The NewsNation channel, a kind of sweeping car that has been picking up misfits and journalists of dubious reputation expelled from other media, promised that the fourth and final debate between Republican candidates would address the big issue. This time the problem of the absentee, Donald Trump, the undisputed leader, would be addressed. The former president, who stayed at his house doing a fundraiser, must have had a great time. As they say in football, he won without getting off the bus.
After three debates and as many absences, his lead in the polls has only increased. From this room, held in Tuscaloosa (Alabama), he also emerged unscathed. Everything sounds fake. Only one of the four contenders on stage, Chris Christie, the last in line, the worst ranked, dared to accuse him of being a “dictator” and a “bully,” of being a bad president or of aspiring to a second term in the House. Blanca to take revenge on all those who are not a saint of her devotion. And there are many.
He was the only one who remembered that Trump may not be able to vote in November 2024 because he risks being convicted for the criminal cases in which he is accused, some as important, he recalled, as trying to dismantle the electoral system to perpetuate himself in power, “and pretends to be the victim.” The public expressed its disapproval of those words. “You cannot deny reality and deny it are four more years of Biden,” he added to the reproaches.
The other three were among some critical allusions, but covered with points of praise (Nikki Haley), false criticism accompanied by praise (Ron DeSanti) or simply exaltation, the cult of the leader (Vivek Ramaswamy) giving rise to demonstrably false conspiracy theories , as the assault on the Capitol was a work from within the sewers of the State, which absolves its promoter. None of the three questioned the perpetuation of the big lie of electoral theft or Trump’s anti-democratic rhetoric. This means that the public responds with boos and that deducts points.
The introduction of one of the moderators (Megan Kelly) seemed promising. She made a start in which she recalled that Trump is 50 points ahead in the polls to the second. In truth, it was just an excuse to highlight that Haley is eating up DeSantis in the race for second place.
So the matter became a scuffle, but not against that leader who was afraid to confront the others, but between the four contenders. Specifically, the issue was about giving a shot to Haley, a rising star. DeSantis compared her to George Soros, the evil businessman, according to the ultra conspirators, and even to President Joe Biden, even more demonic.
In turn, Ramaswamy called her corrupt, as much as Hillary Clinton, another infernal comparison very much in conservative taste. He also equated her with Biden because of her lapses and, throwing in some serious salt, assured that “being a woman does not mean being wise.”
“I love all the attention you are giving me, colleagues, thank you very much,” responded the former governor of South Carolina and former ambassador to the UN in the Trump administration. She responded to them, although she did not have the hitting ability of the previous occasions and gave the impression of clearing balls. She did have a dedication for Ramaswamy and disqualifications of him. “It is not worth my time to respond to you,” he concluded.
Christie, who came out to defend Haley against the attacks on her intellect launched by Ramasway, did not come into play until fifteen minutes had elapsed and she did so by exposing her opponents by focusing the topic on the absentee, who is as if he had no shade. “An angry, bitter man,” said the former governor of New Jersey of whom he was a friend before an enemy. “It’s often very difficult to be the only one on stage telling the truth,” he continued.
“The three of you are arguing as if this were something between us, you don’t dare to criticize the one who hasn’t come because he doesn’t have the guts to be here,” he said. “You don’t want to talk about ‘Voldemort’ (the bad guy from the Harry Potter saga) and the point is that he is not qualified to be president, he is a dictator and he wants to use the Department of Justice to seek revenge. In this electoral race there is no issue greater than Donald Trump and the (poll) numbers prove it,” he indicated.
What came then? Did any of the other three ask to speak? No. Elianna Johnson, another of the moderators, considered that they could not break her script and now it was time to defend Israel and attack Hamas and, incidentally, beat Biden at the expense of Iran or whatever.
Only after more than an hour had passed, after discussing the border and fentanyl, which go in the same package to perpetuate the falsehood that undocumented immigrants bring in drugs, and the economic situation, the moderators decided to bring up the topic of Trump. It was an exercise in birlibirloque.
The question was about the prohibition of entry of Arab immigrants, something that Haley assured that she would not implement although it should be controlled. It served DeSantis to ensure that “Europe is committing suicide with immigrants”, a circumstance to which he attributed the high anti-Semitism, while he denied that Trump is a dictator because he did not even fulfill his first term promises (he did not finish the wall with Mexico and he will do it).
And Ramaswamy took the opportunity to warn of the danger because “the illegals are already here.” Christie distanced himself, maintaining that the former president is serious when he says that he wants to be a dictator and concluded that he “does not care about the Americans, it is always Donald Trump first.”
Then came the moment when the three moderators completely lost control in the shouting exchange between the contenders. DeSantis, who once said that Trump was unfit because of his age to be president again, this time went off on a tangent. The most he dared was to say “time is invincible.” Christie was disgusted by the fact that she didn’t even dare to answer the question of whether Trump was qualified or not.
The one that got mixed up, with Ramaswamy, a true Trumpist, disgracing the others for having gone in 2016 or later to ask for Trump’s support, “licking his boots.” Total riot.
In his final message to voters, Christie persevered in denouncing the absentee. Haley marked a contrast in tone and leadership between her and Trump, “no drama, no revenge, no whining,” she concluded. DeSantis promised to “keep the faith” and warned that leadership “is not doing the easy thing.” And Ramaswamy? Well, the priority that he offered to his voters is to end “the lie” of climate change. “It’s the new religion, the modern substitute for the religion that is destroying America,” she said.
