The third Republican debate featured candidates spouting Putin talk and wallowing in racism and Islamophobia as five moribund presidential campaigns battled for votes.
Vivek Ramaswamy raised Putin’s talking points:
Vivek Ramaswamy is now spouting Putin’s talking points #GOPDebate “Ukraine is not a model of democracy. It has merged all media into one state television media arm. That is not democratic.” pic.twitter.com/Y9NIGmoO7H
— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) November 9, 2023
Ramaswamy argued that Ukraine is not a democracy:
I’m really enjoying watching the Ukraine Hawks quietly and subtly tiptoe back from their position as this thing has turned into a disaster. The first half of this race I was the only one in front. Now. They are quietly starting to become more cautious, because they should be on par with the American people here. Ukraine is not a model of democracy. This is a country that has banned eleven opposition parties. It has merged all media into one state television, a media branch that is not democratic. The country has threatened not to hold elections this year unless the US provides more money. That’s not democratic.
It has celebrated a Nazi in its ranks, the comedian in cargo pants. A man named Zelensky is doing it in their own ranks. That’s not democratic. Even more facts for you that you won’t hear from the mainstream in either party or in the mainstream media. The regions of Ukraine currently occupied by Russia in the Donbas, Luhansk, Donetsk. These are Russian-speaking regions that have not even been part of Ukraine since 2014.
Tim Scott suggested that immigrants from Yemen, Syria and Iraq were terrorist sleeper cells:
Tim Scott goes all out about Islamaphobia: “I believe we have dormant terrorist cells in America. Thousands of people come from Yemen, Syria and Iraq. If we want to address the national security emergency at our border, we must do it now. ” #GOPDebate pic.twitter.com/ufKKXZ2bI1
— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) November 9, 2023
Scott said, “I believe we have dormant terrorist cells in America. Thousands of people come from Yemen, Syria and Iraq. If we want to address the national security emergency at our border, we must do it now.”
The candidates who are desperately struggling are giving in to the far right to get votes. Ramaswamy alleged that the last two presidential elections were rigged. Ron DeSantis wants to send the DOJ to college campuses, and the only people who sounded sane are Chris Christie and Nikki Haley, and neither of those two are going to win anything.
NBC News gave two hours of network airtime to election denial, racism, bigotry and the worst the far right has to offer. When the failing Republican candidates have to concede votes, they want to go straight to Trump’s toxic swamp, which tells viewers everything they need to know about the state of the Republican Party.
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Jason is the editor-in-chief. He is also a White House press pool and congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a bachelor’s degree in political science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Pricing and professional memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and the American Political Science Association