Source: The Washington Post / Getty
Last night, the first GOP debate of the 2024 presidential race took place at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee.
There were roughly 4,000 people in attendance. Eight candidates took the stage, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson.
Going into the debate, DeSantis was expected to be the main target of attacks from the other candidates on stage. But DeSantis was reduced to an afterthought as the candidates went after Ramaswamy.
Vivek received blows from former Vice President Mike Pence, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. While they questioned his age, his experience and his background, he rolled with the punches and benefited overall from the attention he received as he addressed the questions directly and articulated his stance on various issues.
Vivek was also confident in expressing his support for Donald Trump when the moderators asked for a show of hands on who would support the former president if he were to win the nomination. DeSantis on the other hand only raised his hand after looking to his left and right for reassurance.
Trump, who chose not to participate in the debate due to his wide lead in the polls, did an interview with Tucker Carlson on X to counter the debate. The 46-minute prerecorded interview with the former Fox News host reportedly crushed the GOP debate in viewership.
