Another Missed Opportunity?
Wednesday's debate would be a good time to upend the pro-Trump Republican narrative ... but it won't happen this time, either
Wednesday night’s GOP presidential debate presents the perfect opportunity for Sen. Tim Scott (SC), former Veep Mike Pence, former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley and maybe even Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to repudiate authoritarian ex-President Trump and racist-tinged MAGA rhetoric.
Trump’s not on the Baird Convention Center stage here in Milwaukee, four or five of the candidates could say, so let’s talk trash. While Trump will not show up tonight (though some speculate he will make a surprise appearance some time between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. local time, or 9-11 p.m. Eastern), he’s on X-Twitter with fellow pro-authoritarian Tucker Carlson and he will show up on televisions across the world Thursday as he is booked — complete with a mug shot — for RICO violations related to alleged attempts to overthrow Georgia’s 2020 vote for president.
Fox News moderators Brett Baier and Martha McCallum could ask which of the eight candidates a.) are pro-democratic/anti-authoritarian; b.) thoroughly reject the overt racism displayed by far too many of Donald J. Trump’s supporters and sometimes (barely) dog-whistled by Trump himself; and c.) support Ukraine in its defense against Putin’s Russian aggression.
About those other three or four candidates scheduled to take the stage: Former governors Chris Christie (NJ) and Asa Hutchinson (AR), both fervent anti-MAGAists, would already give the right answers to a, b and c. North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum still leads a deep-red state and has skirted the Trump/MAGA issue so far. [There was speculation he might cancel Wednesday after suffering a basketball game injury, but the governor who gave away $20 gift cards to earn enough public support to qualify for a spot on the debate stage was eyed at the convention center just hours prior, by NPR].
Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy is challenging Trump by trying to be his new best friend and has vowed to pardon him, and anyway, Ramaswamy’s busy lately trying to deny statements he made long ago that 9/11 was an “inside job,” though the existence of recordings remain inconvenient.
Of course, very little of this will happen. We can count on no one other than Christie and Hutchinson to try to upend the strong Republican support for the former president.
Let Us Know Your Thoughts
The Editorial We of The Hustings is not ready to give up, however, on the idea of an echo chamber-free media outlet for all sorts of civil, fact-based political expression. Let us know your impressions of the first 2024 presidential debate and we’ll post them at https://thehustings.news.
If you lean right, tell us which candidate(s) impressed you most — whether there were any clear standouts (and why).
If you lean left, tell us which (if any) of the eight you could live with as president in 2025.
Use the Comment section here, or email editors@thehustings.news and tell us whether you lean left or right.
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