Fourth GOP Debate Could Be Summed Up With These Three Words

The fourth Republican debate in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, was another entertaining spectacle despite all four candidates having no chance of beating Donald Trump in the GOP primaries. It is what it is, folks—Donald Trump will be the 2024 Republican nominee whether we like it or not. Still, that doesn’t mean these four didn’t mail it in regarding this melee. To the contrary, it got downright nasty. But one thing was clear: everyone hates Nikki.

The most obvious reason for everyone hurling mud at Ms. Haley is simple: she’s been surging in the polls. Okay, it’s not a tsunami, but it has garnered more than a few stories in the press. Second, her past political positions pretty much make her a carbon copy of Hillary Clinton. The ads about this, which were shown during the commercial breaks, were brutal:

Haley was also dragged for her remarks about gender mutilation surgeries. Madeline wrote about this trip-up.

Vivek Ramaswamy was the one who delivered the nastiest haymakers, calling the former South Carolina governor hopelessly corrupt, ignorant of foreign affairs, and a rogue neocon. The only candidate not participating in the pile on was former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who was nearly invisible for the first 20 minutes of the debate. It was not intentional, but Ramaswamy and Ron DeSantis’ attacks on Haley and her subsequent responses led to Mr. Christie being left out.

Christie had zero patience for Ramaswamy’s attacks on Haley, hitting him for being a fake Republican while scorching Ron DeSantis for not directly answering any of the debate questions. Still, Christie and Ramaswamy’s melee paled in comparison to the repeated attacks on Nikki Haley, which, to her credit, didn’t rattle her to the point where she suffered a meltdown. Haley rolled with the punches, though she was thoroughly gutted tonight. Toward the end, she wouldn’t waste time on Ramaswamy’s tirades against her.

Vivek Ramaswamy: "One thing that Joe Biden and Nikki Haley have in common is that neither of them could even state for you three provinces in eastern Ukraine that they want to send our troops to actually fight for." pic.twitter.com/ENGL3H0j8T
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) December 7, 2023

Admittedly, Ramaswamy did go overboard at some points, but this is irrelevant to the larger picture: none of the candidates on the stage will be the 2024 Republican nominee or the next president of the United States. Ron DeSantis did what he needed to do: attack Haley when necessary, be calm and collected, and defend himself against any counterattacks, which he did. Christie portrayed himself as the adult in the room and someone who would answer the questions directly, something that former Trump White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said set him apart from the rest, which could make him stand out with independent voters. It won’t be enough, but Spicer added that this was probably Christie’s best debate.

No one gained anything tonight. It was fight club on stage, and Donald Trump was the only person left sitting atop the mountain. Still, Haley got grilled...a lot.