Republican candidates largely duck Trump attacks in final debate

Republican presidential candidates chose not to criticize Trump to a larger extent in the fourth GOP debate.

Here are the details of the news.

Republican candidates largely duck Trump attacks in final debate

The Republican 2024 presidential candidates avoided criticizing another candidate, former President Donald Trump, in the GOP fourth and final debate that was held on Wednesday in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

The candidates who participated in the debate are Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, former US ambassador for the United Nations Nikki Haley, biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.

Similar to the previous three debates, although qualified, Trump did not participate in the face-off on Wednesday.

While candidates argued on several topics with their opponents, they mostly avoided criticizing Trump in their arguments. This is unlike the last three GOP debates, where the former President occupied a significant presence in candidates’ discussions, with some criticizing him or others supporting his policies.

DeSantis, Haley, and Ramaswamy prevented themselves from attacking Trump for nearly two hours in the face-off.

Nonetheless, the Florida Governor mentioned Trump’s age as an important factor and said that the former President was quite old for serving a second term as United States president.

He requested voters’ support for the “next generation of leaders.” DeSantis said, “Father time is undefeated. The idea that we are going to put somebody up there who is 80 and there is going to be no effects from that, we all know that’s not true.”

At the same time, DeSantis refused to answer the host’s question about Trump’s mental health for the presidential office.

Another candidate, Haley, who served as UN Ambassador under Donald Trump, targeted the former President for his failure to settle issues with China.

But when asked about Trump’s ban on immigration from seven Muslim countries, she avoided further attacking Trump. Instead, she promised to bring new policies if she wins the presidential election in 2024.

Yet another presidential candidate, Chris Christie, denounced the former President by labeling him as a “dictator.”

Following that, during a Fox Hall town hall, host Sean Hannity asked Trump if he going to misuse his power if he became president, as people have been calling him a dictator.

As a reply, Trump said he won’t be a dictator if elected, ‘except for Day One’ where he is going to close the border.

Referring to Republicans’ potential desire to join Trump’s administration when he wins the 2024 race, Christie said the candidates are refraining from criticizing Trump because “they have future aspirations.”

He said, “There’s no bigger issue in this race than Donald Trump. This is an angry, bitter man who now wants to be back as President because he wants to exact retribution on anyone who has disagreed with him.”

While three of the four candidates chose to have a limited discussion about Trump, Ramaswamy totally avoided speaking about the former President and instead discussed defending the 2021 Capital Riot.

He said, “Why am I the only person, on this stage at least, who can say that Jan. 6 now does look like it was an inside job?”.

According to polling data, Trump has been constantly leading for the GOP primary nomination amongst all the candidates since he announced his 2024 presidential run.

His popularity has not diminished even by the legal troubles he faces in the form of multiple criminal and civil lawsuits, and he is still the favorite presidential candidate for many people.

Trump has not attended any GOP debate, citing his double-digit lead. A spokesperson for his presidential campaign has called the debate “the biggest waste of time, money, and energy that politics have ever seen.”