The One Thing All GOP Candidates Should Do at the Next Debate

The One Thing All GOP Candidates Should Do at the Next Debate
(L–R) North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former South Carolina Gov. and U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, and former Vice President Mike Pence at the second Republican presidential primary debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif. on Sept. 27, 2023. (Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images)
Roger L. Simon
11/2/2023
Updated:
11/2/2023
0:00
Commentary
Journalist Byron York in his newsletter sums up the state of Republican primary race accurately:

In the five most recent national polls included in the RealClearPolitics average of national polls, Trump’s support was at 64%, 62%, 56%, 61%, and 58%. DeSantis’s position in those same five polls was 15%, 12%, 17%, 13%, and 12%. On average, DeSantis is 45.9 points behind Trump. In those same five most recent polls, Haley’s position was 8%, 7%, 8%, 7%, and 11%. On average, she is 51 points behind Trump.

It would be too generous to call that a three-candidate race. Trump’s lead is just too big. He is the whole race, all by himself.

The other candidates are even further behind former President Donald Trump than Gov. Ron DeSantis and former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley, making their chances of victory statically yet more negligible, if that’s possible.

What Mr. York wrote has been true for well over a year and is, if anything, truer now.

What is the conclusion we should draw from this with respect to the GOP debate to be held in Miami on Nov. 8?

In my opinion, the candidates should put aside their egos and immediately support the frontrunner for the good of the country.

A significant part of President Trump’s gigantic lead is due to the weaponization of the Department of Justice against him.

Nothing in any of our lives has been more dangerous to the very fabric of our republic, its reason for being, than that desecration of our justice system.

Equal justice for all is being trampled on at the highest levels across many states.

It must be stopped.

The best way to do that now is for all the other Republican presidential candidates to drop out and form an Iron Wall in support of Trump, citing this horrendous weaponization of justice.

This would send a message to the country that even the legacy media would find difficult to ignore, though they would try, of course.

Still, something must be done.

Nothing less than Western civilization hangs in the balance.

Wait … Western civilization depends on Donald Trump? He writes mean tweets. He—

So [expletive] what?

Joe E. Brown had it right at the end of the Billy Wilder‘s classic comedy “Some Like It Hot” when he told us Nobody’s perfect!”

In any case, the cliché that you go to war with the army you have is true—and make no mistake about, it we are at war, both internally and externally, although the current administration, that even stopped designating the Houthis as a terror organization, largely ignores the latter.

The war against the MAGA world is all they really care about.

And President Trump is a more than a pretty good general to have in a fight. He is George S. Patton to many.

I know it’s difficult for political candidates to face reality and withdraw when they have so much invested, but the time to step aside is now—I will reiterate—for the good of the country.

And, yes, I know, sad to say, many don’t care about that as much as they care about themselves and their futures. But even for the sake of their futures its good idea.

Their reputations would grow. It’s never too late.

Mr. DeSantis could still offer to run as President Trump’s vice president since their views seem to virtually coincide.

And no place better to do this than in full view of the country at the debate.

If former Vice President Mike Pence had the courage to do it publicly at the Republican Jewish Coalition conference in Las Vegas, the others can do the same.

Or would they prefer to endure a fourth debate when the already diminished audience paying attention may be less than a high school football game when the team’s at the bottom of the league?

Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.