European Conservative

The candidates looked more like contestants on Trump’s business reality television program The Apprentice than serious alternative contenders for the highest office in the land.

National Review

Every vote Ramaswamy gets is denied to some other non-Trump contender who might be a more serious threat to the former president.

Washington Times

Newt Gingrich: Ramaswamy won because he was attractive, interesting, and just plain different from the traditional politicians on the stage.

American Greatness

DeSantis is most likely to defeat Biden.

Townhall

Despite years of Biden family and media disinformation, we are finally learning that President Joe Biden really did fire Ukrainian prosecutor Viktor Shokin for looking into state corruption involving the oil company Burisma and Hunter Biden -- and ultimately Joe Biden himself.

Washington Times

While there was no frontrunner on the stage, the pack of candidates jockeying for a chance to springboard to the lead threw punches and punchlines, and many of them centered on 38-year-old tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, whose surprisingly strong polling numbers placed him at center stage.

Wall Street Journal

Without Trump, the candidates could fight about their policies.

Newsmax

The candidates pushed back.

Fox News

Probably Donald Trump won the first Republican presidential debate as the conflict did little to consolidate the field around one or two choices as the gaggle of candidates struggled with the difficult questions of what to do about issues like abortion, climate change and a possibly convicted Trump.

PJ Media

Because the GOP has to make everything difficult, the frontrunner was not in attendance, but something named a Burgum was.

NY Post

Judging from Wednesday night, DeSantis alone appears to have the stuff to beat Trump. It may remain an uphill battle, but by beginning the climb, he may have the man at the top of the mountain second-guessing his decision to sit Wednesday out.

National Review

By inviting the criticism he took, Ramaswamy provided Ron DeSantis with cover.

Washington Examiner

Nikke Haley steals the show as DeSantis flops.

RedState

Ramaswamy got clobbered by that same establishment not because they necessarily view him as a threat but perhaps because they, too, see right through him.