Ramaswamy steals the show at Republican debate

As eight Republican candidates for president sparred Wednesday night in Milwaukee for their first primary debate under the looming shadow of an absent front runner Donald Trump, Indian American entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy stole the show.

Ramaswamy, at 38 the youngest candidate on the stage, a potential advantage that others sought to turn into a liability, began the debate with a broad smile on his face.

Though he’s well behind Trump, Ramaswamy has crept up in recent polls, leading to his position next to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis at center stage.

Starting with how his poor parents moved to the US and he had the ability to found billion-dollar companies, Ramaswamy quickly came into the attack mode.

“I’m the only person on the stage who isn’t bought and paid for,” he declared slamming his rivals as “super PAC puppets” who were using “readymade, pre-prepared slogans” to attack him.

READ: Nikki Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy clash over Israel before debate (August 22, 2023)

“Now is not the time for on-the-job training,” countered former Vice President Mike Pence saying, “We don’t need to bring in a rookie.”

Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie cut in during one of Ramaswamy’s most biting attacks. “I’ve had enough of a guy who stands up here who sounds like ChatGPT,” Christie said.

Ramaswamy’s opening line about being a skinny guy with a hard-to-pronounce name reminded him of former Democratic President Barack Obama, he added to disparage his rival.

Fellow Indian American, Nikki Haley, former South Carolina Governor attacked Ramaswamy’s argument that the US shouldn’t support Ukraine in its defense against Russia’s invasion.

“Under your watch, you would make America less safe. You have no foreign policy experience and it shows,” Haley told him, standing directly to his left.

It took more than an hour for the candidates to confront the elephant not in the room. And when they did, most of the participants raised their hands to say they’d support Trump even if he was convicted in a court of law.

Ramaswamy vowed to pardon Trump if given the chance. “Let’s just speak the truth. President Trump, I believe, was the best president of the 21st century. It’s a fact,” Ramaswamy said.

Read more on the presidential race

He stirred controversy lobbing some of the evening’s most strikingly personal slights: accusing Christie of auditioning for an MSNBC contract and Nikki Haley of having her eye on lucrative private-sector jobs.

The Republicans on stage did not downplay their strong opposition to abortion rights when given the opportunity. But there was a clear divide among the candidates over whether to push for a federal abortion ban.

Haley, the only woman on stage, called on her opponents to be honest with voters that a federal law that imposes an abortion ban on all states would likely never get through the narrowly divided Congress.

She said the issue should be sent back to the states. She also made a personal appeal. “We need to stop demonizing this issue,” Haley said. “We aren’t going to put a woman in jail … if she has an abortion.”

READ: We need an outsider in the White House: Vivek Ramaswamy(July 11, 2023)

On the other side, Pence, an evangelical Christian who has long fought against abortion rights, and Scott openly endorsed a national ban on abortions at 15 weeks at least.

Describing Haley’s call to find consensus on the issue in the states as “the opposite of leadership,” Pence said, “It’s not a states-only issue. It’s a moral issue.”

When the candidates were asked if they believed human behavior was causing climate change, most seemed to want nothing to do with the question.

Only two were unequivocal: Ramaswamy, who called climate change a “hoax,” and Haley, who said climate change was “real.”

Presenting a moderate voice, Haley highlighted herself as the only woman present.

“If you want something said, ask a man; if you want something done, ask a woman,” she said — a canned rendition of a Margaret Thatcher line.

At another point, Haley, a former United Nations ambassador under Trump, turned some of her fire on her own party about the country’s national debt.

“The truth isn’t that Biden did this to us, our Republicans did this to us, too,” Haley said.

Her most aggressive moments came during an intense back-and-forth with Ramaswamy about Ukraine aid. She came charging at him: “You have no foreign policy experience, and it shows.”

READ: As three Indian Americans vie for GOP presidential nomination, community weighs ideologies and policies (August 6, 2023)

Meanwhile, Trump, the early front-runner for the nomination, appeared in a pre-recorded interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson posted Wednesday night on X, the website formerly known as Twitter. The interview was posted online five minutes before the debate aired.

“Do I sit there for an hour or two hours, whatever it’s going to be, and get harassed by people that shouldn’t even be running for president?” Trump said in the 46-minute interview justifying his absence. “Should I be doing that at a network that isn’t particularly friendly to me?”

READ MORE:

Another Trump indictment adds uncertainty to already tumultous presidential race (August 2, 2023)

Hirsh Vardhan Singh becomes the third Indian American to enter presidential race (July 28, 2023)

Vivek Ramaswamy embraces American nationalist identity for 2024 race (June 7, 2023)

Vivek Ramaswamy: from suspected vanity campaigner to a contender (May 10, 2023)

Vivek Ramaswamy wants to raise the voting age to 25 (May 12, 2023)

Trump’s Indian American supporters decry “weaponizing” government agencies (April 4, 2023)