Did Vivek Ramaswamy go too far in the first debate-
Did Vivek Ramaswamy go too far in the first debate-
Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:00 after last night's barn burner debate in Wisconsin.
00:03 A lot to dig into as we get a closer look
00:06 at some of these GOP hopefuls from last night.
00:09 Take a look at this and some of the breakout moments
00:12 that they had, watch.
00:14 - I'm the only person on the stage
00:15 who isn't bought and paid for so I can say this.
00:17 The climate change agenda is a hoax.
00:20 The climate change agenda is a hoax.
00:22 - I've had enough already tonight
00:24 of a guy who sounds like Chad GPT standing up here
00:30 - Now is not the time for on the job training.
00:33 We don't need to bring in a rookie.
00:35 We don't need to bring in people without experience.
00:37 - This is exactly why Margaret Thatcher said,
00:40 "If you want something said, ask a man.
00:41 If you want something done, ask a woman."
00:44 - I think the American people deserve to know
00:47 whether everyone on this stage agrees
00:50 that I kept my oath to the Constitution that day.
00:52 - Mike did his duty.
00:54 I got no beef with him, but here's the thing.
00:56 Is this what we're gonna be focusing on?
00:59 - Ukraine is not a priority
01:01 for the United States of America.
01:03 - You are choosing a murder over a pro-American country.
01:08 You have no foreign policy experience and it shows.
01:10 - And you know what?
01:11 - It shows.
01:12 - Whoa, so you get the idea.
01:15 Let's kick things off with Kayleigh McEnany,
01:17 former White House press secretary
01:19 and co-host of Outnumbered.
01:20 Kayleigh, great to see you.
01:21 - Thank you, Margaret.
01:22 - I'm happy you're here to kind of,
01:24 having been sitting there,
01:26 it's good for me to actually look back
01:28 at some of what was said last night
01:30 and kind of slow it down and take a look
01:32 at what made impressions on people.
01:36 This focus group this morning
01:37 that I know you saw on America's Newsroom
01:39 was very interesting.
01:39 I wanna play a little bit of this
01:40 and get your thoughts out of that.
01:42 Let's watch.
01:42 - I think Vivek's on a little bit of thin ice, even with me.
01:47 At the onset, I'm looking for someone
01:50 that can win the general.
01:52 And I think he might've alienated a few people last night
01:55 just as abrasiveness.
01:56 - I was all about Vivek, but you know what?
01:58 After watching the debate,
01:59 I do have to agree with some other members on the panel.
02:01 I think the strongest performer
02:02 in terms of who will do well in the general election,
02:05 who will do well with the most Republicans
02:07 is actually Ron DeSantis.
02:09 - Very interesting.
02:11 What was your take on who stood out
02:14 and who might be able to pick up some more support?
02:18 - First, I just wanna say what a phenomenal debate.
02:20 You and Brett did a wonderful job.
02:21 - Thank you, Kay.
02:22 - And as a voter, it was just refreshing
02:24 to be able to watch a debate about the issues,
02:25 and that is what we got last night.
02:27 Who was most behooved by the debate?
02:29 I think Ron DeSantis.
02:31 Just reaching out to some conservatives
02:33 I know across the nation,
02:34 many of whom are Trump supporters
02:35 and remain Trump supporters.
02:36 But I said, who was on the stage?
02:38 Who do you like?
02:39 Ron DeSantis was the takeaway.
02:41 They loved the fact, as one 22-year-old
02:43 in that focus group said,
02:45 that the work was done for Ron DeSantis
02:47 before he walked into the room.
02:48 He has perhaps the best conservative record
02:51 of any governor in the nation,
02:53 although I would say Glenn Youngkin
02:54 is also in that category.
02:55 He showed that.
02:56 He didn't get involved in the phrase.
02:59 I think the phrase helped him
03:00 because it might have knocked some people
03:01 off the edges of the stage.
03:02 That might be a smaller stage.
03:04 But he wasn't in the phrase.
03:06 And he was able to level punches against,
03:09 not Trump, but the ultimate opponent,
03:12 which is Joe Biden.
03:13 He also showed a more personal touch,
03:15 which was one of the critiques of Ron DeSantis,
03:17 which I think will help him.
03:17 - Yeah, I wanna ask you about that.
03:19 But just to, on the Vivek issue,
03:23 because he was getting a lot of attention going in.
03:25 His numbers were going up.
03:26 He was front and center with Ron DeSantis
03:29 based on the polling last night.
03:31 But I think it's interesting
03:32 that some of those voters said
03:33 that they thought that he went too far,
03:35 that he was abrasive.
03:36 - And that's exactly what I was hearing.
03:38 The Wall Street Journal said that in some ways
03:40 he sounded like a young man in too much of a hurry.
03:43 And I think an example of that
03:45 is by saying everyone was bought and paid for.
03:47 I think it's hard to make the argument
03:48 that someone who took on Disney,
03:50 some would say to his own peril,
03:51 Ron DeSantis is bought and paid for.
03:53 Also, he seems to be trying to mimic
03:55 the style of President Trump.
03:56 And if there's one thing I know,
03:57 you can never out-Trump Trump.
03:59 There is one Donald Trump.
04:00 He is beloved.
04:01 And if his ultimate goal is to win the GOP nomination,
04:03 you've gotta get beyond President Trump.
04:05 But I don't see how you do that if you're Vivek.
04:08 - So obviously one of the things
04:10 that Ron DeSantis was hoping to do last night,
04:13 based on observing and what he said,
04:15 was to try to connect with people.
04:16 Because the criticism against him
04:18 is that he doesn't connect with people,
04:20 that he doesn't seem relaxed and emotional.
04:23 Here's some efforts that he made
04:25 at doing that last night, watch.
04:27 - One of the most impactful moments of my life
04:30 was when I heard the heartbeat of my oldest daughter
04:33 in my wife's womb, and then saw the sonograms
04:36 of all three of my kids.
04:38 I know a lady in Florida named Penny.
04:40 She survived multiple abortion attempts.
04:43 She was left discarded in a pan.
04:46 Fortunately, her grandmother saved her
04:48 and brought her to a different hospital.
04:50 We're better than what the Democrats are selling.
04:53 - How do you think he did?
04:55 - I think that was blunting the biggest criticism
04:58 against Ron DeSantis, which is,
04:59 you're not connecting with voters.
05:02 Elections are about people.
05:03 They're not about politicians.
05:05 And to actually hear the names of people
05:07 in a succinct way, to see their stories,
05:09 to hear their stories from a politician was powerful.
05:12 It's one thing that former President Trump
05:13 really excels at when he does these off-the-record stops.
05:16 I know he went to a Dairy Queen,
05:17 and he says, "What the heck's a blizzard?"
05:19 And has this just viral moment.
05:20 He's very good at this retail politics.
05:22 And to succeed in a GOP primary,
05:25 you've gotta be good at that.
05:26 And to make this about people
05:28 was a huge win for Ron DeSantis.
05:30 - But I think there's still a question
05:32 about whether or not he is really making
05:35 that personal connection,
05:36 where people feel like they know him and they like him.
05:38 I know he is very well-liked in Florida.
05:41 But crossing, it's one thing to sort of say,
05:43 I'm gonna tell this story,
05:44 and I'm gonna tell that story.
05:45 But do you think, based on what you're hearing from people,
05:49 that he had a breakthrough in terms of,
05:51 oh, you know, that's who he is.
05:53 I really saw his heart last night.
05:55 Do you think?
05:56 - That's the million-dollar question.
05:57 I mean, to have a breakthrough,
05:58 you have to stop the hemorrhaging in the polls
06:01 where there is a 40% gap between you and President Trump.
06:06 I don't think this reversed the numbers
06:07 in any dramatic way.
06:08 Did he make some gains?
06:09 Absolutely, he did.
06:11 But I think it's about winnowing the field.
06:13 He's going to get more time as these debates progress,
06:15 because the field will get smaller and smaller.
06:17 So the longer he can stay,
06:18 the longer he can rack up points.
06:19 Perhaps he can creep up on Trump,
06:21 but I would just note, Trump's lead,
06:23 no one in the history of modern politics
06:25 has ever lost with a lead that big.
06:27 So in order to win, you gotta defy history.
06:29 - Yeah, or something very big has to change
06:32 in the whole dynamic, in the world, in the election.
06:35 Let's watch this from Nikki Haley,
06:36 because I'm also hearing a lot of people say
06:38 that this resonated with them.
06:41 Watch this.
06:42 - Can't we all agree that we should ban late-term abortions?
06:47 Can't we all agree that we should encourage adoptions?
06:50 Can't we all agree that doctors and nurses
06:53 who don't believe in abortion
06:54 shouldn't have to perform them?
06:55 Can't we all agree that contraception should be available?
06:58 And can't we all agree that we are not gonna put a woman
07:01 in jail or give her the death penalty
07:03 if she gets an abortion?
07:05 Let's treat this like a respectful issue that it is
07:09 and humanize the situation
07:11 and stop demonizing the situation.
07:13 - So obviously, suburban women voters,
07:15 who I should point out, have different views on abortion.
07:17 They're not a monolith by any means,
07:19 but they're a very important part of the vote.
07:22 Do you think she made ground with them last night?
07:24 - Look, in a general election,
07:26 that argument may go somewhere.
07:27 I don't know of a single person on that stage
07:29 that wants the death penalty for a woman,
07:31 a vulnerable woman, who decides to have an abortion.
07:33 No one in the party believes that.
07:35 I think she went too far,
07:36 especially when the Des Moines Register poll says
07:38 60% of Iowa caucus goers
07:40 agree with the fetal heartbeat legislation,
07:42 like what Ron DeSantis signed
07:43 and other governors like Glynne.
07:45 Yes.
07:46 - Okay, Kayleigh, thank you.
07:47 I could go on with you for the rest of the hour,
07:49 but it's great to have you here.
07:50 Thank you very much, Kayleigh McEnany.
07:52 - Hey everyone, I'm Emily Campagno.
07:54 Catch me and my co-hosts,
07:56 Harris Faulkner and Kayleigh McEnany
07:58 on Outnumbered every weekday at 12 p.m. Eastern,
08:01 or set your DVR.
08:03 Also, don't forget to subscribe
08:04 to the Fox News YouTube page for daily highlights.