GOP Presidential Hopefuls Inflict Damage on Each Other, Sparing Trump
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The large field of GOP presidential hopefuls gave Donald Trump what he wanted in their first debate: two hours of infighting and bickering and only brief criticism of the absent front-runner.
The two-hour debate was the first opportunity for those challenging Trump to make an impression on the nation and, more specifically, Republican primary voters. Trump holds a huge polling lead and skipped the debate for an alternative interview with host Tucker Carlson on X. The also-rans had to decide how to treat what moderator Bret Baier of Fox described as the “elephant not in the room”—whether to embrace him or hammer him.
At the debate, Trump was barely mentioned in the first hour. And when he finally came up, his hold over his opponents was clear: Asked if they would support Trump even if he is convicted in any of the four criminal probes he faces, only two debaters, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, signaled that they wouldn’t.
When Christie said Trump’s alleged behavior couldn’t be overlooked, the crowd jumped in with lengthy booing.
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