Skipping 2nd debate disrespects GOP – and voters
From my home in Michigan, this week has looked a lot more like September 2024 than September 2023.
President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump have stopped by this pivotal battleground state to rally voters. They are using the ongoing UAW strike as the rationale, but their sights are set on something else. Biden even released a Michigan-focused ad targeting Trump ahead of the Republican's visit on Wednesday evening to metro Detroit.
Next year's presidential election is at stake, and both Biden and Trump are starting to act like the primaries are over and they're heading for the general election.
Yet, that's not where we are. It's still early in political terms, and plenty of voters haven't made up their minds – many don't want a 2020 rematch of Biden and Trump.
That's why Wednesday's Republican presidential primary debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California still mattered, and why I watched with interest what the seven candidates on stage had to say.
A second Trump-less debate. Why should we care?
Trump, as he did in the first GOP debate last month in Milwaukee, decided to do something else rather than face his opponents for the nomination – whom he treats as annoyances rather than actual competition.
The night of the last debate, he had an interview with former Fox News star Tucker Carlson.
This time? Trump scheduled a competing event in Michigan, speaking during prime time to autoworkers and others at a Detroit-area auto parts supplier (one not represented by the UAW). Trump scheduled his visit to Michigan before Biden.
It's an act of arrogance for Trump to skip these debates organized by the Republican National Committee, which wanted him there, and not showing up is disrespectful to the other candidates and to voters.
While it's true that Trump is by far the leading GOP candidate at this point (he's up by 40-some points in national polls), the American people deserve to hear his plans for the future in a candid forum like this, especially as he faces four criminal indictments and other legal setbacks.
Just this week, a judge in New York ruled in a civil lawsuit that Trump built his business empire on fraudulent claims of overvaluing his assets and net worth.
I think a lot of voters are sick of his baggage and want someone else to represent them in 2024.
Several polls have highlighted that sentiment. For instance, a new one from CBS News/YouGov showed that GOP voters in Iowa and New Hampshire are open to someone other than the former president. In Iowa, 20% of voters are considering only Trump, while 48% are choosing between him and someone else; 31% are not planning to vote for Trump at all. The numbers are similar in New Hampshire.
A wish for more Reagan conservatism, less Trump populism
Voters will need to get to know their other choices, however, and that's a reason why Wednesday night's debate mattered.
On stage at the Reagan Library, the candidates started out with a bit more camaraderie than they had in Milwaukee, but it quickly devolved to a lot of talking over one another. The moderators didn't seem to help the chaos.
Still, the candidates covered a lot of ground on issues that Republicans (and all Americans) care about: the economy and inflation, immigration, crime, school choice and foreign policy.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has maintained his second place status in the primary race, had a decent night, with strong answers that pointed to action he had taken as governor. He didn't really have a viral moment, but he came off as competent and informed.
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, whose campaign has started to gain more traction, didn't have the kind of standout performance she had in the first debate, but Haley – who's also a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations – held her own.
Otherwise, most of these contenders represent a more traditional conservative approach to governing – which is in direct contrast to front-runner Trump.
Trump has harnessed his own brand of populism, and that's become conflated with “conservatism” among too many Republicans.
Without Trump on stage, the candidates didn't get a chance to contrast their philosophies and ideas with the only opponent who really matters.
Former President Reagan's leadership, positivity and true conservative ideals should be a model for this presidential race. Some of the candidates on the stage Wednesday are capable of that kind of governing.
One thing is certain: Trump is not.