Reuters-A chaotic Republican debate With Trump absent again Republicans exchange insults
September 28, 2023 5 min 888 words
这篇报道描绘了一场混乱的共和党总统候选人辩论，特朗普再次缺席，而其他共和党候选人在辩论中相互攻击，抨击前总统特朗普、现任总统拜登以及彼此，议题涵盖了从中国到移民再到经济的各个方面。然而，尽管特朗普面临四项刑事指控，辩论结束后似乎没有候选人能够获得能够改变竞选动态的突破时刻。 特朗普的缺席引发了强烈的争议，佛罗里达州州长罗恩·德桑蒂斯称他"失踪了"，并责怪他为国家债务增加了数万亿美元。这表明德桑蒂斯对领先的特朗普采取更加攻击性的立场，这在过去几个月里并不常见。 克里斯·克里斯蒂，前新泽西州州长，是特朗普的常规批评者，也加入了谴责特朗普的行列。副总统迈克·彭斯表示，如果当选，他将采取与特朗普相反的政策，将更多的权力下放给各州。 拜登也成为共和党候选人的频繁攻击目标，他们批评他处理经济和与墨西哥边境的问题。辩论中，企业家维韦克·拉马斯瓦米反复引起了其他共和党人的愤怒。 候选人们都誓言采取强硬立场应对移民问题，并抨击拜登政府未能遏制引发了创纪录非法越境的移民危机。 总结而言，这场辩论暴露了共和党内部的紧张局势，尤其是特朗普的支持者与其他候选人之间的竞争。特朗普的缺席使得他成为焦点，显示他更关注挑战他的潜在民主党对手拜登，而不是对手们在民意调查中远远落后的情况。不到四个月就要举行爱荷华州的首个共和党提名竞选，特朗普的竞争对手时间不多，很难削弱他在初选竞选中的领先地位。 这场辩论对于罗恩·德桑蒂斯来说尤为重要，他的竞选已经经历了两次人员调整，捐赠者对他无法赶上特朗普表现出担忧。德桑蒂斯以反对许多美国政府防止COVID-19传播的政策而在全国范围内崭露头角，后来成为反对他认为过于进步的教育家和企业所青睐政策的主要人物。 尼基·哈雷则希望连续两次表现出色的辩论将说服一些共和党捐赠者，她有最有可能击败特朗普。 移民问题成为辩论的焦点，候选人们承诺采取强硬立场，其中一些候选人提出了一些具有争议性的政策。总之，这场辩论显示了共和党内部对一系列政策问题和特朗普的态度之间的分歧，而这些问题将在2024年总统选举中发挥重要作用。
Donald Trump's Republican rivals clashed at a chaotic presidential debate on Wednesday, leveling attacks at the absent former president, Democratic President Joe Biden and one another over issues from China to immigration to the economy.
But as the debate ended, no candidate appeared to have secured the sort of breakout moment that would alter the dynamics of a primary contest that Trump has dominated for months, despite his four criminal indictments.
Trump, who led his nearest rival for the nomination by 37 percentage points in the most recent Reuters/Ipsos poll, skipped the debate, as he did the first one in Wisconsin last month.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis called Trump "missing in action" and blamed him for adding trillions of dollars to the national debt.
"He should be on this stage tonight," DeSantis said, drawing applause from the audience at the Ronald Reagan presidential library in Simi Valley, California. "He owes it to you to defend his record."
The dig from DeSantis, whose poll numbers have declined after he had been widely seen as the leading Trump alternative, suggested he was more willing to attack the frontrunner after months of largely avoiding direct confrontation.
Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, a frequent Trump critic, chimed in, saying Trump was "afraid" and mocking him as "Donald Duck" for skipping the debate.
Mike Pence, vice president under Trump from 2017-2021, said he would take an opposite approach to Trump if elected. He said Trump planned to centralize power in the federal government but he would give more power to the states.
Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee for the November 2024 election, was also a frequent target for the Republican candidates, who castigated his handling of the economy and the southern border with Mexico.
As in the first debate in August, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy - a political neophyte whose campaign for the Republican presidential nomination is his first run for public office - repeatedly drew the ire of his fellow Republicans.
"Every time, I hear you, I feel a little dumber," Nikki Haley, the former United Nations ambassador, told Ramaswamy after he defended joining TikTok, the Chinese-owned social media site that has raised security concerns among U.S. officials. Ramaswamy said he uses the app to connect with young voters.
All of the candidates vowed to take a muscular approach to immigration and attacked the Biden administration for failing to stem the migrant crisis that has fueled record illegal crossings at the southern border.
The seven candidates are vying with Trump to become their party's nominee to face Biden in the 2024 election.
Minutes before the debate kicked off, Trump delivered a speech to autoworkers in the battleground state of Michigan, inserting himself into a national dispute between striking workers and the country's leading automakers a day after Biden joined a union picket line.
"They're all job candidates," Trump said dismissively of the seven Republicans at the debate. "Does anybody see any VP in the group? I don't think so."
By shunning both debates, the former president signaled he was focused on Biden, his once and perhaps future opponent, rather than the Republican contenders who trail badly in the polls.
With less than four months until Iowa's first-in-the-nation Republican nominating contest, Trump's rivals are running short on time to weaken his commanding hold on the primary campaign.
Wednesday's debate loomed particularly large for DeSantis, whose campaign has already endured two staff shakeups as donors expressed concern about his inability to gain on Trump.
DeSantis, 45, made his name nationally by opposing many U.S. government policies to prevent the spread of COVID-19. He has since become a leading figure fighting what he argues are overly progressive policies favored by educators and corporations.
Haley, meanwhile, was hoping a second consecutive strong debate performance will convince some Republican donors she has the best odds of unseating Trump.
North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum also qualified for the debate.
Immigration took center stage during the debate.
DeSantis promised to deploy the U.S. military against Mexican cartels, while entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy said he would try to revoke birthright citizenship for the children of those who entered the country illegally.
Even when asked about the expanding U.S. autoworkers' strike, Senator Tim Scott turned the subject to the border while criticizing Biden for joining the picket line on Tuesday.
"Biden should not be on the picket line," Scott said. "He should be on the southern border working to close our southern border because it is unsafe, wide open and insecure, leading to the deaths of 70,000 Americans in the last 12 months because of fentanyl."
Most of the candidates expressed support for continued aid to Ukraine, though DeSantis said he would not offer a "blank check." Ramaswamy warned that backing Ukraine was pushing Russia further toward China, prompting renewed criticisms from his rivals that he would appease Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The moderators did not ask the candidates about Trump's myriad legal problems. The 77-year-old businessman-turned-politician has been indicted in four criminal cases, and on Tuesday, a New York state judge found that he committed fraud by inflating the value of his business assets.