{"id":587902,"date":"2023-08-21T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-08-21T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/candidates-face-tricky-balancing-act-on-trump-at-first-gop-debate\/"},"modified":"2023-08-21T13:00:00","modified_gmt":"2023-08-21T10:00:00","slug":"candidates-face-tricky-balancing-act-on-trump-at-first-gop-debate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/candidates-face-tricky-balancing-act-on-trump-at-first-gop-debate\/","title":{"rendered":"#Candidates face tricky balancing act on Trump at first GOP debate"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/08\/trumpdonald_desantisron_ramaswamyvivek_scotttim_split-GN.jpeg?w=900\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Republican candidates attending the first GOP presidential debate on Wednesday will face the challenge of having to separate themselves from former President Trump while also not alienating his devoted supporters.<\/p>\n<p>Trump said on Sunday he\u00a0won\u2019t\u00a0attend the debate, giving his rivals a chance to make the case for their respective candidacies without having to compete for attention with the former president.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr1_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>But the situation poses a conundrum\u00a0for candidates like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R)\u00a0and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott (R), who must be careful not to cross Trump\u2019s supporters while also winning over at least a portion of them.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf I were thinking of it as a strategic matter, I\u2019d like to be able to emerge from this debate as the principal\u00a0non-Trump\u00a0alternative,\u201d said Scott Jennings, a Republican strategist\u00a0who\u00a0worked on former President George W. Bush\u2019s campaigns.<\/p>\n<p>Throughout much of the 2024 race so far, the Republican candidates have\u00a0largely avoided\u00a0direct criticisms of Trump and been among his defenders for each of the four indictments that have been filed against him in multiple\u00a0jurisdictions.<\/p>\n<p>Most have\u00a0echoed\u00a0his arguments of a two-tiered justice system that is politically motivated in targeting him\u00a0with so many in the Republican primary electorate solidly behind him,\u00a0demonstrated\u00a0by his\u00a0consistently\u00a0significant leads in the\u00a0polls.<\/p>\n<p>That has forced a difficult juggling act for the other candidates to try to present themselves as the future of the party without invoking Trump\u2019s criticism\u00a0or anger from his base of voters. Experts said that dynamic will\u00a0likely continue\u00a0and cause the other candidates to turn their attention toward each other in competition for taking the second spot in the polls to Trump.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t think you\u2019re going to meaningfully degrade Trump in this debate, but you might score points on someone else or perhaps\u00a0separate yourself from the rest of the rabble,\u201d\u00a0Jennings said.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr2_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>DeSantis has consistently placed second to Trump in primary polling so far, but his campaign has struggled significantly\u00a0in recent months with not being able to close the gap on the former president, cutting staff and\u00a0losing ground in a few\u00a0national\u00a0and\u00a0state\u00a0polls.<\/p>\n<p>With the Florida governor\u2019s\u00a0hiccups, Jennings said DeSantis should\u00a0\u201cwear six suits of armor\u201d and\u00a0be prepared to take on attacks from his fellow competitors on the stage.\u00a0He said DeSantis is still the main alternative to Trump but other candidates like conservative entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who has been closing in on DeSantis in some polls, will\u00a0seek\u00a0to take advantage of the\u00a0struggles.<\/p>\n<p>The latest controversy for DeSantis\u2019s campaign came Thursday when a debate memo from the super PAC supporting him, Never Back Down, was briefly\u00a0leaked\u00a0on the website of a firm\u00a0owned by the PAC\u2019s chief strategist. The memo called for DeSantis to defend Trump and attack other candidates gaining momentum behind him, especially Ramaswamy.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr3_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>Strategists\u00a0were mixed on whether\u00a0DeSantis will\u00a0follow\u00a0the guidelines from the memo and\u00a0if\u00a0the leak\u00a0was\u00a0intentional or\u00a0accidental,\u00a0but said DeSantis could have more of a spotlight on him without Trump in the room, offering both opportunities and risks.<\/p>\n<p>Aaron Kall, the director of debate at the University of Michigan and\u00a0an expert on presidential debates, said DeSantis might be the\u00a0most likely \u201cpunching bag\u201d for the other candidates\u00a0with Trump\u2019s absence.<\/p>\n<p>He pointed to a Republican debate held in Des Moines in January 2016 just before the Iowa caucuses that Trump skipped.\u00a0Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who was polling in second at the time, received the brunt of attacks from several other notable candidates\u00a0like Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.).<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr4_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>\u201cThe headlines surrounding the debate were \u2018A rough night for Cruz,\u2019 because he was being attacked by all sides,\u201d Kall said, noting that the layout of the candidates\u2019 positions has the highest-performing candidates in the middle of the stage. \u201cSo\u00a0you\u2019re\u00a0going to have Gov. DeSantis front and center\u00a0and just\u00a0kind of get\u00a0incoming fire from both sides and the other six candidates.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Kall said he thinks DeSantis is prepared for the attacks and understands the stakes of his debate performance for his candidacy.\u00a0He added that\u00a0moderators \u201clove\u201d setting up conflicts between candidates to get a \u201cback-and-forth\u201d and will have total control over the questions being asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have a two- or three-person fight for finding out who is going to be the clear No. 2 to Trump and the debate could help sorting that out,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr5_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>A Republican strategist who requested anonymity because he is associated with a campaign said not every candidate will have the same goals, which could cause them to take different <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>roaches\u00a0in how they\u00a0decide to concentrate on a major policy proposal they have\u00a0or on attacking Trump or another candidate.<\/p>\n<p>They said DeSantis will have a different mission from former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R), who has been among the most vocal critics of Trump in the race.\u00a0Polling has recently shown Christie gaining traction in the first primary state of New Hampshire, with an Emerson College Polling survey on Tuesday\u00a0placing\u00a0him\u00a0in second at 9 percent.<\/p>\n<p>The strategist said Christie\u2019s goal will be to get \u201ccameras on me\u201d\u00a0going after Trump in the \u201cmost creative and colorful way.\u201d\u00a0They said others need to consider if they want getting a \u201cbig idea\u201d across or incorporating a strong attack line as a way to differentiate themselves from the others.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr6_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s\u00a0really the choice\u00a0you\u2019re\u00a0looking at. Just really a few minutes that\u00a0you\u2019ll\u00a0have to be able to get what you want to get in,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n<p>But some strategists said they expect Trump\u2019s absence will allow candidates to focus on policy and not get bogged down with Trump\u2019s \u201cability to make the story about him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Republican strategist David Capen said candidates can convey to the audience that they are \u201chonest, authentic and caring\u201d by focusing on policy instead of personal attacks, and Trump skipping will put them in a better position to do so.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr7_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>\u201cWe already know how President Trump carries himself, so this is a valuable opportunity for Gov. DeSantis to differentiate himself and elevate the conversation by focusing on kitchen table issues like\u00a0jobs, education and national security,\u201d Capen said.<\/p>\n<p>GOP strategist Rina Shah said she expects three different approaches on the stage: candidates who \u201ctiptoe\u201d\u00a0around Trump, those who \u201cgo for the jugular\u201d and those who \u201cbehave like they\u2019re the only thing that exists.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Shah\u00a0said she does not expect to see a major change in candidates\u2019 approach to Trump than they previously have had. She said\u00a0she expects former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley to focus on her ideas and ignore Trump, and DeSantis and Ramaswamy may do the same as candidates who have been polling in the higher tier.<\/p>\n<p>She added that more time is needed to know if candidates might change their tune and confront Trump more directly\u00a0in future debates because of the rapid developments with Trump\u2019s legal challenges.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is unlike any other presidential campaign cycle\u00a0we\u2019ve\u00a0ever been in.\u00a0There\u2019s\u00a0no comparison. Not even 2016 because of how much is in motion,\u201d\u00a0Shah\u00a0said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Copyright 2023 Nexstar <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Media<\/a> Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/campaign\/4159428-candidates-face-tricky-balancing-act-on-trump-at-first-gop-debate\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Republican candidates attending the first GOP presidential debate on Wednesday will face the challenge of having to separate themselves from former President Trump while also not alienating his devoted supporters. Trump said on Sunday he\u00a0won\u2019t\u00a0attend the debate, giving his rivals a chance to make the case for their respective candidacies without having to compete for&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":587903,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/08\/trumpdonald_desantisron_ramaswamyvivek_scotttim_split-GN.jpeg?w=1280","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[73243,4941,29102,135317,104064],"class_list":["post-587902","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-chris-christie","tag-donald-trump","tag-ron-desantis","tag-scott-jennings","tag-tim-scott"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/587902","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=587902"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/587902\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/587903"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=587902"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=587902"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=587902"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}