5 fights to watch in tonight's GOP debate
Fight! Fight! Fight!
If you, like me, love political debates then today is your day!
After a very long dry season, 8 (we think) Republican candidates will take the stage tonight in Milwaukee at 9 pm eastern on Fox News.
I am treating this event with all the, uh, bigness that it deserves. I am going to be hosting a live chat on Substack during the debate — riffing on what I am seeing and answering questions from you all.
This live chat is for PAID subscribers only — so get that credit card out and get signed up to take part!
In the meantime, it’s worth considering that modern debates — especially these multi-candidate affairs in primaries — usually come down to just a few moments.
Chris Christie crushing Marco Rubio for being robotic.
Kamala Harris bashing Joe Biden on busing.
You get the idea. It’s the confrontations that usually produce the things we remember about the debate.
So, with that in mind, here are 5 potential fights to keep an eye on tonight.
Nikki Haley vs Vivek Ramaswamy
The former South Carolina governor previewed an attack earlier in the week, picking up on Ramaswamy’s comment that he would end funding to Israel when the current aid package runs out in 2028.
Haley took to Twitter to throw her punch:
Expect more of that line of thinking from Haley, who has leaned heavily on her own foreign policy creds (she was ambassador to the United Nations in the Trump administration) in the race to date.
Haley knows Ramaswamy is the momentum candidate coming into the debate,, and she wants to slow him down so she can get some oomph behind her slow-to-emerge bid.
Vivek Ramaswamy vs Ron DeSantis
In the leaked DeSantis debate memo, there was a whole lot of time spent on Ramaswamy — and how to hit him effectively (including mentions of him being a Hindu!)
It makes sense. Ramaswamy is challenging DeSantis for 2nd place in national polling and both men are running on a populist message aimed at slaying wokeness.
Because of the leak of the debate memo, DeSantis may be loathe to actually attack Ramaswamy for fear of looking like he is following orders from his super PAC.
But, I am betting Ramaswamy takes a shot or two at DeSantis during the debate, as a way to drive a direct contract between the two men for voters wondering who the real Trump alternative will be.
Chris Christie vs Donald Trump
Yes, I am aware that the former president of the United States won’t be in attendance tonight. (He has counter-programmed an interview with Tucker Carlson on Twitter X that will start exactly when the debate does.)
But, Christie has premised his entire campaign on going after Trump in blunt terms — and I would not expect that to change tonight.
How will he do it? I think Christie will try to to use the tepid criticism of Trump offered up by the the other candidates as ammo to suggest that they are soft and not up to the task of either beating Trump or facing down Joe Biden in the general election.
Christie has shown in past debates that he isn’t afraid of direct confrontation and, honestly, he has very little to lose given that upwards of 60% of the Republican electorate don’t like him already…
Ron DeSantis vs Ron DeSantis
There’s no one with as much riding on the debate as the Florida governor. He’s desperately trying to cling to his status as the clear alternative to Trump in the race but, because of that, is also likely to be the focal point of most of the barbs from other candidates tonight.
Plus, he’s battling himself. The leak of his debate strategy means everyone will be watching to see if DeSantis takes his cues from the memo or ignores it. And he will undoubtedly be aware of everyone watching him on that front — which will likely make it harder for him to concentrate on the task at hand.
It’s always difficult to be the guy who has to MAKE a moment in a debate. If you try to hard, it’s not likely to happen. Add to that the fact that DeSantis may not be the, um, most natural debater (he struggles with likability) and the Florida governor may well be battling himself all night long.
Mike Pence vs the field (on January 6 )
The vice president holds a very unique position in this race: He was Donald Trump’s vice president for four years but is now reviled by the former president and his base because of his unwillingness to overturn the 2020 election results.
Of late, Pence has become more and more outspoken about his role on January 6 and the pressure he came under from Trump and his minions.
“I was clear with President Trump throughout all the way up to the morning” of January 6, he said on Fox News earlier this month. “It wasn’t just that they asked for a pause. The president specifically asked me and his gaggle of crackpot lawyers asked me to literally reject votes.”
Most of the other candidates who will appear on stage with Pence tonight have largely ducked directly addressing the events of January 6 — for fear of pissing off the Trump base.
But, I have a strong inkling that the moderators are going to ask at least one question tonight about January 6 — and whether Pence did the right thing that day. With Pence standing just feet away from them, what will they say?
I'll be curious to see if Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum ask the candidates if the 2020 presidential election was stolen, but since they work for FOX, I won't hold my breath. If that question was asked, I'm sure most of the responses would be, "Joe Biden is the president" (without answering the actual question).
As much of a politics junkie as I am, I just don’t have the patience for watching this debate live (though your live commenting does seem attractive). I’ll wait ‘til tomorrow for your synopsis and the various clips of the significant moments and do my “catch-up” then....