(Editor’s note: This is part of our continuing series for all the presidential candidates for the 2024 election—No endorsement for any candidate is made.)
Out for Blood – GOP Candidates Battle for the Top Spot – 6 Things You Should Know About the Last Debate
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie all took the stage to say why they are a better team than Trump and Biden.
There were 6 interesting takeaways from the debate that everyone should know before the Iowa and the early primaries.
1) Haley is in second place… But for how long?
Recent polls now show Haley in second place in the key primary states of New Hampshire and South Carolina.
The Democrat donors include LinkedIn billionaire Reid Hoffman, who helped inflate Haley’s super PAC with $250,000.
During the debate, Ramaswamy slammed Haley for her ties with “Wall Street” and the Military Industrial Complex, which Ramaswamy accused Haley of making millions from warfare, “that’s why she’s a hawk.”
“Reid Hoffman, the person who’s effectively George Soros, Jr., funding lawsuits across this country against Donald Trump to keep him off the ballot, funding left-wing causes, we discovered this week that he is one of Nikki Haley’s largest supporters,” said Ramaswamy.
Ramaswamy continued, saying, “Larry Fink, the king of the woke industrial complex, the ESG movement, the CEO of BlackRock, the most powerful company in the world, now supporting Nikki Haley.”
DeSantis attacked her recent support from big-money donors, some of whom have “previously backed Democrats and economic policies reviled by conservatives.”
2) Christie to the rescue? It made Haley look weak
At one point during the debate, as Ramaswamy was attacking Haley with a tirade of allegations and attacks, former NJ Governor Chris Christi chimed in, cutting Ramaswamy off. He then started to defend Haley, who stood quietly with her head down—It looked like a knight defending the fair maiden, not like a capable leader who could defend herself.
3) Is DeSantis the clear winner? Most say “yes”
Most viewers agreed that DeSantis was the clear winner of the debate and, in fact, believed that it was his best debate performance.
DeSantis is the only candidate who has governed as a consistent conservative, taking on the Biden administration, the radical media, and even radically woke companies like Disney.
According to the after-the-debate response from viewers on social media, “DeSantis expressed emotion that connected with voters.”
Most voters said that they noticed a huge difference in DeSantis’ disposition.
4) Taking on Communist China
Although most of the foreign policy talk during the debate focused on Israel and Ukraine, Haley and DeSantis did take time to bash each other about “who’s softer on China.”
Haley said DeSantis “held an event with a Chinese company in Florida.”
DeSantis denied it… and even the radical media “fact-checked” Haley’s claim as being false.
In fact, DeSantis has banned China from buying land in his state and shuttered Confucius Institutes, Chinese-backed cultural centers on college campuses.
Ramaswamy said:
“The reason Americans must think so much about China is because we now have a commingled economy, and America’s leaders are afraid of what will happen in the case of a confrontation with the Asian giant.
If that were a Russian spy balloon, we would have shot it down instantly. If that were a Russian spy base in Cuba, we’d be going hard on them instead of turning the other way, as we are with China.”
Ramaswamy concluded, “America’s dependency on China for pharmaceuticals and even military equipment has made us vulnerable.”
“India has to be able to block the Andaman Sea, which is where China gets most of its Middle Eastern oil supplies. That’s critical,” Ramaswamy said.
5) Securing the Southern border
Everyone now admits that we have a severe problem on the Southern Border—maybe with the exception of the Biden Administration, Leading Democrats in Congress, and the radical media.
Over 10 thousand illegal aliens cross the southern border daily—many military-aged males.
DeSantis took the hardest stance, saying:
“I would support shooting migrants who enter the country illegally carrying dangerous drugs,” the Florida governor said.
“The drug cartels are invading our country, and they are killing our citizens by the tens of thousands every year. The commander in chief not only has a right, you have a responsibility to fight back against these people.”
He also said that he supports both designating the cartels as foreign terrorist organizations and building a border wall.
“I am not going to sit there and allow mothers to lose more kids because of fentanyl overdose,” DeSantis said.
Haley Said:
“I support sending special operations over to take out the cartels and reimplement the Trump-era “Remain in Mexico” policies.”
But when it comes to fentanyl, Haley said, “America must hold China accountable for providing the cartels with the materials needed to make fentanyl.
America needs to “end all normal trade relations with China until they stop murdering Americans with fentanyl.”
6) Parental Rights
Another big issue affecting the country is parental rights. The radical socialists in academia are forcing their radical LGBTQ agenda in schools and universities. Parents are fighting back in red states, but blue states are instituting more and more laws that prevent parents from stopping or even knowing about their child’s gender transition.
Christ Christi was put in the spotlight for this issue, and his answer was not a popular one.
Moderator Megyn Kelly asked Christi, “How is it that you think a parent should be able to OK these surgeries, never mind the sterilization of a child, and aren’t you way too out of step on this issue to be the Republican nominee?”
Christi said:
“Elected officials should empower parents to be teaching the values that they believe in in their homes, rather than using the government to stop the transitioning of minors.”
DeSantis jumped in and said:
“As a parent, you do not have the right to abuse your kids. This is mutilating these minors. These are irreversible procedures. And this is something that other countries in Europe, like Sweden … they saw it did incalculable damage. They shut it down.”
Haley then took the initiative to insert herself:
“I said, we don’t need to bring the government into this, but boys go into boys’ bathrooms, girls go into girls’ bathrooms, and if anyone else has an issue, they use a private bathroom. Now, 10 years later, we see this issue has exploded.”
Haley then claimed that DeSantis was a hypocrite for downplaying the need for bills banning boys from girls’ restrooms, but DeSantis cut her off, saying: “I signed a bathroom bill in Florida; so, that’s obviously not true.”
“I signed it; you didn’t,” DeSantis scolded Haley. “You killed it, I signed it. I stood up for little girls; you didn’t do it.”
As you can see, sparks flew, and the GOP candidates showed where they stood on the issues and drew a clearer contrast between themselves.
Why Independents Are Important
“Independent” registered voters are the most “persuadable” groups to vote Democrat or Republican based on various functions.
Why is this important?
- 49% of Americans now consider themselves to be independents –
They are split almost evenly in the party to which they “lean”:
- 43% lean Republican
- 43% lean Democrat
How Many Watched The Fourth GOP Debate?
- The first Gop Presidential debate had 12.8 million viewers.
- The second had 9.5 million.
- The third had 7.5 million.
- The fourth had 4.1 million.
Next GOP Presidential Debate: CNN + CBS.
CCN GOP Debate: What?
The next GOP debate is just before the Iowa Primary and is scheduled for Jan. 10 in Des Moines, followed by the second on Jan. 21 in Goffstown, New Hampshire.
Candidates aiming to participate in the debate must receive at least 10% in three national polls. Former President Donald Trump, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis have qualified thus far.
Not all are happy…
“CNN is trash, and its only interest in hosting a debate is to damage Republican electoral prospects in November.” Sean Davis, CEO of the Federalist.
In the past, CNN has not asked GOP candidates objective questions. Instead, it’s been a hit job to attack conservatives and promote socialism.
GOP NewsNation Debate
Of those watching the NewsNation GOP debate, 30% said DeSantis performed the best. Haley came in second place at 23%, Christie at 19%, and Ramaswamy at 16%.
And the worst?
While 7% said DeSantis did the worst, 9% said Haley, 31% said Christie, and 37% said Ramaswamy.
The Battle To End Ballot Harvesting
The six states – Arkansas, Florida, Iowa, Georgia, Texas, and Kentucky – have added criminal penalties to ballot collection since the 2020 general election.
What about your State?