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© Thomson Reuters 2023.With Trump absent, Republican rivals trade attacks at first 2024 debate
By Nathan Layne and Joseph Ax MILWAUKEE©2025 GPlusMedia Inc.
99 Comments
theResident
and that's all folks! No need for futher debate. Trump vs 'A Democrat' next November.
What a sad state of affairs. I genuinly fear for the US next year.
wallace
Of course, they would.
sunfunbun
6 of 8 candidates of the Republican party do not acknowledge the insurrection was encouraged by Trump nor believe Trump lost the election.
They are essentially saying they are not a part of the American system of democracy and traitors to the constitution in believing a fascist, voter fraud president would still be their choice, if convicted of the crime.
The Republican party is truly in shambles, and not a threat to the general election, and it won't matter who runs as a Democrat.
As unbelievably backward as the GOP is, they still think they're relevant, but this MO of lies and false narrative is biting them in the ass, and they're numbed to ignorance. They don't know who they are and completely lost their way, with policies that don't fit this generation.
Seeya, GOP, it's been (not so fun) knowin' ya.
UChosePoorly
Roy - I hear ya, lol. Off the top of my head - they need to be at least 35 years old, born in the US or on 'US' soil, have to have resided in the US for some period of time before their election run, and can't have been found to have engaged in insurrection. I think that's about it, honestly. Anyone fitting these qualifications can run for POTUS. Felonies, or even being locked up (except for insurrection-related crimes, I suppose) cannot prevent someone from running.
UChosePoorly
I should add that the individual States (who actually run the elections) may have additional criteria in order to be placed on their ballots, and of course, the political parties also decide who will run on their ticket.
fxgai
I do not want a Trump or Biden in the race, but who would deny the trump indictments are politically motivated?
I would prefer a sane alternative, please America… you guys are supposed to be leaders of the free world.
cuddly
Ramaswamy, Haley and Pence did well.
Will be interesting to see which will be Trump's running mate.
Jimizo
Supporting Trump or at least playing along with his toxic nonsense comes at a huge cost.
These people are either stupid or cynically playing to the stupid.
Not a good look either way.
Strangerland
As an outside independent observer, it does not appear to be politically motivated. From my outside, unbiased perspective, there is a clear delineation between the current administration and the department of justice who are the ones driving the federal charges.
Asiaman7
This debate was ruled by former South Carolina governor and U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley. Nice to see a politician with common sense.
"No one is telling the American people the truth. The truth is that Biden didn't do this to us. Our Republicans did this to us too. When they passed that $2.2 trillion COVID stimulus bill, they left us with 90 million people on Medicaid, 42 million people on food stamps. No one has told you how to fix it. I'll tell you how to fix it. They need to stop the spending. They need to stop the borrowing. They need to eliminate the earmarks Republicans brought back in. And they need to make sure they understand these are taxpayer dollars, it's not their dollars."
Haley fired back at former Vice President Mike Pence for touting that he would sign a 15-week abortion ban into law at the federal level — pointing out that there aren’t enough votes in the Senate to pass such a measure.
“No Republican president can ban abortions any more than a Democrat president can ban all those state laws,” Haley said. “Don’t make women feel like they have to decide on this issue when you know we don’t have 60 Senate votes.”
“It will take 60 Senate votes, it will take a majority of the House,” she said, suggesting it will be difficult, if not impossible, to pass such restrictions before arguing for finding areas of “consensus.”
“Can't we all agree that we should ban late-term abortions? Can’t we all agree that we should encourage adoptions? Can’t we all agree that doctors and nurses who don’t believe in abortion shouldn't have to perform them? Can't we all agree that contraception should be available? And can’t we all agree that we are not going to put a woman in jail or give her the death penalty if she gets an abortion?"
Stepping into a spat between former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and biotechnology entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy on climate change, Haley asserted, “This is exactly why Margaret Thatcher said, ‘If you want something said, ask a man. If you want something done, ask a woman.’”
Strangerland
She almost sounds sane. But isn't she also a pusher of The Big Lie?
Cards fan
I definitely do. On what basis do you claim they're "politically motivated?"
Blacklabel
Yep and the ones that didn’t aren’t even legitimate candidates and got rightly booed out of the building.
vivek roasted Krispy right out of the race that he was never even in except in his own imagination.
Strangerland
As an unbiased independent observer, it doesn't appear to me that these people have a healthy respect for democracy. It seems like something people in a healthy democracy would condemn.
lincolnman
As expected, a far-right clown show...replete with a screaming MAGA-maniac audience...
Hutchison continues to show he is the most experienced and rational on the stage...
Nikki Haley once again shows her strength as a candidate and ambition...so much ambition you better not turn your back...
Pence played to his strength - calm, steady, and with the crowd ready to hang him...
Christy shows why he is a better TV show talking head than a pol...no one is going to forget Bridgegate....
DeSantis continues DeSinking....he frowned the whole debate except the times his staff held up a sign and told him to smile...
Ramaswamy ups the crazy....praising Putin and telling Xi he can have Taiwan...
Tim Scott had a bad night - he weakly dodged answering most of the questions directly....
And Burgum has about as much chance as Liz Cheney...
It just solidified the Repubs will nominate the guy facing four indictments and 91 charges...and will likely campaign from a cell at Leavenworth...
sunfunbun
I find the American system broken because of the GOP. They've lied through my lifetime, starting with Nixon, ongoing to Bush and Cheney to Trump. They've cause ignorance world wide of people who probably didn't follow much politics in the US until Trump's full on lies attracted them.
Thus the negative comments toward the election and the US. Not that I care much, there is no doubt the two party system is flawed greatly, but peeps from other countries should understand where and why the lies are so off putting to liberals and open minded people in the states.
There's no doubt the Trump followers are nationalists who prefer unfair treatment to all people over their own narrative of America.
It'd be good to have each comment with an identification as to where posters are from, if there are cynical and/or disparaging comments toward the election, and why they're interested, and if they are, I'd suggest reading the internet first before saying there's no difference in who's elected.
That's 100% false to the USA and the world, and if cynicism and apathy are your thing as an approach to political opinion, it doesn't work if only to appease your silliness.
If you believe racism is good, misogyny is approved of, there is no global warming, COVID was and is a hoax, women should not be allowed to own their bodies, black lives don't matter, mistreatment of immigrants, fascism is what you want, and democracy in the states is not what you want, then go with the Trump., but don't be wishy washy and say 'duh, they're both bad'.
GuruMick
Well, Trump has to complete "THE WALL !!!!! " before his legacy is complete.
Peter Neil
cuddlyToday 12:31 pm JST
"Then, this issue does not concern you."
The actions and policies of a US president affect people in many countries. They can start wars, bomb people, impose tariffs, financially cripple countries with secondary and tertiary consequences to others.
fxgai
I am also an “an outside independent observer” in my own eyes, but tell me, in the USA, is it illegal to tell lies, or to be wrong about something?
I do not believe this be the case.
Is it illegal to question election results? No, I do not think so - something like that happened in the Gore Bush election, if memory serves. No indictment…
Also, let’s imagine if an election loser challenged the election results, and were found to be correct - like a challenge in tennis - would the person be indicted? In this case I believe Trunp was wrong (or lies) but neither of these would seem to be criminal matters.
Let voters decide. This is what a normal democracy would do.
wallace
They must believe there is a high chance Trump will be convicted and a felon.
Cards fan
Was he charged with "questioning" the election results? No. He was charged with conspiracy. He was charged with defrauding the US government by attempting to send an alternate slate of electors.
Strangerland
No, but as an unbiased outside observer, it seems clear to me that trying to frame an attempted coup to overthrow the government, using various lies and forms of fraud to try to cancel legitimate votes, is a minimization of what actually happened, and is clearly well beyond 'questioning the results'.
The rest of your post is based upon the predicate that Trump only questioned the results, and didn't in fact try to overthrow the government when he didn't get enough votes to win the election.
Blacklabel
Yes they do.
but the non Americans don’t care about Americans. they want a president that defers to their own country’s interests.
a president that gives them free stuff and defers to their problems as priority over what Americans want. Like Biden.
so a popular US president in “the world” is quite bad for the USA.
lincolnman
Illegal to question election results? No...it's immature, un-American, and definitely harmful to our democracy but not illegal...
Question for you: Gaining unauthorized access to secure local election offices to PLANT fake evidence of fraud on voting machines....is that illegal?
https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/13/politics/coffee-county-georgia-voting-system-breach-trump/index.html
plasticmonkey
I would not support Biden were he ever convicted of a grave crime. But then again, I am not a member of a cult that worships its leader no matter what.
Strangerland
America hates my the country of my passport. Or at least, the Democratic party members do, and the Republican party used to.
I haven't lived in my country since I was a child though. As I said, I'm an unbiased independent observer.
TokyoLiving
None of them are a match for Trump..
Bob Fosse
It doesn’t matter, 47 will be a Democrat.
CommodoreFlag
Majority of that money goes directly into the US economy (as opposed to foreign adventures and buying up carbon credits). The attacks on budget deficits as a whole by Rand Paul conservatives are just bad economics. The gold standard and balanced budget policies directly strangle economies and the middle class. The usual think tanks sponsor this rubbish despite all the lessons learned since the 1920s crash.
So there's how much public debt? How much of that is in the US private sector? Infrastructure projects? Paying the salaries of public sector employees. It doesn't just vanish into nothing. Cutting all these things with austerity - well then you lose all that output but you get to show everyone your lovely looking budget surplus. Hurray.
Government budgets cannot be run like households budgets. It's crazy that 100 years later some republicans still support this nonsense.
FYI - I'm also an outside independent observer.
Strangerland
As an independent unbiased observer, this is the kind of comment I see people in banana republics say when they want their authoritarian leaders to close the country off to democracy.
Strangerland
As an independent, unbiased outside observer, it does seem to me that people who lean towards the Democratic party in America seem less on an authoritarian bent than those who lean towards the Republican party.
Asiaman7
Hmm ...
February 2021
"We need to acknowledge [Trump] let us down. He went down a path he shouldn’t have, and we shouldn’t have followed him, and we shouldn’t have listened to him. And we can’t let that ever happen again. When I tell you I’m angry, it’s an understatement. Mike [Pence] has been nothing but loyal to that man. He’s been nothing but a good friend of that man. … I am so disappointed in the fact that [despite] the loyalty and friendship he had with Mike Pence, that he would do that to him. Like, I’m disgusted by it. -- Nikki Haley
May 2023
“It was not a beautiful day, it was a terrible day, and we don’t ever want that to happen again. I don’t know enough about each individual [rioter] but that’s my rule: If you break the law, you pay the price.” -- Nikki Haley
iraira
Blacklabel's blub is what passes for "Republican logic" today.
Clearly having other countries view the US positively and as being reliable is in the interests of the US.....duh.
>
MilesTeg
When you allow political partisanship to control and dictate your morals and everything in your life and it's not just GOP candidates. Many conservatives and liberals are mimics. Ironic that they say that those poor North Koreans are brainwashed. They're not that different.
wallace
MAGA logic has gone off the rails.
Strangerland
What about August 2023? Did she decry him at the debates tonight?
wallace
A convicted felon should never be the president.
Chico3
@ YouChoosePoorly - That is partly true.
2020hindsights
Good luck running with climate change is a hoax, Ramaswamy. That will alienate all the young voters.
2020hindsights
And good luck Tim Scott on supporting national abortion laws. That puts you out of the race. (Not that he had much support anyway).
2020hindsights
EvilBuddha
That would guarantee a Biden win.
bass4funk
Vivek by far was the best, DeSantis second, Christie’s balloon was deflated when Trump didn’t show up, so he should just bow out now.
bass4funk
Doubt it, especially now Biden looks like he will lose Hawaii, seriously what was this guy thinking?
2020hindsights
bass4funk
Yeah, but he got hammered by Haley on Ukraine and foreign policy. It was a humiliation.
TaiwanIsNotChina
I enjoyed watching Ramaswamy get pantsed by Pence and Haley. Neither are acceptable presidents but it was good to see the know nothings get left stuttering their way through explaining their treason.
Strangerland
As an independent unbiased observer, who looked up some Hawaii newspapers, and doesn't watch American biased right-wing media, I don't think your appraisal of the situation appears to be very accurate.
bass4funk
Nothing he can’t learn, Haley wasn’t always sharp in that realm either in the beginning as well. Baby steps, baby steps
No, I disagree, just a short fluke moment, he’s rising in the polls and will recover for the next debate in 34 days in Cali.
theResident
Actually thought Nikki Haley came over pretty well Sensibble opinions. However she's far too sensible for a Republican to ever make it past the first couple of Primaries.
theResident
....sorry. I'll edit that. far too sensible for the current crop of Republican hopefuls.
bass4funk
Well, we all have our opinions, thanks for sharing yours.
For the left that might be true, (not that it really matters) but they definitely need to worry about their own dirt pile-up that’s accumulating in DC
Strangerland
Is this like that time you guys said Trump would drain the swamp?
runner3
Nikki Haley was the only one that came across as sensible.
NotThe One
All I can think of is the Dominion lawsuit when they revealed that Tucker said he couldn't wait to be done with Trump and that he hated him passionately.
Vivek Ramaswamy tried to recycle an old line used by former President Barack Obama on Wednesday night ― but was called out for it by rival Chris Christie.
bass4funk
Yup, he had no idea how corrupt and ruthless the swamp was, not to mention the people trying to take him out, now he knows
bass4funk
That was then, now that he got to know him, he doesn’t feel like that anymore.
Bob Fosse
Agreed Haley would be the best choice. Too bad she’s a woman and smart and therefore has no chance.
Strangerland
Would you consider people convicted of crimes and/or indicted for multiple crimes to be part of the swamp, or swamp-free?
Jimizo
I think they have their faults but can be a useful way for people to have a look at candidates.
It’s a democratic thing.
I’d say it’s better than being a fan of more authoritarian regimes.
Jimizo
Tucker on the Road to Damascus, eh?
Can I interest you in a left-handed hammer in decent condition?
bass4funk
In Trump’s case as a populist non-politician, definitely nowhere near the political Washington establishment swamp.
dagon
I suppose from your Freidmanesque, supply side economic perspective that Trump also supports, Trump is a great businessman (with multiple bankruptcies and who brags about paying no taxes) and he is being unjustly prosecuted for fomenting a insurrection and people jealous about his very very genius business savvy?
Strangerland
And, would you consider people convicted of crimes and/or indicted for multiple crimes to be part of the swamp, or swamp-free?
Strangerland
It's kind of fun knowing that Tucker must have had to swallow his pride to act like he liked Trump for the interview.
dagon
All the GOP and a large percentage of the Democratic Party is a corporate money fueled machine for the degradation and exploitation of the American people.
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/3656002-republicans-block-bill-requiring-dark-money-groups-to-reveal-donors/
bass4funk
Naw, he doesn’t feel like that anymore about the former President now that he got to know him
bass4funk
He ran against it.
Strangerland
Is this like that time he said he believed Trump on air but was talking about how much he hated him behind the scenes? Or how is it different, and how do you know it's different?
dagon
Trump brought corporate oligrachs and carpetbaggers like corporate raider Carl Icahn and Amway heiress Betsy DeVos to run crucial departments like education and loot the commons.
https://www.newsweek.com/2017/04/14/donald-trump-cabinet-billionaires-washington-579084.html
Wallowing in the swamp indeed.
Cat Stevens
I always love it when an article comes out about Trump. People on the comment board lose their minds and all sense of objectivity goes out the window. The Trump Derangement Syndrome is alive and well.
Personally, I would like to see Desantis get the nomination, because he has the record to back up what he says...not that it matters to 99% of the people commenting on this thread. Despite what the legacy media says, ( Don's say gay, African AP course, one line from a course about slavery which was put together by a group of mostly black educators, etc...all lies) he is a good leader. Why is it that Florida has see such an influx of new residents from places like New York and California? Must be because he's a fascist;)
Trump supporters get upset about Trump being prosecuted because they see it as a 2 tiered justice system. Trump does something, he gets prosecuted. Democrats do similar things, and nothing happens. Hillary Clinton to this day, says the 2016 election was stolen. Nothing. Stacy Abrams, to this day, says the Georgia Election was stolen from her. Nothing. Hillary destroyed a hard drive with over 30000 emails, despite it being subpoenaed. Nothing. Hillary used a private email for her work, (which is illegal). Nothing. Joe Biden kept classified documents in his garage...he wasn't even president. Nothing. Obama's AG, Eric Holder, refused a subpoena by congress, which is illegal. Nothing. Cocaine was found in the White House. Nothing. Hunter BIden clearly enriched himself peddling his fathers name, and his father clearly knew about it...why would a family have over 20 shell companies. Oh right, the media isn't even covering that he's being investigated. Nothing. The list goes on. This is why Trump supporters support him. Only one side gets prosecuted and defamed by the media. In America, there isn't white privilege. There is only Democrat privilege.
bass4funk
Because he said so a few times. Not sure why libs like to take only the snippets they like an gloss over the rest, odd.
Strangerland
Ok, thank you for agreeing that these types of people are swampy. So how do you explain so many members of his inner circle being convicted of crimes, and so many more being indicted for crimes? Are they only swamp when it's not Trump, or is there something that makes these people not swamp other than Trump?
wallace
The only thing Trump drains are the bank accounts of his supporters.
bass4funk
I already explained that numerous times in detail.
They were swampy before Trump even came on the political scene.
Strangerland
Trump supporters get upset about Trump being prosecuted because they see it as a 2 tiered justice system. Trump does something, he gets prosecuted. Democrats do similar things, and nothing happens.
As an outside, unbiased observer, the actions that the Democrats claim have happened, such as Trump trying to overthrow the 2020 election, are supported by investigations that find evidence of the crimes, and grand juries that agree there is probable cause for a trial, whereas the things they claim the democrats have done, such as Hillary's emails, Benghazi, and Hunter Biden, never seem to have investigations that come to the same conclusion, and do not have charges pressed.
As an unbiased outsider, the crimes by one side are not comparable to the alleged but unsupported crimes by the other side, which is why you only see people on one side being convicted of crimes for the most part.
I can see how people caught up in the biased American media hype could be deceived into believing otherwise though.
Strangerland
But Tucker also in the past said he believed Trump publicly, while telling people in private that he hated him. As an unbiased, outside observer, if my media celebrity lied to my face in the past about liking Trump when he actually hated him, I'd have a hard time trusting that he likes Trump now. I guess some people don't worry about the "fool me once, fool me twice" rule though.
wallace
Trump has taken many tens of millions in donations from his supporters and more than 80% has gone on personal spending. His PAC is nearly out of cash to pay for all his legal bills.
Strangerland
I can buy that. So if Manafort and co were already swampy before Trump came on the political scene, why did he hire so many swampy people? Was he deceived by them all?
itsonlyrocknroll
Republican Debate AND Trump & Tucker Carlson Video Drop
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5RY7DaXki4
I believe this is the full debate, I slide the cursor, back and forth to make sure I took in the rhetoric, promises, demands, blame game fully.
One of these eight could be siting in the big chair.
One common thread throughout the same diction and delivery, as countless politicians or wannabe politicians have been hollering for as long as many on here can remember, regardless of left or right.
The pledges and promises, water into wine, the five loaves and to fishes moments, cure the blind and heal the sick, I swear I caught a couple of candidates promising to raise the dead,
For sure, If you borrow anything, you or your kith and kin will be held accountable to pay it back.
Good luck American I fear you are going to need it.
Then there is the prospect of Joe Biden to fall back on.
*bass4funk
Because it is
Yes
Well, you can’t vote in the US, but thanks for opining.
Yes, but thankfully the investigations continue
Depends
bass4funk
No, it’s not. I know the lib media loves to sap people in on that, the guy won’t run out of money, he knows what they’re doing so the guy has made contingency plans for this.
Strangerland
As an unbiased outside observer, who does not get into the biased American media, I haven't heard of these contingency plans. Can you enlighten us as to what they are, and where you got the information, so that we unbiased outside observers can have a better overall picture?
Strangerland
Oh, it wasn't an opinion as much as a direct observation.
Strangerland
As an outside, unbiased observer, I notice that the Republican investigations never seem to actually find the crimes they are in search of. It seems to me, as an outside, unbiased observer, that these investigations are instead political tactics, meant to spread propaganda and sully the other party, rather than actually be in pursuit of any real crimes.
Of course, I don't partake in biased American media, so I can understand how feeding off only one type of extremely biased media, you could be forgiven for thinking that there was actually some sort of conspiracy there.
bass4funk
Why would you?
I have to do your work for you? Not to mention it wouldn’t help as it doesn’t really matter. Yeah, if you can vote and make a difference, no problem.
I feel you
wallace
Trump’s Save America PAC raised over $15 million in the first half of 2023, spent over $30 million, and now has about $3.6 million.
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/08/01/donald-trumps-100-million-pac-has-just-3point6-million-in-cash.html
bass4funk
Forgiven by a non-American? Interesting…lol
wallace
you have zero knowledge of any of Trump's plans.
Strangerland
America has transparent media, and allows media from other countries to have reporters in America. I read plenty of unbiased news about America, as I find it interesting.
But, no media I've seen has reported any of these contingency plans, so I suspect you maybe got sucked into a conspiracy theory pushed by biased American media. The type that I, as an unbiased, outside observer, do not consume.
No, not at all. As an unbiased outside observer, I thought maybe you would want to put out some evidence to support your assertions, so that unbiased people wouldn't just discredit you comments as coming from a ideological extremist who makes his determinations based on party, rather than logic or democracy. By no means do you have to do anything. Of course, the skeptic in me does suspect that you might have been sucked into extremist media, not based on logic. Which is your right as an American! But as I say, unbiased me is skeptical.
Moderator: Please stop calling yourself an "unbiased outside observer" so many times.
bass4funk
No, neither do you, but I definitely do know basic legal common sense.
wallace
I am not the one who posted that I did. I proved you wrong about Trump's PAC being nearly out of cash.
What is legal common sense? Which law is that?
bass4funk
Not anymore, particularly on the left.
Why would the left even go near it, but thankfully even leftist like Bill Maher has been calling out these liberal pundits and people like Matt Taibbi, also Michael, Schellenberg
No, you suspected wrong…again.
That can’t vote in the US
When the day comes that you can vote in our elections I’ll listen to your talking points.
bass4funk
climate change didn’t even make the top priority concern for the majority of Americans
wallace
Trump has only about $100 million in cash.
Donald Trump forced to recall $60m from Super Pac as legal fees grow
Ex-president’s political action committee says it had less than $4m cash at end of June, having paid tens of millions in legal fees
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/aug/01/donald-trump-super-pac-legal-fees
TaiwanIsNotChina
This is why we have governments, to look out for the troglodytes.