It seems odd for DeSantis to keep playing nice with Ramaswamy, who has likely cannibalized some of his vote.
Boy, DeSantis and everybody else seems to think using U.S. military forces against drug cartels is going to be easy-peasy, huh?
Using the military to seal Swiss cheese is a fun mixed metaphor to envision.
Christie looks at the camera, hoping he’s looking at Trump: “I know you’re watching, you can’t help yourself.” Following on DeSantis’s “missing in action” dig, he calls Trump “afraid” and says he’s “ducking.”
“We’re gonna call you Donald Duck,” he taunts.
At least the candidates are calling out Trump more directly this time for his absence. Corny or not, needs to be said.
Haley executed a discordant pivot to America’s policy of importing amoxicillin from China during a question about increasing the number of uniformed officers in the ranks of America’s police forces, and it was probably a mistake. She neither answered the question she was asked, nor did she answer the question she asked herself.
On crime, policing, and firing progressive prosecutors, DeSantis is fine – maybe even strong. But I wonder if he needs something more, something dramatic and galvanizing, that separates him from everyone else. He’s not making any real mistakes, but so far, he’s not standing out on that crowded stage.
DeSantis not coming back to Pence hit exemplifies his approach—use every answer to make short speeches
Most of the questions so far has been of the formula: “You’ve promised to do something that’s impossible, how do you plan to do it?” It’s important to hold candidates accountable for pandering nonsense. But it also makes for a strange debate when the questions are unanswerable.
Ah, Chris Christie does his old “look at the camera” trick.
FTR: My favorite character in the first act was Doug Burgum.