The first GOP debate was a clown show

Kofi Mframa, Opinions Editor

From the onset, the word “democracy” being placed under “Fox News” is oxymoronic at best, but what more is to be expected from a Republican Party debate?

Eight republican presidential hopefuls gathered in Milwaukee on Aug. 23 to interrupt the moderators and ignore the questions asked. It made for an interesting and entertaining debate but ultimately withered away the modicum of hope I had for the future of democracy in this country.

The debate opened with a discussion about the country’s economic struggles as of late, citing that more than 65% of Americans say the country is headed in the wrong direction. They blame “Bidenomics” and included footage of locals complaining about inflation, but Biden doesn’t even have control over inflation like that.

For some reason, the moderators used the song “Rich Men North of Richmond” by Oliver Anthony as a jumping off point.

The song, which sits at the top of the Billboard Hot 100, is being heralded as an anthem for the working class even though it punches down on those receiving welfare and is weirdly fatphobic.

“God, if you’re 5 foot 3 and you’re 300 pounds / Taxes ought not to pay for your bags of fudge rounds.” No wonder republicans love it so much. 

Florida Gov. Ron Desantis received the first question, and he gave his response like he was reading it for the first time. He said something about sending Joe Biden to a basement and the struggles of middle America working hard and still not being able to afford basic necessities — fair — but he undercut this by making jabs at Hunter Biden’s spending habits.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie finally left the beach to join the political race. Sounds like he should probably go back given the boos he got from the audience. After boasting about New Jersey’s tax cuts, he was quickly reminded of his state’s second lowest credit rating in the nation under his governance. 

Some random guy from North Dakota was there. Apparently he’s the state’s governor and goes by the name Doug Burgum. I’m not alone in being unfamiliar with his existence as 90% of voters don’t know who he is either, according to NBC News.

Mike Pence tried to jump in when he wasn’t even mentioned — like girl, mind your business.

Political newcomer, Vivek Ramaswamy, the obvious “winner” of this ordeal, introduced himself with his best Joel Osteen impression. I will admit, I was slightly moved, not by the content but by the delivery.

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who positioned herself as a pragmatist throughout the debate, threw the blame for overspending back on the Republicans — as she should.

When Pence finally got a chance to answer a question about government overspending he just didn’t answer it; which seemed to be a common occurrence throughout the debate. 

Ramaswamy’s answer to the government’s money issue was to “drill, frack, burn coal and embrace nuclear,” so it’s obvious he has a deep concern for the climate.

This concern is proven even further when he claimed that more people are dying of climate change policies than actual climate change, which is so false I can’t even begin to explain it or rationalize how anyone could come to such a preposterous conclusion.

For the duration of the debate, Ramaswamy received licks left and right for being a political outsider but it seldom slowed him down from spouting the most ridiculous, baseless malarkey like shutting down the FBI.

Gov. Christie dragged Ramaswamy for his ardent defense of former President Donald Trump, but he lost me with the comparisons of Ramaswamy to former President Barack Obama. According to Christie, both Obama and Ramaswamy introduced themselves as “skinny guys with odd last names” at their first respective presidential debates. The latter part of that statement is lowkey giving racist and I certainly wouldn’t put that past the New Jersey governor.

Trump was too busy serving face in his recent mugshot to attend the debate but his absence certainly didn’t go unnoticed. There was a question asking if candidates would still support Trump as the party’s choice even if he were to be convicted in a court of law. 

Christie was booed heavily for denouncing Trump’s conduct. Ramaswamy, who was first to show their support for Trump, claimed that he “was the best president of the 21st century” which…I don’t even have the words for that. 

Regardless of the off-kilter things said, this debate was a litany of lies and falsehoods.

Desantis’ claim that crime is at a 50 year low in Florida is based on incomplete data. according to the Washington Post. Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said that President Biden is “pushing for a Democrat proposal which is in essence abortion on demand through the term.”

The proposal he’s referring to, the Women’s Health Protection Act, failed to pass the Senate. Similar to Roe v. Wade, the act would have abortion restrictions after viability, except when a pregnancy threatens a woman’s life, according to the New York Times.

There’s so much more that occurred that I don’t have the emotional energy to get into. It’s sad that half of the country is going to vote for one of these people and the thought of one of them possibly becoming president makes me more depressed and hopeless than I already am. 

God help us all.