Is Trump a coward?
The eight Republican presidential candidates to qualify for a spot on the debate stage in Milwaukee have been announced. RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel confirmed the list of candidates Monday.
McDaniel released a brief statement.
“The RNC is excited to showcase our diverse candidate field and the conservative vision to beat Joe Biden on the debate stage Wednesday night,” RNC chair Ronna McDaniel said in Monday night’s statement.
The eight Republicans who made the stage are Ron DeSantis, Tim Scott, Chris Christie, Vivek Ramaswamy, Nikki Haley, Mike Pence, Doug Burgum, and Asa Hutchinson. Donald Trump will be a no-show. The question is – who will take the most fire? Will it be Ron DeSantis or will it be Donald Trump? Maybe Vivek Ramaswamy?
Vivek is catching on with younger voters. He’s an interesting candidate but his inexperience comes through at times. He’s a smooth talker and can speak without notes at length on most topics, which is a handy skill to have in politics, but his foreign policy ideas need some reality checks. His thoughts on Taiwan and Israel, for example, give me pause. Nikki Haley will likely have a zinger or two ready for him during the debate.
Haley served notice Monday, criticizing Ramaswamy for questioning the U.S. relationship with Israel. “Between abandoning Israel, abolishing the FBI, and giving Taiwan to China, his foreign policy proposals have a common theme,” she said. “They make America less safe.”
On Saturday, Chris Christie called Trump a coward for skipping the debate. He and Asa Hutchinson will be the two vocal anti-Trumpers on the stage. Christie thinks he can play to Trump’s ego and taunt him into participating in debates but this time around, it probably won’t work. Trump just goes to social media and slams Christie or whomever he thinks is being mean to him.
Is Tim Scott going to prove to be a sleeper in this race? He is ranked number three in Iowa now. Trump is still 23 points ahead in Iowa. However, Iowa is interesting because the majority of likely caucus voters are persuadable. They are open to supporting someone other than Trump.
Tim Scott received a notable endorsement in Georgia on Tuesday. An endorsement on the eve of the first debate came from former U.S. Sen. Mack Mattingly. He is the first elected official in Georgia who held federal office to endorse Scott. Only a few prominent state Republicans have chosen a candidate to endorse.
