Opinion | The Moral Cowardice on Display in the Republican Debate Was Infuriating

Vivek Ramaswamy’s performance was passionately exaggerated and filled with comic enthusiasm, surpassing mere political calculation and venturing into a disturbing realm of idolizing Trump. It almost felt like his audition to become Trump’s running mate, don’t you think?

He went as far as proclaiming Trump as “the best president of the 21st century,” which put him only ahead of one other Republican president. But his most peculiar and fawning act of admiration was when he boldly questioned if any of his rivals had the “courage” – he actually used that word – to promise a presidential pardon for Trump on their first day in office.

Though they seemed to overlook him at that moment, they did take him down on other occasions. As his popularity grew and became a target, Haley schooled him on foreign policy, Pence highlighted the country’s ability to simultaneously tackle multiple challenges, and Christie criticized his lack of experience and unwarranted confidence.

At the age of 38, Ramaswamy is like Trump in his early stages, evolving towards the full extent of the “MAGA” ideology but not quite there yet. However, his narcissism has already fully developed. In the days leading up to the debate, he shared a video of himself engaged in “three hours of solid debate prep” on social media. The video showcased him playing tennis shirtless, subtly contrasting himself with an older, heavier, and slower front-runner who prefers the more forgiving environment of the golf course. It’s safe to say that Ramaswamy does have a few well-concealed jabs at Trump.

During Wednesday night’s debate, Ramaswamy faced criticism but persevered, inserting himself into as many topics of discussion as possible. The moderators covered a wide range of issues, including abortion, Ukraine, education, immigration, government spending, climate change, and more. Through this, we learned about Haley’s pursuit of a moderate image, Scott’s upbringing by a single mother in poverty, and Christie’s ability to endure overwhelming booing from the audience.