Appropriately for a debate aired by NBC, Vivek Ramaswamy was the biggest loser of Wednesday night’s third Republican primary gabfest, The Post’s panel of political experts unanimously agreed.
“He was way too hot and way too nasty,” said Republican consultant Rob Ryan of the 38-year-old biotech entrepreneur. “Hurt himself big-time.”
“As sanctimonious and tedious as ever,” agreed Democratic consultant Chris Coffey.
The night’s biggest talking point was the moment when Ramaswamy defended himself from criticism by Nikki Haley over his use of TikTok by pointing out that Haley’s adult daughter also dabbled in the alleged Chinese spy app.
That drew an angry response from Haley, who told her rival to “keep my daughter’s name out of your voice,” before dismissing Ramaswamy as “scum.”
“Going after Nikki Haley’s daughter was a stupid thing,” said Ryan.
Democratic consultant Hank Sheinkopf agreed, also telling The Post that Ramaswamy’s attack was “stupid” and “didn’t work.”
Sheinkopf added that Ramaswamy’s earlier salvo at Haley, in which he accused her of being “Dick Cheney in three-inch heels,” also didn’t work, and in fact “only made her look better.”
O’Brien Murray, who advises Republicans and moderate Democrats, added that Haley’s retort that she was wearing “five-inch heels” and they were “not for a fashion statement” but for “ammunition,” was a “fantastic response.”
“It’s obvious Nikki Haley is scaring everyone,” Murray said. “They went after her, and she was good on her feet with her comebacks. That was the big takeaway.”
The former South Carolina governor received high marks from all The Post experts for her performance, which came off the back of polls showing her catching up to — and in some cases passing — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the early states of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina.
“Nikki Haley’s greatest attribute is that she’s a woman taking on four men,” said Ryan. “She knows the issues and presents them well. DeSantis better watch out.”
“Haley looked like the center of attention,” said Coffey, who added that the 51-year-old had “the best debate of the bunch,” while Sheinkopf concurred that the former ambassador to the United Nations had “led the pack.”
“She was most energetic. She had the facts and figures and had the guts to take on all the boys,” he said. “She had the guts to take on [former President Donald] Trump right away. She said the party has to move beyond Trump and look forward.
“DeSantis, Vivek and [Chris] Christie want to stop Haley. They tried to slow her down. She repelled the attacks,” Sheinkopf added. “She answered the questions and didn’t take the bull from anybody. DeSantis is afraid of her. That’s why he went at her.”
The Florida governor got mixed reviews, with Ryan saying DeSantis “gets a gold star for most improved debating skills,” but Coffey saying he “didn’t stand out” and did nothing that might kick-start a polling rise.
Similarly, Ryan said, Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) “was once again unable to break out of the pack” despite having less competition for airtime than in the first two debates.
Coffey had a harsher assessment, calling Scott’s performance “useless” and saying the senator sounded “like a religious college president.”
“Scott you may want to go share a prayer with, but he doesn’t have a prayer to win,” the Dem consultant added.
Ryan had kinder words for Christie, saying the former New Jersey governor “miraculously transformed from a chronic Trump basher into a serious candidate talking about serious issues. He did himself a big favor and may have picked up some support along the way.”
Coffey agreed in part, saying Christie had turned in a “solid” performance, but was little more than “comic relief” at this point in the race.
As for Trump, absent for the third consecutive debate, there was again unanimity that the 77-year-old’s chances had not suffered by missing out.
“They are all cowards,” said Coffey of the quintet on the Miami stage. “Their front-runner faces 90 counts and is up by 30 to 50 points and they just pretend he’s not a factor. Or a threat. Are they running for VP?
“They didn’t go after Trump at all,” Ryan agreed. “They shied away from it. I didn’t see anything injuring Trump.
“They were all trading punches, and Vivek was punching himself.”
