By Christian Whiton
Wednesday’s debate showcased strong talent across the Republican presidential field that has until now been eclipsed by the Donald Trump legal freak show and navel-gazing over bygone times.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis held strong as the chief alternative to former president Donald Trump, who skipped the debate and wasn’t even mentioned until the second hour of the event. Nothing the other candidates or argumentative moderators threw at DeSantis impugned his position as the most successful politician on the stage—someone who won reelection by a 19-point margin with an unapologetic record that was not only conservative but energetically activist—winning over many who weren’t traditional Republican voters. He was particularly strong in vowing military force against Mexican drug cartels invading America. No more pussyfooting. He also reminded people he was the only one on stage who stood up successfully to Fauci-ism and Soros-backed prosecutors ruining our cities.
DeSantis scored a great tactical point early on when he short-circuited the moderators’ childish raise-your-hands instructions to the candidates over the Left’s religion of climate-change alarmism. Refusing to accept the media’s framing of issues is a fundamental tenet of the New Right. (EJ ANTONI: These Non-Negotiables Should Be Top Of Mind For Every Conservative During Tonight’s Debate)
Former vice president Mike Pence upended a string a lackluster performances since leaving office by showing some real fight and candor. As I texted a friend who worked for Pence: “He’s doing quite well, what happened?”
Senator Tim Scott dazzled by demonstrating a visceral belief in America and a love of our country. He spoke from the heart and it showed. The conventional wisdom is that Scott is campaigning for vice president, but there isn’t a precedent for a veep who outshines his boss on moral feeling and passion. At a minimum, Scott made himself more of an icon of the New Right and American revival than he was considered to be before the debate. Ripping on teachers’ unions standing the schoolhouse door against students was beautiful.
North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum may have put himself in the veepstakes, especially if the nominee follows a model of wanting someone who reflects himself but does not outshine. The conventional wisdom that former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley will get the nod since she is a woman is facile.
Former New Jersey governor Chris Christie gave a schooling to Vivek Ramasamay, which was one of the more enjoyable parts of the evening. Ramaswamay came across as exactly what he is: a petulant millennial finance bro who bought his way onto the stage. He came off as a cross between a game show host and someone who guzzled espresso before selling ShamWows in an informercial, just peddling Lindsey Graham-style bumper sticker solutions in lieu of car-waxing products. He was able to take a disproportionate amount of time, but much of that consisted of him being housed on by the other candidates.
Political experts will say there was no clear winner to the debate, which favors Trump who benefits from a divided field of opposition. I disagree. The outtake from Wednesday night was that there are many appealing alternatives to Trump who have just as much fight in them but without the baggage. Over the months ahead, more and more voters will conclude we should pass the torch to a new generation of leaders.
I don’t expect much immediate change in the polls, but the reality is that the Republican field minus Trump just came to life and will evolve through many iterations in the four months before voting for the Republican nomination beings in Iowa and then weaves its way through three other early states and then a mass of states. (RELATED: CHRISTIAN WHITON: Ron DeSantis Has All The Right Enemies)
The big loser of the night was Donald Trump. The expert class and the talentless sycophants with whom he has surrounded himself told him not to debate. They said he would only elevate his opponents. But his opponents elevated themselves by laying out a vision to reverse America’s decline and by showing they too can be happy warriors of the sort Trump was in 2016 but has ceased to be, wallowing instead in self-reference and self-pity.
DeSantis in particular reminded voters how the next fourteen months can be about fighting the Left with new ideas about governance and defining America’s future as opposed to relitigating Trump’s 2020 loss to Joe Biden, whether fair or not, and other matters of the past. He alone combined aspiration with accomplishment.
It’s still early days—late August of the year before the actual presidential election. The 438 days that remain after today will be a marathon, not a sprint. But after tonight, the assumption that the 2024 race will be a rematch between dotards Trump and Biden seems far less likely.
Christian Whiton was a State Department senior advisor during the George W. Bush and Donald Trump administrations. He is a senior fellow at the Center for the National Interest.
