At the applause meter, it was Vivek Ramaswamy who won. Nikki Haley pleasantly surprised and Donald Trump did not seem to miss the audience: For young Republicans in Atlanta, Georgia, the first televised debate of the campaign between conservative presidential candidates was an opportunity to gauge the forces present.
Gathered in a bar in the Buckhead district, more than a hundred people watched with interest on Wednesday evening the eight aspirants to the White House cross swords. Between two sips of beer, applause, cheers and incredulous cries rang out.
If ex-president Trump snubbed his rivals and shone by his absence on stage, in a few hours all eyes will be on him: Thursday, he is expected right here in Atlanta. He must make a quick stint in a prison to make himself available to the authorities, after his indictment for his attempts to reverse the result of the presidential election of 2020.
In the meantime, Riquet Caballero, 36, assures him: the star of the debate was Vivek Ramaswamy, this climatosceptic entrepreneur who made his fortune in biotechnology and defends ideas that are radical to say the least, such as the closure of the Ministry of Education.
“It was the Vivek Show,” he told AFP. “People call him Trump 2.0. And I think that’s what we need right now,” he adds, deeming the ex-president’s rantings “hackneyed”.
Indeed, in the bar, many of the releases of “Vivek” earned him sound approvals and even a fist raised in sign of support, as when he calls to burn coal without qualms.
Andy Chopra, 46, was already very interested in Vivek Ramaswamy. His performance on Wednesday lived up to his expectations, he explains, but he admits to having been “surprised” by Nikki Haley, whom he found “very strong”.
The latter, former United States ambassador to the UN, has on several occasions provoked a round of applause, in particular on the support of the United States for Ukraine, her position on abortion or when she quoted the former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
Allen English, president of the Young Republicans of Atlanta and co-organizer of the evening, had said from the outset before the debate to have his favorite: the governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis. But he says he came “with an open mind” because his “biggest priority is to make sure we name the person who is going to win” against current Democratic President Joe Biden, 80, running for president. re-election.
Is he disappointed that Donald Trump is not participating in the debate? Yes, even if he says he understands the reasoning of the ex-president, defeated by Biden in 2020, who prances far ahead of his Republican competitors at the top of the polls.
Anyway, in the primaries, he will not vote for the 77-year-old tycoon: he wants “someone who can (be president) for eight years”, or for two terms, to “repair the damage” of the Democrats .
“We’re tired of old people running this country. I love old people, don’t get me wrong,” he adds with a smile, “but we have two guys (Trump and Biden, editor’s note) who could use canes or walkers. Let’s find someone who may not be at the walker stage!”
He thought Nikki Haley had been a revelation, because she ‘didn’t spare her shots’, but that Vivek Ramaswamy, despite having appreciable ‘energy’, didn’t seem to have the skills to lead a country .
Late into the night, the evening’s ubiquitous absentee, Donald Trump, commented on his rivals’ debate himself with a plethora of posts on his platform, Truth Social.
He notably attacked Ron DeSantis and the “horrible” ex-governor of New Jersey, Chris Christie, who criticized him harshly.
But to Vivek Ramaswamy, who called him on the show “the best president of the 21st century”, he reserved a kind comment: “Thank you Vivek!”, he wrote.
08/24/2023 10:21:55 – Atlanta (United States) (AFP) – © 2023 AFP
