The current state of the competition for the Republican nomination for president is a Trump win-win. Candidates like Vivek Ramaswamy, Ron DeSantis and Chris Christie are trying their hardest for a distant second place from former President Donald Trump. All the candidates’ poll numbers combined coming out of the debate cannot overtake Trump’s in any coming contest — mainly Iowa or New Hampshire, let alone at the convention next summer.
On Aug. 24, Fox News hosted the first Republican primary debate, in which 13 million viewers tuned in to hear from candidates on the issues that matter most to them: border security, “Bidenflation,” allocation of federal funds, strengthening alliances with foreign nations and abortion.
However, because former President Trump chose not to attend the event, the debate stage missed the largest gladiator in any ring and somehow felt more presidential in many ways. With limited mudslinging, candidates had the opportunity to distinguish themselves and show what they had to offer. One candidate and long-shot hopeful, Governor Doug Burgum (R-ND), spent 7 minutes and 50 seconds laying out his platform for the American people. It gave him some more exposure, but did not seem to make a dent in his polling. That said, I found him to be favorable, especially with his quip at the beginning about injuring his leg shortly before the debate began and appealing to voters as an average-Joe governor.
However, with the scorched-earth policy that Trump has established within the Republican Party, many candidates couldn’t refuse to take shots at others. In reference to Ramaswamy, former Vice President Mike Pence noted his youth and inexperience by stating, “Now is not the time for on-the-job training. We don’t need to bring in a rookie.” However, with candidates clearly seeing Ramaswamy as a threat and Ramaswamy fending off attacks from far-left, sort-of-right and center, Ramaswamy seized the opportunity to set himself apart from establishment Republicans and took shots at candidates for their hypocrisy in their claims against him. Ramaswamy at one point even wetted his finger and held it up so as if to check which way the wind blows when Governor Ron DeSantis (R-Fla) was speaking about one of his platform points, a gesture which allows people to see Ramaswamy as someone who holds elected officials accountable for saying one thing and acting another.
To young people who want their voices heard in a government that allows barely-able-bodied and elderly senators to retain their seats and miss hearings, meetings or votes, Ramaswamy is an exciting take and is arguably one of Trump’s biggest allies in the field, as they have similar missions despite being competitors.
However, with new thresholds of donor contributions in place for the next debate, many candidates have seen either a boost in fundraising or are running on fumes, as Miami Mayor Francis Suarez has suspended his campaign after failing to meet the threshold to be on the stage on the 24th and is officially the first major name in the Republican Party to drop out.
It seems like no matter what happens on the stage at the next debate, similar to the last one, it is only seen as tryouts to impress former President Trump to potentially put one of the current candidates on his ticket as vice president. Again, the distance between the front-runners for second place right now is still lightyears behind Trump. The candidates all have their own innovatively crafted stance on each issue and it is somewhat working, except for Chris Christie who is relating all issues back to Trump, as his campaign is solely focused on taking him down, and his poll numbers reflect this.
But, with indictments of Trump, posterboys of the party from a year ago not being exciting enough (DeSantis) and other uninspiring candidates, a lot is questionable. Some questions that come to my own head in regard to the entirety of the Republican contest are: What happens if former President Trump falls behind in the polls? Is it better for Trump to go on the stage at the next debate, or should he keep moving as he has done already by not attending given his lead in the polls? Who is the next to drop out, and what cabinet position might they be given in return for their endorsement of Trump?
The answer to all of these: “Too early to call.”
Michael Duke, GSB ’26, is undecided from Scottsdale, Ariz.
