InsiderNJ Radio: Our Take on the Republican Prez Debate
InsiderNJ Radio this week features an analysis of last week’s Fox News Republican Primary Presidential Debate, against the surreal backdrop of former President Donald J. Trump surrendering to authorities in Georgia and posing for his mugshot.
Herb Jackson provides commentary on the debate and Trump. The politics editor for Roll Call and CQ Now, Jackson prior to his current assignment had a more than three decade-long career as a New Jersey political reporter. This included a storied 13-year run as Washington correspondent for the Bergen Record.
Welcomed to the program by WMTR Host Jessie Frees, Jackson breaks down all the action from last Wednesday night’s debate with InsiderNJ Editor Max Pizarro.
The InsiderNJ show was originally broadcast on WMTR AM 1250 this past Sunday, August 27th.
In addition, please be sure to read InsiderNJ Columnist Fred Snowflack’s coverage of the Fox News Presidential Debate here.
Writes Snowflack:
“The debate was just about an hour old when talk got around to Donald Trump. With typical drama, Fox News showed a darkened shot of the Fulton County Courthouse in Georgia, which is where Trump is scheduled to soon surrender after yet another indictment – his fourth. Chris Christie was ready, although some from New Jersey watching the first Republican presidential debate had to wonder why it took him so long to get there. He said the problem is how Trump acts, notwithstanding any of the criminal charges he faces.
“The conduct is beneath the office of president of the United States,” he said – in what was actually one of the milder comments he’s made about Trump.
“The former president, of course, was not there. But many of his supporters apparently were. There were boos from the audience.”
Finally, be sure to read InsiderNJ Guest Columnist Dave Pilmenstein’s take on the debate.
Here’s the Jessie Frees Show:
There was one clear-cut winner in the Republican presidential debates Wednesday night.
President Joseph R. Biden Jr.
And there were about 334 million losers: the American people.
Because if the eight people that were on the stage–and the one who wasn’t–represent the GOP’s hopes of retaking the White House in 2024, the incumbent has little to fear.
Let’s look at the eight pretenders–we’ll get to Felony Donnie shortly–who were on the stage in Milwaukee:
• Chris Christie–the former governor of New Jersey was probably the least objectionable of the candidates assembled. That still doesn’t make him qualified, and unless he can conquer the hate of the MAGA base that considers him a turncoat–not a traitor, there’s only one traitor in the race–he won’t win. That said, he’s a lot less scary than…
• VIivek Ramaswany–possibly the most unqualified person to ever seek a presidential nomination, outside of Trump, this biotech entrepreneur from Ohio with absolutely no experience and no clue of how government operates believes America is in “a national identity crisis”. He would abolish the FBI, IRS, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and Department of Education. Frankly, this nut case is almost as big a threat to national security as Cadet Bone Spurs.
• Ron “Adolf” DeSantis–Baby Hitler may have learned that his brand of bigotry, authoritarian intolerance of opposition and frankly, lack of personality make him repulsive to Americans. His used-car-salesman slickness may have gotten over on the retirees in Florida, but even they are now counting the days until he is term-limited out of the governor’s office. I’m sure Fox News has a job waiting for him.
• Nikki Haley–while I believe America is overdue for a woman president, she isn’t the one. She did make a few salient points when she spoke–accepting the reality of climate change, something Ramaswamy fervently denies, and also facing the reality that a national ban on abortion would never pass Congress–but, unfortunately for her, the Republican Cult has decided that these are hills they are willing to die on. And so they will.
• Mike Pence is, simply, too much of a religious zealot to ever be allowed in the Oval Office. Trump’s vice president says he would support a 15-week ban on abortion. Don’t believe that for a moment. He has repeatedly, as VP, pushed for a total ban. He’s also an avowed Christian Nationalist. And the Trumptards have never forgiven him for upholding the rule of law by not overturning the election, which is probably the primary reason he’s not being arraigned on criminal charges in Georgia.
• Asa Hutchinson, Doug Burgum, and Tim Scott are just too lightweight to be taken seriously, although Burgum deserves some respect for standing for the debate one day after tearing his Achilles tendon in a pickup basketball game. At least his toughness can’t be questioned. Hutchinson is, along with Christie, one of the two on stage virulently opposed to any thought of another Trump candidacy. And Scott’s only message was his desire for finish Trump’s draconian border wall, and nothing more.
Not exactly a heavyweight lineup of Republican leaders, right?
And then there’s Trump.
As I write this, the Donald is on a Daytime Plane to Georgia (with apologies to Gladys Knight and the Pips) to be arraigned on another indictment (that’s now four) charging him and 18 others with running an organized crime entity designed to overturn a free and fair election that he happened to lose. Of course, the orange one is repeating the same tired BS about rigged elections, freedom of speech, Democrats persecuting him, election interference, yada, yada, yada. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has requested a trial date of October 23, and, frankly, there is no reason the request shouldn’t be granted. Trump and his criminal cronies might be able to gum up the works in federal courts with judges he appointed, but that can’t happen in a state prosecution. Indeed, his sycophants in Congress are already trying, as House Judiciary Chairman and chief ass-kisser Jim (Gym) Jordan is attempting to interfere with the prosecution by trying to subpoena Willis, in the sane manner he did Alvin Bragg in New York. But Congress has no jurisdiction in this matter.
And big, bad, brave Donald Trump, who is obviously running scared at the likely prospect of spending the rest of his life in prison, couldn’t even summon the courage to stand in front of a friendly crowd of Republican supporters and face his opponents. So I’m thinking that, if Trump does get the nomination, President Biden should tell him to go kick rocks when it comes to a presidential debate.
Why give a dying flame any extra oxygen?