GOP Candidates Mike Pence, Ron DeSantis, and Vivek Ramaswamy face off at the Republican National Committee Debate in Milwaukee, WI. Credit: Win McNamee/Getty
In case you missed last night’s RNC debate for the sake of your mental health, we watched it so you don’t have to.
Despite Trump’s absence, his eight rival Republican candidates battled it out in an attempt to prove their ability to replace him as front-runner. Whether or not any of them were successful in upending his lead remains to be seen, but it’s hard to characterize their performances as anything but major fails.
And while it felt like two hours of total nonsense, thanks to social media, it wasn’t a total loss. By far the “best” part of last night’s debate were these reactions from the Twitter universe. Here’s how the night went:
As the debate began, Dark Brandon helped kick things off for Fox News audiences:
Dark Brandon got the FIRST word before tonight’s #GOPDebate, and it slayed!
Boss move.pic.twitter.com/e8mxoHXNPz
— Grant Stern (@grantstern) August 24, 2023
Which was followed by a little desperation and plagiarism:
Vivek Ramaswamy joins the long tradition of Republicans plagiarizing the Obamas…steals Barack Obama’s “skinny kid with a funny name” line…
(Truly laughable and reflects just how desperate Republicans are to try to relate with a younger generation the way Obama did.) #GOPdebate pic.twitter.com/BXomxMsrzq
— Kaivan Shroff (@KaivanShroff) August 24, 2023
Then it was time for some climate change denial.
Moderator: Raise your hand if you believe human behavior causes climate change.#RNCDebate candidates: pic.twitter.com/azLULFVeMe
— BoldProgressives.org (@BoldProgressive) August 24, 2023
And just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse …
“Burn coal” says a GOP presidential candidate on the debate stage, to cheers and applause, after the hottest summer in memory. pic.twitter.com/PnHbPnC3Ho
— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) August 24, 2023
Followed by a cacophony of non-answers:
The question was “is climate change real?”
Tim Scott: “I had a single mom..”Haley: “Margaret Thatcher once said…”DeSantis: “Corporate media is biased”.Vivek: “I’m not bought and paid for!”Christie: “You sound like ChatGPT!”
These are not serious people. #GOPDebate pic.twitter.com/zyJcoCqbnB
— Jay (@JayNCtoDC) August 24, 2023
Chris Christie chimed in to show how tech-savvy he was:
christ christie mentioning chatgpt #GOPDebate pic.twitter.com/9s00tWEHzq
— luke bosley (@bosley_luke) August 24, 2023
And then the moment we all knew was bound to happen—they were asked about abortion:
When Republicans start mansplaining what should happen in a woman’s womb. #GOPDebate pic.twitter.com/TeBhQc29P8
— Rachel Irwin (@rachelgirwin) August 24, 2023
No surprise here:
Ron DeSantis is proud of stripping a Women’s right away. #RNCDebate pic.twitter.com/K99fGv4f04
— The Chanteezy Is Real ♉️ (@iamchanteezy) August 24, 2023
Then it was time for a commercial break with a casual mention of Donald Trump turning himself in to the authorities. (We can’t make this stuff up.)
Actual words uttered during a GOP primary debate: “Right now you are looking live at Fulton County Jail, where former president Donald Trump will be processed tomorrow. Next, the candidates will have an opportunity to talk about the coming trials of Donald Trump.” pic.twitter.com/HN0Wr7dhm3
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) August 24, 2023
Moments later on the debate stage, the math wasn’t mathing for Vivek Ramaswamy:
Vivek Ramaswamy says we should hand the country over to a new generation but advocates for raising the voting age. #GOPDebate pic.twitter.com/NrHD0UOHjU
— Eve Levenson (she/her) (@eve_levenson) August 24, 2023
Then Ron DeSantis talked about the importance of education:
“We need education in this country.” Says the man who banned every book in America from Floridian schools.#GOPDebate #RNCDebate #republicanDebate #RNC #GOP #republicanDebate pic.twitter.com/vf860hApK3
— Dana Abercrombie #AmplifyBlackVoices (@sagesurge) August 24, 2023
The Republican candidates shared how they really feel about taking care of the less privileged in America:
Q: How do you plan to fight homelessness
Pence: Cut taxes, close the department of education
Christie: PROSECUTORS NEED TO LOCK THEM UP
Us: #GOPDebate #RNCDebate pic.twitter.com/RPduuvwsBN
— NoChillMood (@ritaag) August 24, 2023
And then Nikki Haley decided to shake things up with … the truth?
Oops. Nikki Haley let the cat out of the bag! Trump and GOP added $7.8 trillion to the national debt. They gave the store away to the super-rich and spent us into the ground! #GOPDebate
— Jamie Raskin (@jamie_raskin) August 24, 2023
What she said. pic.twitter.com/GvDRWUI1hK
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) August 24, 2023
Mike Pence felt a bit left out, so he had to say something:
“I’m intensely proud of the record of the Trump-Pence administration,” says man who ended the Trump-Pence administration by running from a crowd of Trump supporters trying to kill him.#GOPDebate
— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) August 24, 2023
And, thankfully, just like that, the first Republican debate was over …
Imagine looking at this debate as a Republican voter and having to choose between one of these candidates and the guy getting his mugshot taken tomorrow
— Acyn (@Acyn) August 24, 2023
I didn’t see one possible President on the stage of the Republican debate tonight. And the one who wasn’t there must never be again.
— Rob Reiner (@robreiner) August 24, 2023
… with the biggest takeaway of all:
I’ve seen enough: The winner of tonight’s debate is President Biden! #DarkBrandonWins pic.twitter.com/ImWdAWKATv
— BrooklynDad_Defiant!☮️ (@mmpadellan) August 24, 2023
All jokes aside, this debate clearly proves that if you haven’t yet gotten involved with next year’s election, now is the time to get off the sidelines.
MoveOn is preparing to launch the biggest election program of our 25-year history, and we need your help to make it happen.
The messages shared by the GOP candidates last night were wrong. They were dangerous. And they must be defeated.
Join us in fighting for an America where everyone can thrive. Click here to chip in now.
