Donald Trump’s Republican competitors are engaged in a tough exchange of blows and continue to try to position themselves as an alternative.
Tuscaloosa – One person was once again conspicuous by his absence: Von Donald Trump There was also nothing to be seen in the fourth TV debate of the official nomination of a candidate. As with the first three rounds of discussions, the former president, who was in most polls US election 2024 with more than 40 percentage points, the event will take place on Wednesday (December 6th local time). Instead, he chose to attend a charity event in his home state of Florida.
This time there were only four candidates on the television stage. In addition to Haley, there were Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. Several other candidates have already dropped out of the race due to their own poor prospects, such as former Vice President Mike Pence. Trump is currently the undisputed leader of the Republican field and is around 45 percentage points ahead of DeSantis and Haley. Ramaswamy and Christie are in single digits.
Fourth TV debate: Looking for an alternative to Trump
This is how the former UN ambassador stood Nikki Haley and the governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis the focus of the TV broadcast from Alabama. The two competitors vied to present themselves as the main alternative to the absent former president, who in the polls before the Republican nomination continues to lead by a wide margin in Iowa on January 15th. Personal attacks and topics like that Ukraine war, the Israel-Hamas conflict and the situation at the southern border of the USA shaped the debate. Tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie also courted Republican voters.
DeSantis sharply attacked Haley to show her growing support ahead of the nomination republican for the presidential candidacy. “She caves when the left comes after her, when the media comes after her,” DeSantis said, trying to explain why voters should support him despite Trump’s dominance. Among other things, he referred to the law he passed in Florida that prohibits transgender young people from receiving medical care for gender reassignment.
US election campaign: Haley is catching up with DeSantis
Ramaswamy, a close Trump ally, also criticized Haley. He called her “corrupt” and “fascist” because she makes money from speeches and sits on the Boeing board. “I love the attention, guys,” she replied. Her competitors are just jealous because, unlike them, she can count on the support of major donors. In current polls, DeSantis is narrowly ahead, but Haley is catching up in states like New Hampshire and South Carolina.
The tough exchange meant that Trump largely escaped unscathed – apart from Christie’s attacks, who made criticism of Trump the focus of his election campaign. “I’ve got these three people here who all seem to be competing with Voldemort – He Who Must Not Be Named,” Christie said, referring to the unmentionable villain from the Harry Potter books. “They just don’t want to talk about him.” In response to Trump’s remark in an interview with Fox News on Tuesday that he would become a dictator “only on day one” of his re-election, Christie said Trump was “unfit” for the office. For this he received boos from the conservative audience.
Otherwise, all four participants repeated their previous message of political toughness, for example towards China or Iran. Ramaswamy, who is not given any real chances in the race and who sometimes tries to rap during election campaign appearances, also once again came out with all sorts of radical conspiracy theories.
Anyone who wants to become the Republican candidate must win primaries in the individual states. The first vote of its kind in the state of Iowa is January 15th. The actual presidential election is finally at the beginning of November 2024. (skr with agency material)
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