Takeaways from the GOP Debate

An astonishing 24 million people watched Fox News on Thursday night as ten Republican candidates participated in the first GOP presidential debate. On Friday morning, we were met with hot takes from various pundits, loudly declaring who won and who lost. For many, Carly Fiorina, who didn’t even participate, was the big winner due to her performance in the earlier debate for minor candidates. For others, it was former Ohio governor John Kasich, whose bland and uncomfortable performance apparently struck a chord with some viewers. Liberals seemed to think that Donald Trump had won—a strange opinion to have considering he mostly babbled nonsensically and generally seemed like a fool. However, this phenomenon seems less strange given the uncomfortable fact that Trump and Bernie Sanders hold not dissimilar opinions on things such as health care and trade.

In the end, all the talk about who won and lost is somewhat silly; the actual start of the primaries is a long way off and this debate will soon be forgotten. Due to the debate’s timing and the size of the field, it’s tough for a candidate to greatly improve his or her standing, barring a major gaffe or a truly amazing performance. None of the candidates really stuck out with the obvious exception of Trump, though that was more for entertainment reasons than political ones.

While no candidate saw their stock shift that significantly last night, there were still two important takeaways from the debate. First and foremost was Trump’s admission that he would consider running as a third party candidate. This should surprise no one; Trump is an egomaniac who cares about nothing other than himself and his brand. While not surprising, this admission is still frightening for conservatives, as a popular, right wing independent would likely hand the election to Hillary Clinton. The rest of the candidates know this (and I suspect Trump does as well), which is why they wouldn’t run as independents. But unlike most of his fellow candidates, Trump has no loyalty to the Republican Party. He is not a politician and he is barely even a Republican, as demonstrated by the large sums of money he donated to Hillary Clinton when she was a New York senator. His lack of loyalty combined with his outsized ego means gifting the election to the Democrats wouldn’t bother him in the slightest. If he feels running as an independent benefits him, he will not hesitate to do so.

The other big takeaway from the debate was that, while it may lack a clear frontrunner, the Republican field as a whole looks extremely strong. Assuming that Trump doesn’t run as a third party candidate and screw everything up, there are multiple candidates capable of beating Hillary Clinton in an election. Jeb Bush has executive experience and is in touch with the American public on immigration. Marco Rubio also has a strong record on immigration, and holds the potential to sway minority voters. Scott Walker has faced constant vicious opposition yet still won multiple elections, including a recall election, as governor of Wisconsin. Meanwhile, Chris Christie has a strong track record as a leader of the Republican Party. Beyond the front-runners, firebrands like Ted Cruz and Rand Paul can excite younger voters in a way Republicans haven’t been able to for years. And, while Trump may eventually prevent a Republican from becoming president, he brought viewers to the debate, where the candidates stepped up and proved that the Republican field is not the laughingstock it has been made out to be.

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