The second GOP presidential debate was garbage. America deserves better | Opinion

The GOP debate Wednesday night was garbage. Sure, they’re never great, but this was worse than normal and certainly far behind the first debate a few weeks ago. Americans deserve better.

Fox News tried to throw too many issues to too many people. They offered dozens of questions in a two-hour span that lacked focus and heft and spanned way too many subjects, from China to crime to education. Some of the questions were about complicated policy issues — like immigration — while one near the end was about which candidate would vote the other ‘“off the island?” A nod to “Survivor” in a presidential debate? Sorry Fox News, America is not a game show.

Sorry, but as Megyn Kelly said, the entire spectacle was beneath the dignity of a presidential debate.

With seven candidates on stage, no one got to answer every question in any kind of substantive way. Each candidate got an entirely different question, and sometimes, a second would jump in to answer, before he got scolded. Folks spent many minutes talking over each other to the point that answers weren’t decipherable at all. Moderators should have jumped in but often did not until it was pure chaos.

Most, if not every single politician on the stage waxed eloquently about “rule of law” or being “law and order” Republicans, yet none of them bothered to stop talking at the sound of Fox News’ annoying bell. Even the moderators didn’t correct anyone until more than halfway through when Dana Perino started threatening to cut mics.

It’s hard to learn about everyone’s positions or get a real understanding of a person’s character and demeanor when everyone is talking at once and over everyone else like a bunch of fourth grade kids during “show and tell” day.

As awful as it was, the debate did reveal a few things about the candidates: Businessman Vivek Ramaswamy likes to hear himself talk but has no idea what he’s talking about. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis didn’t say anything to increase his profile, but he didn’t hurt it, either. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former Vice President Mike Pence and Sen. Tim Scott faded into the background. They’re likely out for sure.

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley took the prize for the most zingers when she, at one point, told Ramaswamy to his face, “Every time I hear you, I feel a little bit dumber.” While some pundits posted on “X,” formerly known as Twitter, that the comments were mean and cruel, let’s be hones: If a man had said it, people would be laughing. When a woman does it, she’s considered angry or shrill.

I’ll go ahead and give Haley credit. It was witty and perfectly-timed and Ramaswamy needed to be destroyed. He is full of faux-charm, nothing short of Trump 2.0. Kudos to Haley for having the guts to say what everyone else on that stage and watching elsewhere was thinking.

Doug Burgum, North Dakota’s governor, is probably one of the most substantive candidates. He spoke from experience about running a business and a state. But he probably won’t even get a bump in the polls because he isn’t charming or terribly attractive, despite his intelligence and emotional IQ.

And that is really the biggest problem with debates in general, but particularly Fox’s hurried, jumbled, disorganized format. The kind of candidates who should be considered for president — people with experience, leadership skills, intelligence and zeal — won’t get enough consideration because often those people aren’t the most camera-ready. They aren’t charming and charismatic. They really don’t have zingers ready or consultant-prepared quotes.

The kind of person America wants to watch run for president and the kind of person who actually needs to be the president are really two different people.

So, here we are, in the middle of a struggling economy, with a porous border and an education system in shambles, watching Haley rip Ramaswany to shreds, Burgum educate us, and Donald Trump’s ghost laugh throughout.

This debate was garbage. America deserves better. When will we demand it?

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