The first Republican primary debate sucked for everyone but Trump

Each of the eight participants in the first Republican primary debates in 2024 traveled to Milwaukee knowing they had to make a difference. They probably thought that would be easier in the absence of Donald Trump, the attention-grabbing front runner who is currently beating his opponents with ease despite boasting a frankly impressive list of indictments against state and federal charges across a wide range of crimes. Unfortunately for them, his absence only reminded viewers why the last time he faced the Republicans, he easily rode to victory.

No one really questions Trump’s decision to skip the debate. The math makes sense: He’s miles ahead of Florida Gov. Ron Desantis, his closest rival and the only other candidate to score in double digits, in the polls. So why would he bother sharing the seat with his subordinates while also asking uncomfortable questions about his various alleged crimes from host Bret Baier? who does he have a grudge with? Why not just stay home and watch TV as Chris Christie, his (erm) biggest critic, takes a stab at his fiercest competitor instead? Also, by scheduling his surrender and placement in Fulton County Jail for the day after the debate, he can ensure that the press afterward will focus almost entirely on himself and not on anyone’s performance at the debate.

To be honest, he didn’t need to go to all the trouble. The Republican Party without Trump is just as boring, disjointed, and soul-crushing to watch as it was before Trump arrived. Nobody made a difference, nobody knew who half the participants were, and nobody will remember this debate.

WHAT WE EXPECTED: Everyone attacks Ron Desantis, Desantis suffers a nervous breakdown

It’s hard to imagine anyone fiddling with the bag more than Ron Desantis. He started the year in an amazingly strong position and was viewed by many as a serious threat to Donald Trump, but it wasn’t long before he emerged as a freak of the highest order and a frighteningly terrible politician. Month after month, he watched helplessly as his lead in the polls dwindled, while the politicians he counted on to back him immediately spurned him and endorsed Trump. His campaign would face several personnel reshuffles over the summer, leading to potential funding issues that could end his campaign before the start of 2024.

But even with those issues, it’s still twice as popular as its closest competitor, which, when you look at the numbers, is still pretty darn low praise. He was expected to be a target of debate, and sufficient firepower could potentially have breached his extremely fragile “I’m normal” disguise wide and caused an incident on stage. His sweaty, trembling smile just before the debate began seemed to herald that collapse.

WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED: Everyone attacked Vivek Ramaswamy instead

Vivek Ramaswamy has the energy of a corporate department employee who looks you in the eye too long and laughs too much when he talks to you and then fires your entire department. Many pundits have been convinced lately that Vivek Ramaswamy had charisma, but he was likely just standing next to Mike Pence. On Thursday night, he unexpectedly and repeatedly came under the scrutiny of several of his competitors and once, after claiming that man-made climate change was a hoax, of the public as well. The booing was unexpected and seemed to catch him off guard. Chris Christie took the biggest insult of the night when he noticed Vivek talking like a chat GPT reply, but Vivek was able to laugh at most of the attacks until Nikki Haley went for his throat in the last half hour and we finally got him got nervous.

WHAT WE EXPECTED: Mike Pence will be booed and possibly attacked by the audience

Former Vice President Mike Pence, once dubbed by locals as a “sun-faded department store doll” and “fat Slenderman,” has topped about 4% in polls nationwide and is not expected to vote in this primary or possibly anywhere else does well in Republican politics ever again. Fans of the hugely popular former president have repeatedly expressed a sincere desire to hang him, and the president he served seemed to think that was an appropriate opinion of Mike Pence. He’s not very popular outside of the more evangelical section of the Republican Party, and even there he’s significantly less popular than Donald Trump. He was repeatedly booed before he finally began to criticize the man who backed the idea of ​​lynching him, and was expected to be received just as coolly at the debate.

WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED: Mike Pence just got a little booed

Surprisingly, when Mike Pence spoke about his refusal to give in to Trump’s demands on Jan. 6, the audience largely agreed. The audience was also often on his side in his arguments with Chris Christie and Nikki Haley. During an exchange of blows with Vivek Ramaswamy, he received a few boos, which were, however, rather mild.

WHAT WE EXPECTED: Chris Christie often attacks Trump, often gets booed

His outspoken criticism of Donald Trump has garnered Chris Christie much negative coverage in Republican circles. Even in a field full of losers, his numbers are on the low end. So far, that hasn’t stopped him from being one of the former president’s most vocal and insistent critics.

WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED: Chris Christie attacked Trump a little, got a lot of booing

While he was applauded for a few headlines about the economy or Joe Biden, his small but open digs at Trump led to widespread boos and shouts, which Christie tried to wait out. But the audience seemed heartened by the effect they were having on what was happening and on Christie herself, and kept going until Bret Baier threatened to turn the car around and head straight back to Winnipeg. I expect that will continue to be the case with any debate Chris Christie participates in.