Eight Republican presidential candidates clashed over abortion, foreign policy, and the economy on Aug. 23, and while the night ended with no clear favorite, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy stole the spotlight in the contest to challenge former President Donald Trump, the undisputable favorite to win the party’s primary election.
It remains to be seen whether Mr. Ramaswamy’s success at standing out will resonate with the voters. Should he catch up to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, the field of the runner-ups would be even less defined than it was prior to the debate.
President Trump, with a 41-point lead over Mr. DeSantis and more over the rest of the field, opted to skip the debate.
Capitalizing on his grip on the mainstream media he openly detests, the former president diverted some attention from the debate in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, by opining on acutely controversial topics in an interview with Tucker Carlson: impeachment by his own party, assassination, and civil war.
President Trump’s opponents, meanwhile, largely avoided mentioning him until the hosts posed a direct question about the four indictments against him.
Here are the five takeaways from the debate.
Ramaswamy Steals the Spotlight
Mr. DeSantis and Mr. Ramswamy shared the podiums on center stage based on their positions in the polls, though both are well behind President Trump. Most of the attacks from other candidates nonetheless landed on Mr. Ramaswamy, handing him opportunities to respond and, with that, more total time on the microphone than the Florida governor.
Mr. DeSantis took the stage after several months of declining polling. In President Trump’s shadow, the other candidates likewise struggled for relevancy, with Mr. Ramaswamy emerging as the leader of the pack, challenging Mr. DeSantis for second place, based on polling averages maintained by RealClearPolitics.
The Florida governor, who did not engage in any heated exchanges with the others on stage, appeared to have been outshined by Mr. Ramaswamy when the entrepreneur took anti-establishment and contrarian positions.
Mr. Ramaswamy was the only candidate to hold his hand up when everyone was asked whether they’d stop sending money to support Ukraine in the war against Russia.
He was also the first to boldly raise his hand when the hosts asked the debaters whether they’d back President Trump in case of a conviction. The other candidates appeared to glance around and take his lead.
