Debates are getting better as candidates are forced to exit
Conn Carroll
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The third Republican presidential primary debate, which took place in Miami on Wednesday night, was the best one so far. The NBC moderators may have lingered too long on foreign policy during the first hour of the debate, but their questions weren’t the biased gotcha questions that we’ve come to expect from their organization, and more importantly, the moderators didn’t let the debate get out of hand by letting the candidates speak whenever they wanted.
Perhaps most importantly, though, there were also fewer candidates. This meant more time for each candidate to respond and fewer possibilities for distracting sideshows. (Although we did still get some of those anyway, including something about high-heel ammunition.)
The two front-runners, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, had strong moments and will surely survive and advance. For everyone else onstage, however, it is really time for them to ask themselves what are they trying to accomplish.
Love him or hate him, at least businessman Vivek Ramaswamy tried to make news with his heated attacks on Haley. Whether going after Haley’s daughter for using TikTok will help him with voters is questionable, but at least it was memorable. He was trying to produce moments voters would talk about the next day.
But what are Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie doing? They both completely faded away from the debate for long stretches, and when they did speak, they did nothing to separate themselves from the rest of the field. Their continued presence in the race only helps former President Donald Trump by taking support away from other candidates. It is past time for them to drop out.
Ideally, the fourth and final debate scheduled for Dec. 6 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, would only feature DeSantis and Haley. But that will almost certainly not happen, as Ramaswamy seems motivated by something other than a desire to defeat Trump.
Scott and Christie, however, may finally realize their time has come. As good as tonight’s debate was, a smaller debate with just DeSantis, Haley, and Ramaswamy could be even better.
After that, DeSantis is going to have to win the Iowa caucus for any debating to continue. If DeSantis wins, Trump may be forced to confront him onstage. But if DeSantis loses Iowa, look for Trump to continue declaring victory and ignoring the debates entirely.