As four candidates hotly debated issues ranging from foreign policy to gender identity to immigration, it’s clear Nikki Haley is seen as a threat and Trump still looms large even when he’s not there.
If a debate happens without the person who is the far-and-away front runner, does it make a difference?
That’s… debatable.
With just 39 days to go until the first nominating contest, the fourth Republican presidential one took place in Tuscaloosa, Ala. It was between former Trump U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former tech CEO Vivek Ramaswamy and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.
Former President Donald Trump, once again, was a no-show, but one thing was clear – one candidate emerged as the front-runner from this group.
More on that and other takeaways from the debate, hosted by the cable channel NewsNation, below:1. The debate clearly established Haley as the front runner… of the people running who aren’t Trump.
Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean knew he was seen as the man to beat – at least at that point in the 2004 Democratic primary race – during a debate that took place 20 years ago.
« The reason I knew I was the front-runner is because I keep picking buckshot out of my rear end all the time, » Dean said during that debate.
Of course, he didn’t win that nomination, but that moment was instructive for what happens sometimes in debates that signal who other candidates see as the main threat. On Wednesday night, that person was Haley.
She’s been surging in polls, money and endorsements, and DeSantis and Ramaswamy clearly wanted to try and pull her down. They repeatedly went after her, sometimes with some low blows from Ramaswamy in particular.
At times, Haley seemed frustrated with the barrage, but she did a solid job deflecting attacks, defending herself and parrying back.
« I love all the attention, fellas, » Haley quipped early on after criticisms from both men. « Thank you for that. »
« In terms of these donors that are supporting me, they’re just jealous, » she said later. « They wish that they were supporting them. »
And underscoring her current place in this contest, when Ramaswamy held up a notepad with « Nikki = Corrupt » written on it in Sharpie, she was undeterred.
Asked if she wanted to respond, Haley paused and said, « No. It’s not worth my time to respond to him. »2. Candidates continue to dance around Trump.
Early on, when Christie tried to bait the other candidates into either defending or criticizing Trump’s conduct and the charges against him, no one jumped in. That seemed to prove Christie’s point that Trump is « Voldemort » to the other candidates, the Harry Potter archenemy, who in the story is called, « He who shall not be named. »
Eventually, Haley and DeSantis did level some critiques of Trump – Haley on China and the national debt; DeSantis on his age and not delivering on some promises, in his view, like building the wall and making Mexico pay for it.
