Fox News is the debate’s biggest loser 

Let me begin with an observation about the opening format in last night’s debate: It was terrible. 

It seemed odd to base the first round of questions on a song. Sure, “Rich Men North of Richmond” is popular online at the moment, but that does not mean most of the public has even heard of it, let alone likes it. It seems more like Fox News trying to seem hip rather than taking the moment seriously.  

There wasn’t as much piling on Florida Governor Ron DeSantis as the pre-debate hype suggested there would be. There was some swiping at Vivek Ramaswamy, but he was largely ignored.   

One thing you can count on in a Republican debate is that there will be a major focus on abortion. To many, the Supreme Court decision in the Dobbs case, most people either thought or hoped, would have brought this to an end on the federal level, but it has not. Republicans, it seems, went from insisting that Roe’s demise would simply return the issue to the states where it belongs, to arguing that the federal government needs to be involved after all.  

The incongruity isn’t lost on the public, and it has Democrats drooling at the chance to use it to mobilize their base by scaring the hell out of it with this issue.  

The truth is, neither side has the votes in Washington to do much of anything on abortion — whether to institute new limits or to codify Roe into law at the federal level. It’s a pointless debate whose chief purpose on both sides will be to raise money and turn out voters. That the discussion of the issue went on so long, and only former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley pointed out how a president can do next to nothing either way on the issue, was disappointing. Truth, no matter how unpopular with the audience, is important.  

They eventually got around to talking about Donald Trump, mostly because it’s what the media wanted. Honestly, who cares about what these people think about the guy who ran away from the debate? It’s about ratings. This is what happens when the priority is “viral moments” more than debate value.  

If Trump had wanted to be there, he could have been. Instead, he taped an interview with Tucker Carlson that was released when the debate started. (The video, by the way, had racked up 73 million views in the first 30 minutes of its release. That number is impressive, but probably also impossible, considering that it’s 46 minutes long. Provided that number isn’t simply made up by Twitter, it likely includes many who saw a few seconds on autoplay without sound. 

Debate moderator Bret Baier said, “We spent an hour talking about policy” like that was almost too much. Then he devoted a large chunk of time to talking about the 2020 election and Trump’s feelings on the it. Again, if Trump had wanted to address it, he could’ve shown up. He didn’t.  

Overall, DeSantis performed well. He was the only candidate who, on the issues Republican voters claim to care about, could not only say what he would do, but could point to what he has done.  

Chris Christie brought plenty of energy to the contest, but it is hard to look at him without remembering what Trump said in his interview – that he left office with an approval rating in New Jersey roughly equal to that of Kim Jong Un. How effective can any of his attacks be, even if they are fully merited? 

Mike Pence was more animated than I have ever seen him. He probably did himself some good.  

Haley was strong when she spoke, and landed some harder punches on Ramaswamy than even Christie did.  

Tim Scott was there, too. I think? 

As for the moderators, they didn’t control the crowd or the candidates. They asked questions about a song and about Donald Trump before they bothered to ask about the Southern border, and then they spent more time on the former than the latter.  

Fox got this debate and the next one (well, Fox Business) because the other networks are so terrible. That no other news organization would have done a better job doesn’t mean they did a good one.  

The GOP has a problem entering this primary season, with all other moderator options being so absolutely terrible – I mean, they asked a UFO question, for crying out loud.  

But who else would have them? MSNBC and CNN would have their TV personalities debate the candidates instead of moderating. ABC, CBS and NBC aren’t any better. Newsmax has the production values of a high school AV club, and James Rosen is the only one with the integrity and knowledge to moderate.  

That’s the Republicans’ real problem. Where else would they go? 

Derek Hunter is host of the Derek Hunter Podcast and a former staffer for the late Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Mont.).