Who won the 2nd GOP debate — DeSantis or Ramaswamy? Blaze host weighs in
Former President Donald Trump was again a no-show at the second GOP debate, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t full of good, old-fashioned RINO warmongering and barely intelligible yelling.
However, there were a couple of moments that might have appealed to voters, specifically concerning Ron DeSantis and Vivek Ramaswamy.
When DeSantis was asked how he planned to win over independent pro-choice voters in Arizona, he responded, “The same way we did in Florida.
“We won the greatest Republican victory in a governor’s race in the history of the state — over 1.5 million votes. We were winning places like Miami-Dade County [and] Palm Beach — that nobody thought was possible — because we were leading with purpose and conviction,” DeSantis continued.
But he wasn’t done.
“I reject this idea that pro-lifers are to blame for midterm defeats. I think there’s other reasons for that. The former president — you know, he’s missing in action tonight — he’s had a lot to say about that. He should be here explaining his comments to try to say that pro-life protections are somehow a terrible thing.”
“That’s exactly what I was thinking,” Keith Malinak tells Pat Gray, who also is enthused by DeSantis’ response.
DeSantis wasn’t the only one with a good answer. Ramaswamy might have stolen the show when he was asked about birthright citizenship.
“I favor ending birthright citizenship for the kids of illegal immigrants in this country,” Vivek told the crowd. “Now, the Left will howl about the Constitution and the 14th Amendment. The difference between me and them is I’ve actually read the 14th Amendment.”
“He’s the only candidate I’ve heard that has brought up this issue,” Pat Gray says. “And I’ve been saying this for decades: stop birthright citizenship.”
“If the kid of a Mexican diplomat doesn’t enjoy birthright citizenship, then neither does the kid of an illegal migrant who broke the law to come here,” Vivek continued. “As the father of two sons, it is hard for me to look them in the eye and say, 'You have to follow the law,' when our own government fails to follow its own laws.”
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CRINGE: Chris Christie taunts Trump for skipping debate by giving him a new nickname
Former President Donald Trump skipped out of the second GOP debate, and the other Republican candidates were not pleased.
The candidates took their hits at Trump and mentioned that he should have been on the debate stage, and Sara Gonzales sort of agrees.
“I personally, selfishly wanted him on the debate stage, throwing jabs, because that’s great content to watch. I also understand that if I were advising Donald Trump, I would have said ‘Don’t go, like, just let them have the JV tryouts. You’re up so far in the polls, why would you go?’” Gonzales says.
Chris Christie had one of the most notable Trump insults, which Gonzales jokes might have “just ended Donald Trump’s campaign right on the spot.”
“I want to look at that camera right now and tell you Donald, I know you’re watching. You can’t help yourself. I know you’re watching, okay? And you’re not here tonight, not because of polls and not because of indictments, you’re not here tonight because you’re afraid of being on the stage and defending your record,” Christie said, pointing at the camera.
“You’re ducking these things,” he continued, “and let me tell you what’s going to happen. You keep doing that, no one up here is going to call you Donald Trump any more — we’re going to call you Donald Duck.”
Christie ended his insult looking extremely pleased with himself.
Gonzales stifles a laugh, asking, “How does Trump survive that?”
“How many times do you think he practiced that in the mirror?” she asks her guests.
“A lot,” Jaco Booyens laughs.
“He’s probably been wanting to say that for years, right, it’s his moment.”
“He should fire whoever told him it was a good idea to say that,” Gonzales says.
Carl Benjamin disagrees with a smile, adding, “I don’t think he can; I bet he came up with it himself.”
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