Trump’s no-show at debate strategy seems to be working – Former president Donald Trump’s decision to skip the Republican primary debates seems to be working so far, as a new poll shows him gaining even more steam against his rivals for the GOP presidential nomination.
A new poll by Morning Consult put the former chief executive’s approval rating among Republican voters at 68%, 10% up from the previous rating of 58%. Other lesser favorites, like biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and former South Carolina governor and former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley say their approval among GOP voters fall by 2 percentage points each.
Another poll, this time from Messenger/Harris, saw more than 43% of voters say that Trump would likely be the candidate they choose from the pool of Republican presidential hopefuls. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis secured the second place with 21% support, followed by Haley, who managed to secure 20%. Ramaswamy came in fourth with 18%. Respondents, however, said that they believed DeSantis came out the winner of the second Republican presidential debate.
Furthermore, a poll by FiveThrtyEight, The Washington Post and Ipsos looked at GOP voters after the debate and found sentiment among them was largely unchanged, at least in terms of what they felt about the participants in the debate. DeSantis came out on top, with 33% of the survey’s respondents saying that he performed the best, while Hale came in second, with 18% of respondent saying that she was the one who outdid all the rest.
On a more general note, FiveThirtyEight still has Trump leading the pack of GOP presidential hopefuls with 53.8%, while DeSantis inched up higher with 14.5%. Haley overtook Ramaswamy for third place and now has 8.1% support, while the latter has 6.5% support.
Donald Trump Was Present In Spirit
Despite his absence, Trump still made his considerable influence in the Republican Party known during the second debate, hosted by Fox Business in Simi Valley, California, at the Ronald Reagan Foundation and Library.
An opinion piece for The Washington Post called the debate a “kids table” where no one really managed to point out why they would be a better alternative than having Trump occupy the Oval Office for a second time.
Only former Vice President Mike Pence and former New Jersey governor Chris Christie aimed at Trump directly for his absence in the debate. Participants were visibly much more comfortable this time around, and were more than happy to take potshots at each other, with Ramaswamy receiving the most criticism – almost like children squabbling at the dinner table.
Trump’s campaign has called the debates “boring and inconsequential,” and the former chief executive will more than likely be a no-show at any other primary debates – Trump’s campaign has gone as far as to call on the Republican National Committee to “immediately put an end” to any future debates ostensibly so that the party can focus its energies on beating Biden.
Tim Ramos has written for various publications, corporations, and organizations – covering everything from finance, politics, travel, entertainment, and sports – in Asia and the U.S. for more than 10 years.
From the Vault
