearly diverted the conversation towards his successes in Florida and how he vouches to stop illegal immigration.
Desantis wanted to show himself as someone who is speaking directly to the viewers and not to the rest of the candidates. Throughout the debate he pointed at the camera, and turned his speeches into almost election campaign punch lines.
Christie On The Attack
Chris Christie has been known as a rough debater, sometimes shouting down his opponents. But this was hardly the case when he went up against Ramaswamy at the Republican Debate 2023.
Christie was strongly criticizing Trump, but when Ramaswamy chose to confront him regarding this, the public cheered the latter. Whenever Christie was attacking Trump or his policies, a strong ‘boo’ could be heard from the crowd. This went on to the extent that the moderators had to step in and ask the crowd to allow the candidates to speak.
Abortion Ban Is Still The Biggest Debate
Abortion ban and how many weeks of pregnancy will the ban be effective on, is a debate in American society at large. This could be seen well reflected in the stances of the candidates in the GOP debate. Some chose to support a 15-week ban, while others were against a nationwide law. But no one clearly stated that they wanted to support a 6-week ban on abortions.
Republican candidates have mostly shown strong notions on abortion ban in their respective states. But when put under the national spotlight, it could be seen that they were softening their stances. Pence and Graham would go no further than saying they support a 15-week ban, while they have taken stronger stances in the past.
Pence Vs Desantis On Trump
It was clearly seen that Pence had his claws out for the Governor of Florida. While he was trying to dodge the moderator’s question, it was Pence who chased him till the end regarding Trump’s stances. While he still chose to not get into a direct debate, this conduct was criticized by the fellow GOPs.
Pence was perhaps the lowest point of the night’s event, as he chose to sidetrack important questions. This clearly did not sit well with the audience as well as he received loud boos during many parts of his speech.
Haley Plays It Safe
The former Governor of South Carolina chose to address the large public as well though the Republican debate. Be it Trump’s policies or abortion ban, her comments were mostly directed towards the camera and not to her fellow debaters. Although she did get into a small scuffle with Ramaswamy regarding his stance on the Russia-Ukraine war.
Haley was also the only debater who chose to bring up the issue of climate change. It makes sense, as she was the ambassador to the UN under Trump’s presidency.
It Was A Debate To Witness
8 GOPs going all-out was definitely some of the best prime time TV that has been on air in recent times. And Trump not attending the event made it even more interesting since most of his policies were brought up during the course of the debate.
Apart from the various policies that were discussed, it was clearly noted that the popular notion was very much in support of Trump, and the defender of his policies for the night, Ramaswamy, received the largest cheers. Other key standout candidates included Haley and Christie.
Stay tuned to our media for more updates on the GOP debate and further Republican Debate schedule.
