Only two of the eight Republican candidates for the White House taking part in tonight’s primary debate made it clear they will not support Donald Trump if he is convicted of any of the numerous crimes he is accused of.
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson were the only two who didn’t raise their hands when asked if they would support the front-runner, former President Trump, if convicted would support.
And only she and former Vice President Mike Pence – who raised his hand slightly on the above question but lowered it shortly afterwards – openly criticized the former president.
Meanwhile, polls show Trump’s main rival in the race, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, declined to answer questions about Jan. 6.
The first question about the “absent elephant in the room” — as one of the moderators, moderator Bret Baier, called Trump — sparked one of the most tense moments of the Republican debate.
Baier wanted the eight candidates to raise their hand if they supported Trump even if he were convicted in one of the many cases he is accused of, and all but Christie and Hutchinson did so, although DeSantis was slow and Pence did it behind the rest. and easily.
Chris Christie, the most critical candidate for Trump since the beginning of this campaign, insisted that “someone has to stop normalizing this behavior,” pointing out that his behavior in the attack on the Capitol was no matter what the allegations against Trump Thinks Moving On January 6, 2021 is “inappropriate” for his position as President.
“Trump said it’s okay to suspend the Constitution if his oath is to protect it,” Christie said, adding that everyone “should give credit” to Mike Pence for fulfilling that day’s commitment to to uphold the constitution.
Most in attendance felt Pence did the right thing that day, while the then-vice president recalled how Trump asked him to put him “above the Constitution” and “of course” refused to do so , since he would refuse again.
But Ron DeSantis didn’t want to unequivocally side with Pence, and when criticized for not answering that question, he replied that he had done so on other occasions and criticized the insistence on the January 6th , the past and not the future, to speak .
Businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, who boasted throughout the debate that he was the only “apolitical” on that shortlist, said Trump was “the best president” in the country but regretted that he is now “motivated by regret and revenge.” be.
Trump’s other major critic, Asa Hutchinson, warned that the Republican Party’s position on what Trump did on Jan. 6 poses a “serious problem,” a “very serious crime” that he does not intend to support .
And the only woman in that group, former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, defended Pence but also asked to speak out about the future so Americans could decide, taking the opportunity to stress that it was “time for.” a new conservative leader”, because three out of every four Americans do not want a new Trump-Biden duel.
Trump is the great absentee from this debate, which he has refused to attend because he understands that he is the undisputed leader of the Republicans. EFE
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