News

Republican Primary Debates Begin

Adelyn Rabbitt, Co-Editor-in-Chief

October 23, 2023

First Republican Debate: 2024 Presidential Election

With the 2024 United States presidential election upon us, debates have begun for the presidential candidates. There have been two Republican party debates so far, but no Democratic party debates. Due to the fact that Joe Biden is the current president and is a democrat, there are no candidates for the democratic party that come close to the favor of Biden. Therefore, there is no purpose in conducting a debate.

The first debate between the 2024 Republican presidential candidates occurred in Milwaukee on Wednesday, August 23, 2023. The candidates attending totaled eight people, listed below.

Mike Pence, former Vice president to Trump
Ron Desantis, current governor of Florida
Nikki Haley, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under Trump
Tim Scott, a South Carolina senator
Chris Christie, former New Jersey governor
Vivek Ramaswamy, entrepreneur from Cincinnati, Ohio
Doug Burgum, governor of North Dakota
Asa Hutchinson, former Arkansas governor

(More information can be found concerning these eight candidates on PBS.)

Former President Donald Trump did not attend, and has stated that he will skip every upcoming debate as well. He skipped previous debates for the 2016 election and the 2020 election, so this is not uncommon for him. Trump instead filmed an interview with Tucker Carls that aired the same night as the debate took place.

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Some major takeaways from the debate are as follows. Overall, DeSantis and Ramaswamy have closely supported and represented Trump’s policies, while Christie and Hutchinson have opposed Trump’s rhetoric in multiple areas and have brought up new ideas. The other candidates have remained more neutral on the topic of Trump. Ramaswamy is the outlier candidate, as he is the only one who has held no political office in his life thus far. In addition, his campaign is self-paid and he is much younger than the other candidates. The others on stage utilized these facts as a way to use Ramaswamy as a punching bag all night, making statements about Ramaswamy’s age and lack of experience. Notably, Chris Christie commented, “I’ve had enough already tonight of a guy who sounds like Chat GPT standing up here”. Another standout candidate was Haley, who was the only woman on stage. She memorably quoted Margaret Thatcher, “If you want something said, ask a man. If you want something done, ask a woman.” While supporting abortion restrictions, Haley made a stand against the federal ban, claiming that there are more pertinent issues in the United States currently that should be addressed rather than focusing so heavily on abortion laws. The entire recorded debate can be found here.

The second Republican Presidential debate occurred on September 27. There was one less candidate there, due to Hutchinson not qualifying. The other seven candidates were left to hold up the stage.

Some major points include Christie calling Donald Trump “Donald Duck” and claiming that Trump was not at the debates because he was scared of trying to defend himself. Ramaswamy claimed that “transgenderism” in children is a mental health issue. Haley claimed that Scott has gotten nothing done in his years in political office. The entire recorded debate can be found here.

The next debate is scheduled for November 8 in Miami, Florida at 8 p.m.. It is unclear as to who out of the seven remaining candidates will meet the requirements as of now, but Trump, DeSantis, Ramaswamy, and Haley have already qualified.

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About the Contributor

Adelyn Rabbitt, Co-Editor-in-Chief

Adelyn Rabbitt, known as Addie by most, is a senior at John Adams High School and Co-Editor of The Tower. This is her second and final year writing for The Tower, and she is very excited about what this year will hold. She values equality and education, as well as enjoying every moment, even when she’s in school. This marks her fourth year on both the John Adams Swim Team and in Mock Trial, with each season culminating in her team's participation in the Mock Trial State Competitions. In her first two years at John Adams, she also participated in track and soccer. In addition, she greatly enjoys going to school events, such as football games and other productions. Addie considers some of her biggest accomplishments to be going to state three years in a row with her Mock Trial team, “For Da Gram” (this year they will win the State Competition), taking multiple International Baccalaureate classes, and getting tickets to the Eras Tour to see Taylor Swift in concert (it was the best experience of her life). She also highly values all of the friendships she has made in high school and throughout her life. Addie’s now-graduated friend Jasmine Kazmirski says, “Adelyn is a very compassionate and accepting person. She is one of the most caring people I’ve met in my life.” Addie loves to be with others and is a very socially-minded person. The idea of college is feeling very daunting to Addie at the moment, though she knows that she will thoroughly enjoy it and thrive in that environment when the time comes. She has not made a decision on her college choices yet, though she is leaning toward choosing Indiana University at Bloomington. As for possible majors, she is considering many different possibilities and is too indecisive to choose one at the moment. The same goes for career pathways, though she has definitely ruled out anything in the medical field, due to her squeamish reaction to any bodily injuries or blood. Outside of school, Addie works multiple jobs. She is certified in CPR and works as a swim teacher as well as a lifeguard during the summer. During the school year, she works at a coffee shop called DeLo’s at the local farmers market. In her free time, she likes to read, hang out with friends, listen to music constantly, and go on long walks. She is a tote bag enthusiast and is rarely seen without one. She is very excited for her final year as a reporter for The Tower, being an editor and writing on topics that she is passionate about.