Donald Trump, leader of the pack in the race for the Republican Party nomination for the presidency was absent but eight other candidates participated in an entertaining debate Wednesday night in Milwaukee, WI. Like after every debate the instant question is "Who won?"
With a huge lead in the polls, many argue that former President Donald Trump won. The debate took place the night before Trump was scheduled to surrender to authorities in Atlanta on felony charges that he tried to steal the 2020 election from the American people. Countless former Trump aides have surrendered on charges they worked with Trump to illegally overturn the results of the election.
There were clearly two winners in last night's debate of the Republican candidates - Nikki Haley and the Republican Party. Coming in second was Chris Christie and the biggest loser was Ron DeSantis - who at one point earlier in the campaign was seen as the best person to win over Trump supporters and win the nomination. But DeSantis' campaign has been in a nose dive and his performance only increased the angle.
Nikki Haley was brilliant in her address to the issue of abortion. Following the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, the cheers of Republican Party leaders were quickly drowned out by the voice of the American people - including many Republicans - who denounced the decision.
In explaining her position on abortion - Haley asked why can't all Republicans agree on certain things that should be obvious about abortion, and in so doing, she projected a moderate image that will attract many of the women who have defected from the Republican Party and many men who refuse to be part of the political tribalism on both sides. If Haley can handle other issues with the poise she handled the abortion question - then she should see a spike in the polls and she really put herself in a position to at least be a viable VP running mate for a Republican candidate - as long as it's not Trump. A female running mate on a more moderate ticket should be very attractive to the voters in America who actually made the decisions about who wins national elections.
Chris Christie was strong and showed he is not afraid to stand up to Trump. Former VP Mike Pence was also strong and as assertive as I have seen him, but Pence is too right-wing - especially on the abortion issue - to win the general election in 2024.
Rookie Vivek Ramaswamy was fun but too extreme to be considered a serious candidate. And imagine a businessman with no experience in politics thinking he could actually win the presidency!
It will be interesting to watch the polls over the next week to see if any candidates get a bump from the debate and if Trump's huge lead begins to shrink as Republican voters get a sense that there are options to Trump against Biden in the general election.
