{"id":2118248,"date":"2023-12-07T00:07:01","date_gmt":"2023-12-07T05:07:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/republican-debate-winners-and-losers-of-fourth-gop-matchup-in-alabama\/"},"modified":"2023-12-07T00:10:03","modified_gmt":"2023-12-07T05:10:03","slug":"republican-debate-winners-and-losers-of-fourth-gop-matchup-in-alabama","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/republican-debate-winners-and-losers-of-fourth-gop-matchup-in-alabama\/","title":{"rendered":"Fourth GOP debate in Alabama: Winners and losers"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/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%2Frepublican-debate-winners-and-losers-of-fourth-gop-matchup-in-alabama%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=2118248&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--><h2>A Thrilling Showdown at the Republican Presidential Debate in Tuscaloosa<\/h2>\n<p>A \u2063trimmed-down field\u200b of four candidates took the stage at the fourth Republican presidential debate in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, hoping to\u200b make their cases to voters as primaries start next month.<\/p>\n<p>All four \u2063sit far behind front-runner Donald Trump, whose lead is such that he hasn&#8217;t bothered\u2062 even to take the stage, and they hoped to turn in a standout performance to\u2062 close the \u200cgap. The Jan. 15 Iowa caucuses will be the first test of whether they\u200b made a dent, but in the meantime, here are tonight&#8217;s winners and losers.<\/p>\n<h3>Winners<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Ron DeSantis<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Of the candidates onstage, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) came out best, with a smooth \u2063performance that\u200b stayed relatively above the fray and seemed to connect with the Alabama audience.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe more than any others had a bit of that story that\u2019s so important to gaining a sense of authenticity and credibility,\u201d said Kirstin Kiledal, professor of rhetoric at \u2064Hillsdale College. \u201cHe had people and names and places and examples of work that he had done where he had \u2063been successful, \u200bover and over again.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>One \u200cexample is\u200c when DeSantis warned of the dangers of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/psaki-refuses-to-answer-if-biden-cares-about-doctors-who-object-to-performing-controversial-procedures\/\" title=\"Psaki Refuses To Answer If Biden Cares About Doctors Who Object To Performing Controversial Procedures\">gender transition surgeries<\/a> on minors, saying, &#8220;As a parent, you do not have the right to abuse your kids,&#8221; which brought loud cheers from the crowd.<\/p>\n<p>DeSantis also\u2064 took a bite out of Trump when asked about the &#8220;dictator&#8221; talk circulating in Washington.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Look, the \u200dmedia is making\u2062 a big deal about what\u2063 he said [about being a dictator],&#8221; DeSantis said. &#8220;I would\u2064 just remind people that is not how he governed. He didn&#8217;t even fire \u200cDr. [Anthony] Fauci. \u200dHe didn&#8217;t fire Christopher\u200d Wray. \u200dHe didn&#8217;t\u2063 clean up the swamp. He said he was going to drain it. He did not drain it.&#8221;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Chris Christie<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>But DeSantis was caught unawares by \u200cformer New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, \u2063who delivered a biting performance that at times got the better of all of\u2062 his opponents. Christie called out DeSantis\u200c for refusing to answer a question on Trump&#8217;s mental fitness for office, with the Florida governor \u2064momentarily seeming at a loss\u200c for words.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;At \u200cleast twice\u200b I caught him calling out others for not \u2064answering questions,&#8221; \u2062Kiledal said. &#8220;Twice to DeSantis, once to Vivek [Ramaswamy], and then taking a kind of moderator role in his defense of Nikki \u200cHaley. It was him getting into a slugfest \u2064with words.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Christie wasn&#8217;t called on for the first 17 minutes\u2062 of the debate, a fact he was happy to call the moderators out on, then used his trademark aggressiveness and quick\u2063 wit to turn in a memorable night. Unfortunately, it is unlikely \u200dto change his standing\u2063 in the race as Christie is polling at just 2.5% and was lucky to make the stage at all.<\/p>\n<h3>Debate \u200cModerators<\/h3>\n<p>The trio of female\u200c moderators kept the \u2063<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-attacks-republican-u-s-senate-nominee-don-bolduc-for-losing-after-trump-endorsed-him\/\" title=\"Trump Attacks Republican U.S. Senate Nominee Don Bolduc For Losing After Trump Endorsed Him\">conversation moving forward<\/a> and was reasonably successful in keeping the candidates from talking too long or talking over each other.<\/p>\n<p>Former Fox News host Megyn Kelly started the debate with aggressive questions\u2062 that\u200c poked at candidates&#8217; weaknesses. The moderators also brought Trump up in several questions as the candidates onstage\u2063 seemed to be much more\u200d willing\u2064 to attack one another than to go after the front-runner.<\/p>\n<h3>Losers<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Nikki Haley<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Haley was the big winner of the first three debates as her national polling numbers nearly tripled from late August until early December. That status was reflected in the fact that Ramaswamy and DeSantis both\u200b came out and attacked her almost from \u200cthe minute the debate started.<\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately for Haley, she was not quite the\u2062 aggressor and did not quite have the zingers\u200c ready as she \u2064did previously. In fact, she ended up being defended multiple times onstage by Christie.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It was a low-energy debate for her,&#8221; Kiledal said. &#8220;Maybe\u2063 it was a position where she just wanted \u2062to hold \u2063steady, \u2062where she was more worried about losing points than gaining them.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Haley&#8217;s biggest \u200cstandout moment came when she\u2064 refused to respond to a charge of corruption from Ramaswamy.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Nikki,\u200b I don&#8217;t have\u2062 a woman problem,&#8221; he said at one point, wielding a handwritten &#8220;NIKKI=CORRUPT&#8221; message. \u200d&#8221;You have a corruption\u200d problem, and I think that that&#8217;s \u2063what people need to know \u2014 Nikki is\u2064 corrupt.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>She did not engage.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;No,&#8221;\u200b Haley said when asked if she&#8217;d like to respond. &#8220;It&#8217;s not worth my time to respond to him.&#8221;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Vivek Ramaswamy<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>As\u2064 he did \u200bin previous \u200ddebates, Ramaswamy lunged at his opponents but ended up largely getting batted around by his competitors.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou can put lipstick on a Dick Cheney. It is still \u2064a fascist \u200bneocon,&#8221;\u2062 he said of Haley, drawing a hammer of\u2062 a response from Christie.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is the fourth debate, the fourth debate that you\u200b would be voted in the first 20 minutes as the most \u200bobnoxious blowhard in America,\u201d Christie responded. &#8220;So shut up for a while.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The \u200dfocus on character likely distracted from whatever case \u200dRamaswamy would like to make for president, Kiledal argued.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I was disappointed in his\u200b lack of civility \u2064and decorum,&#8221; she said. &#8220;He wasn\u2019t willing to stand at the level \u2063of ideas. He had to attack\u200c the people and the characteristics of those people.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\">CLICK HERE TO READ MORE\u200d FROM \u200cTHE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/a><\/p>\n<h3>Non-Trump Republicans<\/h3>\n<p>But the biggest loser\u200d of all may be Republican primary voters who are looking for a strong alternative to \u200cTrump.<\/p>\n<p>The indicted former president is\u200c polling above\u200c 60% nationally and enjoys huge leads in \u2063each of \u200cthe early primary states. None \u2063of the candidates \u2064onstage likely stood out enough to make a \u2062dent in that support, leaving him the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/desantis-pac-official-says-2024-election-an-uphill-battle-trump-is-the-runaway-front-runner\/\" title=\"DeSantis PAC official admits tough 2024 race: 'Trump leads the pack'\">runaway front-runner<\/a> going into 2024.<\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h2> How did Nikki Haley&#8217;s performance \u200din the Republican presidential debate compare to her previous\u200b debates?<\/h2>\n<p><span>  Of\u200c exhaustion after being attacked so\u200b early\u200c and often,\u200d or maybe\u2063 it was \u200djust \u2063an off \u200dnight. But\u200c she \u2063definitely\u2064 did \u200dnot shine like she\u200b has\u200b in the past.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Overall, the Republican presidential debate in Tuscaloosa proved to\u200b be a thrilling showdown, \u2063with candidates\u200d like Ron DeSantis and Chris Christie delivering standout \u2064performances. DeSantis connected with the crowd and demonstrated authenticity \u2063and credibility, while Christie displayed his trademark\u200d aggressiveness and wit. \u2062The debate moderators effectively kept\u2062 the conversation moving and prevented candidates from\u2062 talking too long. On the other \u200chand, \u200cNikki Haley seemed\u200b to struggle and did not perform as well as she had in previous debates. As the race for the Republican nomination\u200d intensifies, it will\u200d be interesting to see\u200c how these performances impact \u200cthe candidates&#8217; standings in the polls.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Four candidates participated in the fourth Republican presidential debate in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. With the primaries approaching, they aimed to present their cases to voters. However, front-runner Donald Trump, who holds a significant lead, did not attend the debate. The remaining candidates hoped to gain ground in his absence<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2118249,"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":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2118248","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"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\/2118248","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\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2118248"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2118248\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2118249"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2118248"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2118248"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2118248"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}