{"id":2010386,"date":"2023-08-24T03:45:01","date_gmt":"2023-08-24T07:45:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/5-takeaways-from-the-first-republican-presidential-debate\/"},"modified":"2023-08-24T03:48:51","modified_gmt":"2023-08-24T07:48:51","slug":"5-takeaways-from-the-first-republican-presidential-debate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/5-takeaways-from-the-first-republican-presidential-debate\/","title":{"rendered":"Key points from the initial GOP debate: \n\n1. Notable moments emerged during the Republican Presidential Debate.\n2. The debate provided insights into the candidates&#8217; positions and strategies.\n3. The event showcased the diversity within the Republican Party.\n4. Candidates focused on key issues such as immigration and the economy.\n5. The debate set the stage for future discussions and candidate evaluations."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">114<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2F5-takeaways-from-the-first-republican-presidential-debate%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2010386&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div data-post-content=\"true\" class=\"post_content\" id=\"post_content\">\n<p>Eight Republican presidential candidates clashed\u2063 over abortion, foreign policy, and the economy on Aug. 23, and while the night ended with no clear\u2064 favorite, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy \u2063stole the spotlight in\u200c the contest to \u200bchallenge former President Donald Trump, the \u200dundisputable favorite to win the party\u2019s primary election.<\/p>\n<p>It remains to be seen\u2062 whether Mr. Ramaswamy\u2019s success\u200b at standing out will resonate with the voters. Should he catch up\u200c to Florida Gov.\u2064 Ron DeSantis, the field of the runner-ups \u200cwould be even\u200c less defined \u200cthan it was prior to \u2063the debate.<\/p>\n<p>President Trump, with a 41-point \u200dlead over Mr. DeSantis\u2062 and more \u2062over the \u200brest of the \u2062field,\u200c opted to skip the debate.<\/p>\n<div class=\"shortcode\">\n<div class=\"border-comp-divider mb-4 mr-4 w-full max-w-[500px] border px-5 py-4 text-[16px] leading-[20px] text-[#262626] md:float-left\">\n<div class=\"mb-3 font-sans text-[16px] font-semibold uppercase leading-[19px] text-[#2F2F2F]\">Related Stories<\/div>\n<div class=\"mb-4 flex gap-2\">\n<div class=\"grow\">\n<div class=\"mb-1 line-clamp-2\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/candidates-clash-over-ukraine-aid-at-gop-debate-5479801\">Candidates Clash Over Ukraine Aid at GOP Debate<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"text-comp-caption text-[14px] leading-[18px]\">8\/24\/2023<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"shrink-0 basis-[120px]\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/candidates-clash-over-ukraine-aid-at-gop-debate-5479801\"><\/a><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"mb-4 flex gap-2\">\n<div class=\"grow\">\n<div class=\"mb-1 line-clamp-2\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/rich-men-from-north-of-richmond-sparks-gop-debate-on-bidenomics-and-economy-5479762\">&#8216;Rich Men From North of\u2063 Richmond&#8217; Sparks GOP Debate on Bidenomics \u2062and Economy<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"text-comp-caption text-[14px] leading-[18px]\">8\/24\/2023<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"shrink-0 basis-[120px]\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/rich-men-from-north-of-richmond-sparks-gop-debate-on-bidenomics-and-economy-5479762\"><\/a><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Capitalizing on his grip \u2063on the\u200c mainstream media he openly detests, the former president diverted some\u2063 attention from the debate in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, by \u200dopining on acutely controversial topics in an interview with Tucker Carlson: impeachment by his own party, \u200dassassination,\u200c and civil war.<\/p>\n<p>President Trump\u2019s opponents, meanwhile, largely avoided mentioning \u200dhim until \u2064the hosts posed \u200da direct question about the four indictments against him.<\/p>\n<p>Here are the five takeaways from\u200c the debate.<\/p>\n<div class=\"shortcode\">\n<div class=\"lazyload-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"lazyload-placeholder\"><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<h2>Ramaswamy Steals the Spotlight<\/h2>\n<p>Mr. DeSantis \u2062and Mr. Ramswamy shared the podiums on center stage based on their positions in \u2064the polls, though both are well behind\u2064 President Trump.\u200b Most of the attacks from other candidates nonetheless landed on Mr. Ramaswamy, handing him opportunities to respond and, with\u200b that, more total time \u2063on the microphone than the Florida governor.<\/p>\n<p>Mr. DeSantis took the stage after several months of declining polling. In\u200b President Trump\u2019s shadow,\u200d the other candidates likewise struggled \u2062for relevancy, with\u200d Mr. Ramaswamy emerging as the leader of\u200b the pack, challenging\u2062 Mr. DeSantis for\u200d second place, based on polling averages maintained by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.realclearpolitics.com\/epolls\/2024\/president\/us\/2024_republican_presidential_nomination-7548.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">RealClearPolitics<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The Florida governor, who did not engage\u2063 in any\u2062 heated exchanges with the others on stage, appeared to have been\u200b outshined by\u2063 Mr. Ramaswamy when the entrepreneur took anti-establishment and contrarian positions.<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Ramaswamy was the only candidate to hold\u2063 his hand up when everyone was asked whether they\u2019d stop sending money to \u200dsupport\u2064 Ukraine in \u200bthe war against Russia.<\/p>\n<p>He \u200bwas also the \u200bfirst to boldly raise his hand when \u2063the hosts asked the debaters whether they\u2019d back\u2064 President Trump in case of a conviction. The other candidates appeared to glance around \u200cand take his lead.<\/p>\n<div style=\"margin-left:0;margin-right:0;max-width:1200px\">\n<figure style=\"width:4264px;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto\" class=\"alignnone\"><figcaption>Republican presidential candidates Vivek Ramaswamy and former \u200cU.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley participate in the first debate\u2064 of the GOP primary season hosted by FOX\u200b News at the\u2062 Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wis., on Aug.\u200b 23, 2023. (Win McNamee\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Mr. Ramaswamy put former Vice President Mike Pence and the others on the defensive early on, pointing out that he is the only political outsider in the room.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m the only person on the stage who isn\u2019t bought and paid\u2062 for,\u201d Mr. Ramaswamy said, \u200bcalling the others on stage \u201csuper PAC puppets.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Vice President Pence appeared to be the\u2062 most combative of the candidates on stage, interrupting his opponents several times and prompting the hosts to reassert control of the stage. The former \u200c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/5-takeaways-from-the-first-republican-presidential-debate\/\" title=\"Key points from the initial GOP debate: \n\n1. Notable moments emerged during the Republican Presidential Debate.\n2. The debate provided insights into the candidates' positions and strategies.\n3. The event showcased the diversity within the Republican Party.\n4. Candidates focused on key issues such as immigration and the economy.\n5. The debate set the stage for future discussions and candidate evaluations.\">vice president repeatedly tussled<\/a> with Mr.\u2062 Ramaswamy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNow is \u2062not the time\u2063 for on the job training,\u201d Vice President Pence \u200csaid. \u201cWe don\u2019t need to bring \u2062in a \u200crookie.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Other candidates likewise took jabs at\u2062 Mr. Ramaswamy \u2063later in the debate. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie interrupted Mr. Ramaswamy when the entrepreneur\u200b described climate change as a \u200choax.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve had enough today of a guy who\u2063 sounds like ChatGPT, standing \u200cup here and the last\u200c person at one of these debates, Bret, who stood in the middle of the\u200b stage and said \u2018what\u2019s a \u200cskinny guy with an odd last name doing up here\u2019 was Barack Obama and I\u2019m afraid we\u2019re dealing with \u2064the same\u200d type of amateur,\u201d Mr. Christie said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGive me a hug \u200cjust like\u200d you did to Obama,\u201d Mr. Ramaswamy shot back. \u201cAnd you\u2019ll help elect \u2063me too, just like you\u2064 did to Obama. Give \u200cme that bear hug.\u201d<\/p>\n<div style=\"margin-left:0;margin-right:0;max-width:1200px\">\n<figure style=\"width:3490px;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto\" class=\"alignnone\"><figcaption>Former President Donald Trump leaves\u2062 the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines, Iowa, on Aug. 12,\u200b 2023. (Madalina Vasiliu\/The Epoch Times)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<h2>\u2018The Elephant Not in the Room\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>The debate inevitably turned to the topic of President Trump, with \u2063Fox News co-host Bret Baier introducing \u2062the former president as \u201cthe elephant not in the \u2063room.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Baier then \u200dasked the candidates to raise their hands if they would support President Trump as the party\u2019s candidate if he was convicted in a court\u2062 of law as part of \u2064one of\u200b the four cases against him.<\/p>\n<p>Six of the eight \u2062candidates raised their hands. Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and Mr. Christie opted out.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHere\u2019s the bottom line. Someone\u2019s got\u2062 to stop normalizing this conduct,\u201d Mr. Christie said, prompting\u2062 boos from the audience that \u201cthe conduct is beneath the \u2063office of the president of\u2062 the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Ramaswamy raised\u200c his hand to \u200brespond and called President Trump \u201cthe best president of the 21st century.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd Chris Christie, honest to God, your claim that Donald \u2063Trump is motivated by vengeance and grievance would be a lot more credible\u200b if your entire campaign were not \u200dbased on vengeance and grievance against one man,\u201d Mr. Ramaswamy said, earning cheers from the crowd.<\/p>\n<p>Mr.\u2063 Christie\u2019s response was stopped in\u200c its tracks by overwhelming boos from \u2062the \u200daudience, which the hosts had to address before he could continue.<\/p>\n<div style=\"margin-left:0;margin-right:0;max-width:1200px\">\n<figure style=\"width:3000px;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto\" class=\"alignnone\"><figcaption>Republican presidential candidate, former U.S. Vice\u2062 President Mike Pence participates in\u200d the first debate of the GOP primary season hosted by \u200cFOX News at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, \u200dWis., on Aug. 23, 2023.\u2063 (Win McNamee\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<h2>Pence\u200d \u2018Did\u200b the Right Thing\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>There was general consensus among the candidates that Vice President Pence did the right thing by not going along with\u200b President Trump\u2019s \u2062suggestion to challenge the slates of electors for then-candidate \u200bJoe Biden on Jan. 6, 2021. Mr. DeSantis concurred on that \u200cquestion only\u2064 after the hosts repeatedly pressed him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis election is not about January 6, 2021. It\u2019s about \u2063January 20, 2025, when the next president is going to\u200c take office,\u201d Mr. DeSantis said after the hosts reminded him to answer the question.<\/p>\n<p>When \u2062Vice President Pence revived the topic and asked Mr. DeSantis to address it, the Florida governor \u2064said he \u201canswered this before.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMike did his duty. I\u2019ve got no beef with him,\u201d\u200b Mr. DeSantis said. \u201cBut here\u2019s\u2062 the \u200dthing. Is this what we\u2019re going to be focusing on moving forward, the rehashing\u200b of\u2063 this? I\u2019ll tell \u200cyou, the Democrats would love that, and they will win if we let them get away\u2063 with it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Christie took a clear position with a slight jab at the evasive take from Mr. DeSantis.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMike\u200d stood for the Constitution,\u201d Mr. Christie said. \u201cAnd he deserves not grudging credit, he deserves\u200d our thanks as \u2064Americans.\u201d<\/p>\n<div style=\"margin-left:0;margin-right:0;max-width:1200px\">\n<figure style=\"width:3000px;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto\" class=\"alignnone\"><figcaption>Republican presidential candidate\u2063 Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis during the first debate of the GOP primary season hosted by FOX News at the Fiserv Forum in \u200dMilwaukee, Wis., on Aug. 23, 2023. \u200c(Win McNamee\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<h2>No Consensus on National Abortion Ban<\/h2>\n<p>All of the candidates on stage said they were pro-life, but there\u2064 was no agreement\u2063 on the idea \u200dof a federal abortion ban.<\/p>\n<p>Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley argued that the idea is implausible because Republicans don\u2019t have\u2063 the numbers \u2064in the House or Senate to push through \u2063such a law. She instead pointed to areas of consensus.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Can&#8217;t we \u200call agree that we should <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/whistleblower-new-hampshire-medical-society-pushed-doctors-to-sign-planned-parenthood-late-term-abortion-letter\/\" title=\"Whistleblower: New Hampshire Medical Society Pushed Doctors To Sign Planned Parenthood Late-Term Abortion Letter\">ban late-term abortions<\/a>?\u201d Ms. Haley suggested. \u201cCan&#8217;t we all agree that we should encourage adoptions? Can&#8217;t we\u2062 all agree that doctors and nurses who don&#8217;t believe in abortion shouldn&#8217;t have to perform them? Can&#8217;t we all agree that contraception should\u200d be available? And can&#8217;t we all agree that we are not \u2063going to put\u200b a woman in jail or give her the death penalty if she gets an abortion?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mr. DeSantis, who signed a heartbeat bill this spring and\u200d campaigns on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/candidates-divided-on-national-abortion-ban-at-gop-debate\/\" title=\"GOP candidates at the debate were split on the issue of a national abortion ban.\">supporting pro-life efforts<\/a> around the country, would not \u2062answer \u2062whether he would\u200b back a national law of similar nature.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m going to stand on the\u200c side of\u2063 life,&#8221; Mr. DeSantis said. &#8220;Look,\u2064 I understand Wisconsin is going to do it different than Texas. I understand Iowa and New Hampshire are going to do\u200c differently. But I \u2062will support the cause\u2064 of life as\u200b governor and as \u2064president.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Vice President Pence countered that there is popular support for the idea among Americans and positioned abortion as\u200b a moral issue not worth compromising on.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo \u200bbe honest with you\u200d Nikki, you\u2019re my friend, but consensus is the opposite of leadership,\u201d\u200b Mr. Pence\u200d said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen the Supreme Court \u2064returned this question \u200bto the American \u200bpeople, they didn\u2019t just send it\u200b to the states\u200c only. It\u2019s not \u200ca stat<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Eight Republican presidential candidates debated on Aug. 23, discussing abortion, foreign policy, and the economy. No clear favorite emerged, but entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy gained attention as a potential challenger to former President Donald Trump, who is widely expected to win the party&#8217;s primary election. The outcome for Mr. Ramaswamy&#8217;s candidacy is yet to be determined.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":201,"featured_media":2010387,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[543],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2010386","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-epoch-times"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2010386","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/201"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2010386"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2010386\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2010387"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2010386"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2010386"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2010386"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}