8/23 Republican primary debate live commentary thread

[インターネット掲示板ユーザー Punxsutawney Phil]

1. Pence had a pretty good debate actually. In a different time, it would turn around his campaign. In 2024, it doesn't matter he won't win a single state.

2. I thought Vivek was the Republican Andrew Yang. The hip young Asian dude with lots of private sector solutions. Than he denies cliamte change....I did not see that coming.

I think Borgum might be the closest thing to a Republican Andrew Yang in this field, actually. Complete with him talking about things the party cares about from a fresh angle. Borgum might not be Asian but when you adjust for party he looks a lot like a Republican Andrew Yang in terms of what he espouses.

[Joe Biden 2028]

I just realized that I have never heard Tim Scott speak before. I don't know what I was expecting, wasn't that.

[Joe Biden 2028]

1. Pence had a pretty good debate actually. In a different time, it would turn around his campaign. In 2024, it doesn't matter he won't win a single state.

2. I thought Vivek was the Republican Andrew Yang. The hip young Asian dude with lots of private sector solutions. Than he denies cliamte change....I did not see that coming.

I think Borgum might be the closest thing to a Republican Andrew Yang in this field, actually. Complete with him talking about things the party cares about from a fresh angle. Borgum might not be Asian but when you adjust for party he looks a lot like a Republican Andrew Yang in terms of what he espouses.

Interesting. I didn't expect a old white republican to have the same rethoic as Andrew Yang but here we are

[Meatball Slayer]

https://twitter.com/_johnnymaga/status/1694547653676175586?s=46&t=u7yEjAstjG...

[Joe Biden 2028]

Lol Ramaswamy is still pretending to be a Christian

I noticed that several Indian-American Republicans converted to Christanity. Bobby Jindal and Nikki Haley (neither are their real names btw)

I know lots of Indian-Americans. Second and third generation. None have converted. Some aren't religious.

Like Christanity is declining. Are you really expect me to think a Hindu geniunly converted to Christanity in America in the 21st century? And it wasn't for political reasons?

Not saying it hasn't happen but come on?

[インターネット掲示板ユーザー Punxsutawney Phil]

1. Pence had a pretty good debate actually. In a different time, it would turn around his campaign. In 2024, it doesn't matter he won't win a single state.

2. I thought Vivek was the Republican Andrew Yang. The hip young Asian dude with lots of private sector solutions. Than he denies cliamte change....I did not see that coming.

I think Borgum might be the closest thing to a Republican Andrew Yang in this field, actually. Complete with him talking about things the party cares about from a fresh angle. Borgum might not be Asian but when you adjust for party he looks a lot like a Republican Andrew Yang in terms of what he espouses.

Interesting. I didn't expect a old white republican to have the same rethoic as Andrew Yang but here we are

I was talking more about in terms of his relationship with the broader party overall in terms of like to like (hence my comment about adjusting for party and all). It's more a structural comparison than an absolute one.

[The Economy is Getting Worse]

Lol Ramaswamy is still pretending to be a Christian

I noticed that several Indian-American Republicans converted to Christanity. Bobby Jindal and Nikki Haley (neither are their real names btw)

I know lots of Indian-Americans. Second and third generation. None have converted. Some aren't religious.

Like Christanity is declining. Are you really expect me to think a Hindu geniunly converted to Christanity in America in the 21st century? And it wasn't for political reasons?

Not saying it hasn't happen but come on?

From what I've read about Ramaswamy, he's a gigantic liar, but a very good speaker/debater. His private positions are probably way different than his public ones.

[Del Tachi]

All the Democrats who think Ramaswamy is getting crushed are telling on themselves. Right now Vivek is, both by virtue of being the #1 presence on stage and being in line with what most Republicans actually want, crushing it. DeSantis otoh is like background wallpaper, not what he needed.

Lol no dude

Viv is getting spanked in literally every interaction he’s had all night

Love 'ya Del but your wrong on this one. Vivek is fighting back fiercely, and has faced the whole field taking him on at once. He may not be as strong as Trump (he's being too polite) but he's holding his own.

The difference between Ramaswamy and Trump is that, when Trump is being piled on during a debate, his comebacks are genuinely funny (Trump's sense of humor has been his secret weapon this whole time.)  Ramaswamy's retorts were, as Christie said, "ChatGPT"

[VBM]

Lol Ramaswamy is still pretending to be a Christian

I noticed that several Indian-American Republicans converted to Christanity. Bobby Jindal and Nikki Haley (neither are their real names btw)

I know lots of Indian-Americans. Second and third generation. None have converted. Some aren't religious.

Like Christanity is declining. Are you really expect me to think a Hindu geniunly converted to Christanity in America in the 21st century? And it wasn't for political reasons?

Not saying it hasn't happen but come on?

Vivek actually is Hindu. He just talks about his Hindu faith in a way that makes it sound like he's talking about the Christian God to those unaware.

[izixs]

All the Democrats who think Ramaswamy is getting crushed are telling on themselves. Right now Vivek is, both by virtue of being the #1 presence on stage and being in line with what most Republicans actually want, crushing it. DeSantis otoh is like background wallpaper, not what he needed.

Lol no dude

Viv is getting spanked in literally every interaction he’s had all night

Love 'ya Del but your wrong on this one. Vivek is fighting back fiercely, and has faced the whole field taking him on at once. He may not be as strong as Trump (he's being too polite) but he's holding his own.

The difference between Ramaswamy and Trump is that, when Trump is being piled on during a debate, his comebacks are genuinely funny (Trump's sense of humor has been his secret weapon this whole time.)  Ramaswamy's retorts were, as Christie said, "ChatGPT"

It can be both true that Ramaswamy's responses are inane nonsense and that there's people excited about him because he's being attacked. Part of the GOP dynamics that have been cultivated for ages now is the victimhood narrative of the guy who's just 'telling it as it is' being piled on by some nebulous group of badies. And Ramaswamy is trying to force that nebulous group of baddies to be the career politicians filling up the rest of the stage.

So, his responses are allowed to suck as he's not trying to have good ones. He's trying to be the victim. And because Trump isn't on stage to play that same game more effectively, he got away with it.

[インターネット掲示板ユーザー Punxsutawney Phil]

Btw y'all this is how Fox News is covering the debate.

[emailking]

I never asked Mike Pence to put me above the Constitution. Who would say such a thing? A FAKE STORY!

Chris Christie was horrible tonight. He was booed at a level never seen before at such a debate. He should have walked off the stage - Nobody wanted to hear from him!  DJT

“Aida” was a joke tonight. He’s over!

DeSanctimonious was a “BOMB” tonight, especially with his softball interview with Sean Hannity. This guy has totally forgotten his past. Who cares!?!?

Looks like the Tucker Carlson interview will end up with an “over 100 Million” number. Wow!

Ron DeSanctimonious is always talking about the number of votes he got in Florida. He doesn’t say that I got a record 1.1 Million more votes than him. He forgot!!!

^ Trump on the debate tonight, along with a dozen retruths about how amazing he did.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

found vivek's burner account

https://twitter.com/Hitler9/status/11293812509

[WalterWhite]

found vivek's burner account

https://twitter.com/Hitler9/status/11293812509

Hitler from Ohio would probably make a better comparison, to be honest.

[The Economy is Getting Worse]

Btw y'all this is how Fox News is covering the debate.

Ramaswamy clearly won then, as getting coverage at all is far more important than the quality of the coverage.

DeSantis has clearly lost by the same metric.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

All the Democrats who think Ramaswamy is getting crushed are telling on themselves. Right now Vivek is, both by virtue of being the #1 presence on stage and being in line with what most Republicans actually want, crushing it. DeSantis otoh is like background wallpaper, not what he needed.

Lol no dude

Viv is getting spanked in literally every interaction he’s had all night

Love 'ya Del but your wrong on this one. Vivek is fighting back fiercely, and has faced the whole field taking him on at once. He may not be as strong as Trump (he's being too polite) but he's holding his own.

The difference between Ramaswamy and Trump is that, when Trump is being piled on during a debate, his comebacks are genuinely funny (Trump's sense of humor has been his secret weapon this whole time.)  Ramaswamy's retorts were, as Christie said, "ChatGPT"

Telling Jeb he liked how he had more energy was classic.

[WalterWhite]

Ramaswamy got the most searches; he got the most publicity.

[Mr. Third-Wayist]

Ramaswamy got the most searches; he got the most publicity.

Saying climate change is a hoax will do that sometimes.

[Landslide Lyndon]

Ramaswamy is an over-caffeinated Blake Masters.

[kelestian]

Lol Ramaswamy is still pretending to be a Christian

I noticed that several Indian-American Republicans converted to Christanity. Bobby Jindal and Nikki Haley (neither are their real names btw)

I know lots of Indian-Americans. Second and third generation. None have converted. Some aren't religious.

Like Christanity is declining. Are you really expect me to think a Hindu geniunly converted to Christanity in America in the 21st century? And it wasn't for political reasons?

Not saying it hasn't happen but come on?

Wasn't Hayley originally from Sikh, not Hindu, background?

[Redban]

Yeah, everyone left this debate thinking about Ramaswamy. Prior to this debate, many people watching probably didn’t know who he was. For that reason, he won this debate

[Doomer]

I would be embarrassed to be a Republican.

[Doomer]

Vivek, if Trump is the best president in the 21st century then why are you running against him?

[wbrocks67]

Couple major things that popped out:

-Ramaswamy will likely do well with hardcore GOP MAGA swamp voters, but if you're just going to defend Trump and be Trump 2.0, then I don't see how you're running to actually be anything, versus just looking for a career after this. Or be Trumps VP, but I doubt he'd pick him.
-Christie didn't land as many attacks as I figured he would. Disappointing
-DeSantis just looks awful. Every time this man speaks, his body language is so uncomfortable. He's either being aggressive, screaming, bobbing his head, awkwardly smiling, etc. He just has that ick factor whenever he opens his mouth
-Tim Scott proved he's a total nonentity and basically an empty vessel
-Nikki Haley continues to try and do her "fake moderate" act, even though she literally put her hand up to say she'd support Trump again. Her speech about "consensus on abortion" fell, and should fall, flat, given that most of what she said is literally the *barest* of the bare minimum things (doctors and nurses not put in jail), while other things like doctors and nurses not wanting to perform them don't have to, uh no, then this isn't the profession for you. The only worthwhile thing she said is stop "demonizing" abortion, but we all know there are many caveats to that and she didn't mean it as an overarching statement.

[Pollster]

Some thoughts after watching last night, with the caveats that a) I have not read this thread fully, and b) I am a Democrat and have different motivators/priorities/reactions to things like this than Republicans (especially Republican primary voters):

-Nikki Haley was the only serious person on the stage and came across as the only candidate who wasn't speaking to a narrow corner of the electorate, for better or worse. Scott (who drastically underperformed and clearly seemed to have not done much debate prep) and Burgum (who was probably held back by his injury) brought a sense of seriousness but both felt ill-prepared to actually present themselves as such.

-Christie's takedown of Rubio in 2016 has taken on such a life of its own that it sort of unintentionally caused Christie (but moreso the media on behalf of Christie) to overpromise for this debate. Some of his quips were good, but there was a real sense that he was reaching for that moment and couldn't quite grasp it. One has to wonder if he had something prepared for DeSantis that he didn't get the opportunity to use with DeSantis being mostly ignored all night.

-Vivek gave a technically excellent performance - his cadence and clarity were strong and he expertly said a lot of small/simple words very quickly, giving the impression that he was saying more than he actually was and with high confidence. His candidacy is silly and transparently superfluous but other candidates (especially those who are unknown/low-polling) who are more serious would be well-served to study what he did here.

-DeSantis is an afterthought already and it shows. He is just not cut out for this race (his question dodges were blatant and offensive to intelligence, even by televised debate standards) and is fundamentally his own worst asset. It would have been far more interesting if the others did go after him and he withered (or, conversely, hit back hard and overperformed) but you can tell that nobody is seriously concerned about him. Continues to confirm my theory that defeating Charlie Crist in Florida is a kiss of death for higher political ambitions.

-Pence's slow-burn style of speaking is not well-suited for a televised debate (especially one with more than two people on stage) but he managed to make the most of it and seemed to find some nice footing. His biggest issues in this race are fundamentally structural/unfixable, but he's clearly thinking the right way about them. I think there's a nonzero chance he picks up a good chunk of DeSantis' support.

-Trump's absence caused a few positions that are objectively the minority within the Republican party to be presented as if they were consensus. Much will be written about how nobody (not even Vivek, who otherwise spent the entire night pretending to be Trump) challenged Pence on Jan 6th, and how pro-Putin sentiment and especially opposition to Ukraine aid were punched down at as fringe positions. I worry that too many people (both Democrats and Republicans alike, especially some of the Republicans who were on that stage last night) will learn all the wrong lessons from this.

-Hutchinson should drop out and endorse Christie, who is more skilled and articulate at making basically the exact same case.

-None of these people will be the nominee.