On Thursday night, the first Republican Presidential Debate of the 2016 campaign was the highest-rated primary television debate ever with 24 million viewers. Donald Trump’s knack for attracting a crowd was largely responsible for this, but by the end of the night he may have ended up helping his competition more than himself. Here are the candidates that should see an uptick in support following Fox News’s debate, followed by the ones that probably did more harm than good.
Winners
John Kasich
The hometown candidate took advantage of a great situation. Speaking in front of his current constituents, Ohio Gov. John Kasich’s moderate brand of conservatism was met with the loudest cheers of any candidate.
He was asked one of the most difficult questions of the night - how would you explain your opposition to same-sex marriage if one of your daughters were gay? - and his compassionate response is one that both Republicans and Democrats can respect. “If one of my daughters happened to be that, of course I would love them and accept them. Because you know what? That’s what we’re taught when we have strong faith,” Kasich said. “Issues like that are planted to divide us. God gives me unconditional love. I’m going to give it to my family and my friends and the people around me.”
When asked about accepting federal funding for Obamacare, Kasich’s compassion shined through again as he said, “I had an opportunity to bring resources back to Ohio, to do what? To treat the mentally ill. 10,000 of them sit in our prisons at $22,500 a year. I’d rather get them the medication so they can lead a decent life.”
His compassionate conservatism uses basic Republican ideas like lowering taxes, while still helping the poor and respecting different social views. Gov. Kasich could be the Republican Party’s best shot at appealing to a broader electorate.
Carly Fiorina
Although the former Hewlett-Packard CEO didn’t appear in the primetime debate, Carly Fiorina’s standout performance in the earlier debate could see her rise in the polls more than any other candidate. She didn’t unleash any groundbreaking ideas, but she cracked plenty of clever jokes and seemed composed from start to finish.
She landed more shots on Donald Trump than any other candidate, and almost as many as Megyn Kelly. “Did any of you get a phone call from Bill Clinton? I didn’t. Maybe it was because I haven’t given to his foundation, and donated to his wife’s campaign,” she said, joking about the phone call Trump supposedly received from Clinton before announcing his candidacy. This lead to an attack on his past of flip-flopping on issues when she said, “Since he has changed his mind on amnesty, on healthcare and on abortion, I would just ask, what are the principles by which he will govern?”
Attacking Trump makes a lot of sense considering the similarities in their appeal. Both come from a business background and are reaching out to people that are tired of politics as usual. The big difference is that Fiorina does it more professionally with less controversy. Look for her to get a boost in the polls and a chance to prove herself in the next primetime debate.
Honorable Mention: Marco Rubio
Losers
Donald Trump
There’s no doubt that Trump was the most entertaining candidate Thursday night. The debate began with him refusing to pledge to support the eventual Republican nominee and not run an Independent campaign. As moderator Megyn Kelly was probing into Trump’s past comments by saying, ““You’ve called women you don’t like fat pigs, dogs, slobs, and disgusting animals. Your Twitter account has several—” he interrupted to say, “Only Rosie O’Donnell.”
His flair for controversy is good for ratings, but it won’t help him win elections. According to a recent poll conducted by NBC News, the Wall Street Journal, and Telemundo, Trump is viewed negatively by 75% of Latinos due to his comments on Mexican immigrant. His latest controversial comments came as he was criticizing Megyn Kelly’s questions towards him by implying that she was on her period, saying, “You could see there was blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her… wherever.”
By alienating Latino and Women voters, Donald Trump is losing support from demographics that are key to winning a general election. If he were to run as an Independent, he could take away just enough support from the Republican Party to cost them the election. It’s only a matter of time before his supporters realize that Trump is doing more harm than good for the Republican Party.
Ben Carson
In Ben Carson’s defense, he did seem to get less airtime than other candidates like Donald Trump and Jeb Bush. The lack of publicity alone could have a damaging effect on Carson’s poll numbers, but his issues went further than that.
When asked if he would bring water-boarding, a form of torture, back into use for interrogations if he was President, Carson said, “What we do in order to get the information we need is our business and I wouldn't necessarily be broadcasting to everybody what we're going to do.” A basic summary of that response: If I decide torture is necessary, I’m not going to tell you about it. This is despite the fact that torture isn’t even guaranteed to work. Many experts and scientists doubt its effectiveness due to the fact that people can simply lie to stop the pain.
His lack of government experience was also on display. Most of his conclusion centered on his medical accomplishments as a neurosurgeon, which sounds impressive but doesn’t make him qualified to be President. On a stage full of people that have balanced budgets, written legislation, and operated businesses, it’s hard to believe that the most qualified candidate is the one who separated conjoined twins.
Honorable Mention: Rand Paul
