Last night a sea of red, white and blue descended on the Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, 40 miles northeast of Los Angeles, for the second Republican debate. The candidates were energetic and punchy but knew only too well they were fighting for scraps. The evening was really about the one person who wasn’t there: Donald Trump held a rally at a non-unionised car factory thousands of miles away in Michigan.
Ron DeSantis took a pop at the former President’s absence: “Donald Trump is missing in action.” But that was just a warm-up for Christie. Adopting a Hulk Hogan-esque tone as he looked into the camera, pointing at the viewer, he said: “Donald, I know you’re watching, you can’t help yourself. I know you’re watching. And you’re not here tonight, not because of polls and not because of your indictments.
“You’re not here tonight because you’re afraid of being on the stage and defending your record, you’re ducking these things…We’re gonna call you Donald Duck.”
The crew on stage included former vice president Mike Pence, South Carolina senator Tim Scott, former New Jersey governor Chris Christie, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, North Dakota governor Doug Burgum, Florida governor Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley.
All contestants had a pop at Joe Biden over the current auto workers’ strike. According to Mike Pence, the President “doesn’t belong on a picket line, he belongs on the unemployment line.”
Talk moved to the migrant problem on the Southern border, with Ramaswamy saying building the wall was not enough, but instead the US military is needed to “seal the Swiss cheese” of the Mexican border.
All candidates gave generalised, inarticulate soundbites about Federal debt and mismanagement in light of the looming government shutdown. Christie moved back to Trump saying that he owed the voters an appearance at the debate, rather than cowardly hiding behind the walls of his golf club.
Tensions escalated between Haley and Ramaswamy over Ukraine. As Ramaswamy aired his scepticism on whether the US ought to fund the war effort, Haley could be heard shouting over him: “A win for Russia is a win for China”. Haley wasn’t scared to take on the rising star: “Every time I hear you, I feel a little bit dumber.”
If there was a winner, one would probably have to say it was Nikki Haley. Chris Christie’s Trump-bashing proved surprisingly popular although it’s worth remembering that the audience accounts for a miniscule establishment section of all Republican voters. As for former VP Pence, even the NRA could see how his calls for sped-up death penalties for school shooters missed the point.
The supposed stars Ramaswamy and DeSantis didn’t make any grave errors but neither did they come across as serious competitors.
The next debate will be in Miami on 8 November. To get a position behind a lectern, the candidates will need at least a 4 per cent share of the vote across different national polls and 70,000 unique donors.
Trump’s march back to power continues.
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