Winners:
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. He was direct, assured and received his messages throughout clearly whereas heading off assaults and criticizing frontrunner Donald Trump on his dealing with of the Covid pandemic. He in all probability solidified his second-place standing and gained over some voters.
Businessman Vivek Ramaswamy. Sure, he suffered taunts of “rookie” and “amateur” from extra skilled rivals. But he gave higher than he received, and managed to maintain the digital camera on himself for a wholesome period of time. For a comparatively unknown novice, he didn’t damage his trigger and raised his profile.
Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley. The solely girl on the stage spoke out with some unpopular messages for her occasion, saying Republicans in Washington are simply as responsible as Democrats of overspending, and saying the GOP must ditch former President Donald Trump. “Trump is the most disliked politician in America. We can’t win an election that way,” she mentioned.
Country people singer Oliver Anthony. His tune “Rich Men North of Richmond” received huge publicity on the high of the controversy and prompted a dialogue of the failings of the Biden Administration and Washington.
Losers:
Trump. A no-show, Trump didn’t dominate the dialogue as a lot as he appeared to assume he would. His absence conveyed that he couldn’t be bothered to combine it up along with his rivals on points vital to voters. And his stolen election claims from 2020 had been a loser on the controversy stage, too.
Sen. Tim Scott. Possibly probably the most earnest and considerate candidate, Mr. Scott struggled to get in a lot air time in opposition to his far more aggressive rivals. He appeared to vanish as the controversy wore on.
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum. Also struggled to get airtime. Having suffered a pre-debate harm in a recreation of pickup basketball, he didn’t hit his stride till practically the ninetieth minute, when he spoke concerning the scourge of fentanyl in his state.
President Biden. While the GOP candidates disagreed on quite a bit, they had been united in presenting a practical case for why Biden must go — together with inflation, out-of-control spending, politicized regulation enforcement and, as DeSantis mentioned, an period of “American decline.”
• Washington Times Staff will be reached at 202-636-3000.
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