Eight Republican presidential candidates traded barbs on Wednesday (August 23) at their first debate of the 2024 election as they jockeyed for position behind the absent front-runner, Donald Trump, who derided the event in a pre-taped interview aimed at siphoning away viewers.
The raucous two-hour debate offered a view of the deep challenges the contenders face in seeking to dislodge Trump from his perch at the top of the field.
While the former president took the extraordinary step of skipping the debate entirely, his rivals were left taking shots at one another to try to emerge as the most viable alternative, five months before the first Republican presidential nominating contest in Iowa and more than 14 months before the election.
” I know how to fight. And I was happy to bring that fight tonight.” Republican candidate and former vice president Mike Pence told reporters after the debate.
While Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has consistently stood in second place in polls, albeit well behind Trump, it was Vivek Ramaswamy, the 38-year-old tech entrepreneur and political neophyte, who was at the center of many of the Fox News debate’s most dramatic moments.
Ramaswamy, a fierce Trump defender who is rising in national polls, faced plenty of incoming fire from his more experienced rivals, who appeared to view him as more of a threat than DeSantis.
“”My message to Gen Z voters is it will take somebody of a different generation to shake this up. And you saw it on the stage tonight. Do you want a super PAC puppet with a bunch of pre-prepared lines or do you want an independent patriot who speaks the truth?” Ramaswamy said, speaking to reporters after the debate
The debate had been seen as a potentially pivotal moment for DeSantis, whose campaign has been riven by staff turmoil amid a slow but steady decline in the polls.
Trump, who remains the clear-cut favorite among Republican voters despite his four criminal indictments, chose to skip the event in favor of a friendly interview with conservative commentator Tucker Carlson that began streaming online minutes before the debate began. The interview had about 74 million views on X, formerly known as Twitter, during its 46 minutes.
#gop #debate #wisconsin #rondesantis #vivekramaswamy #mikepence #nikkihaley #chrischristie #timscott #dougburgum #asahutchinson
The New York Post is your source for breaking news, news about New York, sports, business, entertainment, opinion, real estate, culture, fashion, and more.
Subscribe to New York Post Sports: https://www.youtube.com/c/nypostsports
Catch the latest news here: https://nypost.com/
Follow The New York Post on:
Twitter – https://twitter.com/nypost
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/NYPost