Ron DeSantis was winner of the first 2024 Republican debate
Only two questions mattered going into Wednesday night’s GOP primary debate.
Number one: Would any one viable candidate stand out among the crowd?
Number two: If the answer to the first was “Yes,” would our champion distinguish themselves by acting as the absent Donald Trump’s proxy or by setting up a favorable contrast with the frontrunner?
Trump’s decision to sit out the first forum of the 2024 primary season has been cast as a cautious, cowardly decision.
It was undoubtedly the latter, but despite the illusion of political safety, the choice also came with considerable risks.
If another candidate was able to command the stage, it would be a strong sign that the race is not predestined to end with Trump atop the ticket as so many pundits have suggested.
By not showing up, Trump risked ceding centerstage to a younger, less fearful rival.
Of course, not everyone on stage represented a genuine threat.
North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum’s performance wouldn’t have mattered even if it resembled Michael Jordan’s Flu Game.
Asa Hutchinson is a former governor whose message – though sometimes refreshing – is just too far out of step with the GOP primary electorate to take off.
And Chris Christie is one of the most remarkably unpopular political figures of the modern era.
It was up to the other five candidates – Ron DeSantis, Mike Pence, Tim Scott, Nikki Haley,, and Vivek Ramaswamy – to answer the evening’s operative questions.
DeSantis answered the first with a resounding yes.
And even if he didn’t go for the kill on Wednesday, DeSantis demonstrated a willingness – and ability – to take Trump on.
He’s playing for the top prize, not a place in Trump’s Cabinet, or more likely his court at Mar-a-Lago.
With his performance, DeSantis cemented himself as the man best suited to unseat Trump as the undisputed champion of Republican politics.
While so many of his colleagues onstage replied to questions with a decided lack of purpose, DeSantis spoke both fluently and passionately.
In an opening answer to a question about the populist anthem of the day “Rich Men North of Richmond,” he wisely pivoted from a musical dissertation to address a more fundamental question.
“Our country is in decline,” he stated plainly, but not indifferently.
“This decline is not inevitable, it’s a choice.”
A few moments later, he punctuated a picayune spat between Pence and Ramaswamy to make a grander point that resonates with both dyed-in-the-wool conservatives and the broader American electorate.
“Why are we in this mess? Part of it, and a major reason is because of how this federal government handled Covid-19 by locking down this economy. It was a mistake. It should have never happened!”
That’s an arrow in his quiver that should have both Trump and Biden shivering.
It was not a perfect performance.
He only admitted that Pence did the right thing by resisting Trump’s calls for him to betray the Constitution in January 2021 after he was prodded to do so.
But even then, his answer – which centered around looking forward to 2024 – was somewhat savvy.
He also fumbled over a question about Ukraine, failing to articulate a clear foreign policy vision.
Flaws acknowledged, it’s still hard to conclude that he wasn’t the most promising candidate on stage.
Pence is running an admirable, if quixotic, campaign.
In another life, Haley and Scott would be leading contenders, but the fact remains they show no sign of finding much traction in this one.
Ramaswamy – who tends to sound like he’s selling an experimental drug invented by Trump – was even more grating and obsequious than usual.
Perhaps he’ll get the press secretary job or talk radio gig he so obviously covets.
Judging from Wednesday night, DeSantis alone appears to have the stuff to beat Trump.
It may remain an uphill battle, but by beginning the climb, he may have the man at the top of the mountain second-guessing his decision to sit Wednesday out.
