The first Republican debate for candidates who met the threshold is over. It was a more entertaining debut, with Chris Christie and Vivek Ramaswamy duking it out in the first bout of the 2024 GOP primary. Mike Pence also had zero patience for Vivek. Then again, Mr. Pence only proved that his path to the White House closed forever after the Tea Party wave fizzled out. Here’s the real takeaway: None of these candidates are potential frontrunners for the Republican nomination. It’s Trump’s race to lose. The former president is so far ahead of the entire field that he didn’t even attend this debate.
Although Ron DeSantis performed well, he wasn’t especially noteworthy in his first major campaign event. He didn’t bomb but did nothing to stand out from the rest of the field, either. For now, Mr. DeSantis has potential. His record in Florida is excellent, but with Trump in the picture—he’s bound to get drowned out. His camp is learning that the hard way, as they’ve failed to make any headway into chipping away at Trump’s lead in the polls.
But Trump’s Truth Social activity could spike tremendously over what Fox News security reportedly did to his son: they barred him from the post-debate spin room. Trump Jr. spoke with members of the media about the incident.
Fox News security blocks Donald Trump Jr. from going into the spin room at the Milwaukee debate.
— Gregory Korte (@gregorykorte) August 24, 2023
“It shouldn’t surprise us and it’s also why Trump was 100% right not to go to this debate,” he says. pic.twitter.com/6oZW0JP0xw
The former president’s son said he would like to knock only Democrats, but “I got to call balls and strikes; this is no different than what you see from the Democrats.” In his view, Trump Jr. said his father was right to avoid this debate if these are the parameters established to hobble the Trump crew while the network boosts the rest of the field.
I understand Trump’s reason to avoid the debate. His lead is solid; why risk anything? One bad debate performance could create a situation where a campaign implodes. But Trump isn’t a typical candidate. He might have clinched the nomination tonight if he had attended because he could wipe the floor with anyone up on stage. It would’ve been a bloodbath.
Fox News is trying to censor and silence Trump supporters to protect their hand-picked establishment candidates.
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) August 24, 2023
That's a big reason why their ratings are dying, while my father's interview with Tucker Carlson is already at 93 million views!!! https://t.co/Qf4LI63BiB