Republican Debate Without Trump: Crisis on the American Right

By: Armin Sijamić

Yesterday, the first debate for the Republican candidate in the 2024 presidential elections was held. Eight candidates debated in Milwaukee in front of Fox network cameras, and the ninth had an interview on platform X, formerly known as Twitter. Although Republican voters were expected to see a force that would worry political rivals, everything that happened on Thursday showed a deep crisis within one of the two largest American parties.

For decades, many have said that the left, especially the European left, is in a major crisis and cannot cope with the surging right. However, that is only part of the truth, because while the left is in crisis, the right is not doing much better, at least not in the United States of America.

Since the collapse of the USSR, the left and right in the West have been losing ground, and parties are merging in the political center. Social movements that transform into political parties and quickly disappear bring freshness to political life. Politicians with recognizable ideas are sometimes replaced by bit players, relying on their public presence through other endeavors.

The Republican debate clearly showed this, and the following indicates that a large number of citizens in the United States think so too. The eight candidates did not attract as much attention as a previously arranged interview. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, former US Vice President Mike Pence, former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, and former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson did not attract as much attention as Donald Trump.

Namely, Trump recorded an interview with Tucker Carlson a few days ago, and it was broadcast five minutes before the Republican debate was to begin. Carlson and Trump, a former Fox network star and the most popular Republican politician, attracted 237 million viewers on X in twenty hours. According to Nielsen, 12.8 million people watched the debate on Fox channels.

Trump had previously refused to appear at this debate, stating that it was pointless to debate people who have minimal voter support. "Why would I allow people with 1 or 2% or 0% to attack me with questions all night?" Trump said in June. He reiterated this in his interview with Carlson. In addition, Trump described Fox as a "hostile network" in June, and he repeated something similar on X, pointing out that Carlson had also left that media outlet.

Polls and the Debate

Although Trump's team, or rather his former advisor Kellyanne Conway, will be remembered for "alternative facts," this time the former president is stating facts. Polls show that Trump has had no competition within the party for months. A Reuters/Ipsos poll shows that 47 percent of Republican voters want Trump as their presidential candidate, 13 percent want DeSantis, while all others are far from double-digit support.

Thus, the man facing a potential life sentence is still the most serious rival to current President Joseph Biden. Trump is accused of many offenses, from paying a porn actress for silence to conspiracy to defraud the state. This speaks to the state of Republicans, who have recently based their politics solely on opposing Democrats, rather than on their own policies, even though they are prepared for radical moves and rebellion against the authorities in Washington.

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By Armin Sijamić In the shadow of the legal disputes against former United States President Donald Trump, the world's greatest power is shaken by another crisis that threatens to escalate further. At the end of last month, the White House

Some American media outlets expected many more than 12.8 million people to watch the Republican debate. Eight years ago, when Trump participated, 24 million people watched the debate. It is quite clear that this reduced number of viewers is a result of the aforementioned interview, which also raises many questions about the status of television and social media.

The assessment by many that the debate without Trump was not worth watching was somewhat confirmed by the fact that his biggest rival, DeSantis, did not perform well. Simply put, the Florida governor proved to be a poor debater. The others blended into mediocrity without new policies, while they interrupted each other and the audience followed their performances with applause and boos. Those scenes looked completely different from those in Trump's interview, where the former president, without raising his voice, had the opportunity to say everything he wanted, even when he called some Democrats crazy and savages.

However, the debate did have a star, at least according to social media reactions. The youngest Republican contender for the presidential nomination ever, Vivek Ramaswamy, had several statements that no one present liked. At 38 years old, with a billion-dollar business empire and no political experience, Ramaswamy became the subject of numerous media outlets. With his energetic performance and bold statements, he marked the first Republican debate.

"I am the only person on this stage who has not been bought and paid for," Ramaswamy said, targeting the other candidates for having the support of the establishment or major donors. In addition, he advocates for peace in Ukraine by having Kyiv cede part of its territory to Russia, closing the border to illegal migrants, preventing American companies from doing business with Chinese ones, and redirecting aid intended for Kyiv to American citizens. He denies climate change.

Such a performance brought into focus some of the ideas he had previously expressed, such as raising the voting age to 25, with those aged 18 voting if they meet certain criteria. While some of his views sound like conspiracy theories, others are original. He observed that "the federal government pays single mothers more not to have a man in the house than to have one, which contributes to an epidemic of fatherlessness" and that this affects education and the family as a whole.

His views, which deviate even from conservative Republican principles, completely overshadowed former Vice President Mike Pence and Nikki Haley, who were expected to try to catch up with DeSantis, whose popularity has been declining in recent months. "Little Trump," as some media outlets call Ramaswamy, stole the show in the absence of the real Donald Trump.

Crisis on the Right and Confrontation with Biden

After Republicans suffered an unexpected defeat in the midterm elections in November, Republican Senator Josh Hawley wrote on Twitter that the old Republican party is "dead" and that it is "time to bury it" and build "something else." The debate of eight candidates and the separate interview of the favorite to win give additional weight to this statement.

In February, Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel stated that the party requires all candidates to pledge support for the winner of the intra-party elections in advance. She said at the time that those who do not sign such a statement would not be allowed to participate in the debates, which Trump refused. "It would depend," Trump said at the time, on who the nominee is.

The refusal to sign a statement of support for other candidates, the refusal to participate in the debate, and the refusal to agree to an interview that would overshadow the debate itself, indicate that things are getting complicated for the Republicans. Moreover, Trump is facing numerous indictments, and it remains to be seen how his cases will develop in the next fifteen months leading up to the presidential election.

In his interview with Carlson, Trump questioned whether Biden would participate in the elections due to his health, saying that he is physically unwell and mentally even worse. At the same time, Democrats are wondering if Trump will run for election given the numerous indictments and whether Republicans will deny him the nomination.

This time too, Trump did not offer "alternative facts": Concern for the president's health is also present among voters. NBS News reported at the end of June that as many as 68 percent of voters, according to polls, are concerned about Biden's physical and mental health. Although medical tests have shown that Biden is healthy, his gaffes, falls, slow gait, and speech are frequently repeated. On the other hand, Trump faces a potential life sentence. Since Biden and Trump are the main favorites to enter the White House, citizens will largely vote against one of them first and foremost.