In one of the few memorable moments from a debate that was essentially a battle for second place in the polls behind former President Donald Trump, Fox News moderators asked for a show of hands among the eight GOP presidential candidates on the stage of who would support Trump if he does indeed go on to be the party's nominee.
Vivek Ramaswamy was the only decisive response, raising his hand immediately. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis scanned the other reactions before tentatively raising his hand while a couple other limp hands would soon followed.
The candidates had been required to sign a pledge vowing to support the eventual nominee before joining Wednesday's debate.
Many pundits said Trump got a win just by staying away from the debate stage. His massive 30-plus point lead is not expected to be threatened after Wednesday's Fox News GOP showcase.
Meanwhile, those who did watch the debate and the corporate media coverage of it could confirm any doubts they might have had about the never-Trumper state of mind in the once credible news and political establishments. Even the "conservative" Washington Times attempted to throw former President Trump under the bus: Winners, losers in the first GOP presidential debate.
In an interview with Tucker Carlson which was posted to X as the debate was broadcast, Trump said to Carlson: "You know that better than anybody, I think it was a terrible move, getting rid of you. You had number one in television, and all of a sudden, we’re doing this interview, but we’ll get bigger ratings using this crazy forum that you’re using, than probably the debate or the competition."
Early indications are that the interview was seen by perhaps hundreds of millions throughout the nation and world.
If any of the MAGA crowd was tuning in to the debate, they would have likely been appalled that no questions were asked regarding election integrity or ballot operations.
But former Vice President Mike Pence, languishing near the bottom in the polling, got some love from Fox as the other candidates were asked if Pence had done the right thing by certifying the electoral votes on Jan. 6, 2021.
Pence has said during his campaign that he did not have the constitutional authority to follow Trump’s marching orders.
Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina said Pence “absolutely” did the right thing.
DeSantis danced around the question for a bit before making it clear that “Mike did his duty.”
Nikki Haley said she believes Pence “did the right thing” and said, “I do think we have to give him credit for that.”
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, meanwhile, had nothing but praise for Pence, saying he “stood for the Constitution and he deserves not grudging credit, he deserves our thanks as Americans for putting his oath of office and the Constitution of the United States before personal, political and unfair pressure.”
Christie then added: “The argument we need to have in this party …. is we need to dispense with the person who said we need to suspend the Constitution to put forward his political career. Mike Pence said no and he deserves credit for it.”
With the exception of Ramaswamy and DeSantis, the GOP candidates all seemed to agree that the U.S. should continue funding Ukraine in its war with Russia.
The Federalist's Mollie Hemingway noted on social media: "Vivek and DeSantis say they oppose Biden McConnell plan of endless funding for proxy war against Russia with no strategy. Others agree with Chris Christie that American taxpayers must keep funding despite no plan."
Further putting the drama into a reality-based context,Jack Posobiec of Human Events posted: "VIVEK: NEWS FLASH, MIKE PENCE, THE USSR DOESNT EXIST ANYMORE ... VIVEK: THE REALITY IS, TODAY, UKRAINE IS NOT A PRIORITY FOR THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA."
Posobiec also noted that the debate audience was "FULL of neocons. Fox stacked it. How you can tell the GOP debate crowd is filled with normies: They booed when Vivek loudly proclaimed that the climate change agenda is a hoax. There's no doubt in my mind the shills in the crowd would have turned on Trump no matter what he said. This crowd was a setup for Trump. He saw through it and didnt take the bait."
Fox News reportedly ordered security to block Donald Trump Jr. and Kimberly Guilfoyle from the post-debate spin room when they attempted to enter after the debate.
Posobiec went on to add: "Glad Trump brought Chris Wallace up last night with Tucker. Chris Wallace participated in the election interference against the American people. Murdoch Post has jumped the shark, fallen into the water, and been eaten by the shark [see below]. I’m stunned by how little govt weaponization was discussed. Like planning a Sunday brunch in the middle of Cat V hurricane."
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