The New Yorker:

Donald Trump has dominated the primary season, but his former U.N. Ambassador is the best debater in the field—and she would probably be the G.O.P.’s most effective candidate against Joe Biden.

By Benjamin Wallace-Wells 

The Republican Presidential primary has been a curiously hidden contest: with Donald Trump effectively boycotting the trail, the remaining candidates have mostly struggled to draw the attention of potential supporters and the political press, both of whom seem sure that the real action is elsewhere. But by the end of the third Republican debate, on Wednesday evening, the main development of the primary had become clear. Nikki Haley is the best debater in the field, and she would probably be the G.O.P.’s most effective opponent to Joe Biden. “Do you want Dick Cheney in three-inch heels?” Vivek Ramaswamy, who has been baiting the former South Carolina governor all campaign, asked the audience at one point. Haley’s response drew cheers: “They’re five-inch heels.” But she didn’t disavow Cheney.

The debate was held a day after the 2023 elections, and the results of Tuesday night—headlined by Republican losses in Ohio, Kentucky, and Virginia—seemed to liberate the Presidential candidates, at least to a degree. If Trump’s party was no longer delivering wins, then maybe his opponents didn’t need to show him such unquestioning loyalty. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, nudged by the moderators to offer some criticism of Trump, said, “I’m sick of Republicans losing.” Ramaswamy denounced Ronna McDaniel, Trump’s handpicked R.N.C. chair, who, as Ramaswamy pointed out, has presided over four disappointing elections for her party. But more than the other challengers, Haley recognized that an electability argument wasn’t likely to do much damage to Trump. Instead, she went after him on policy. Trump “used to be right on Ukraine,” Haley said. “Now he’s getting weak in the knees.”

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