Politics

Carly Fiorina Eviscerates Ghost of Trump, Wins Fox News JV Presidential Debate

It's decided.

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Fiorina
Fox News

The internet has spoken: Carly Fiorina won the Fox News "kids table" debate in a landslide.

"I have to say I was most impressed by Carly Fiorina," said Fox News Sunday anchor Chris Wallace shortly after the debate concluded.

Wallace's opinion was seemingly shared by the majority of media figures on Twitter (including Reason staffers):

While Fiorina certainly didn't go overboard on specific policies she would like to implement, her rhetorical hold over the debate was masterful. She never stumbled, lost her train of thought, or gave a clunky answer. And her swipe at Donald Trump—who donated to Hillary Clinton and takes phone calls from Bill Clinton—was one of the most gratifying moments of the debate.

Even Rick Perry seemed impressed, and sort of endorsed Fiorina for Secretary of State at one point.

Fiorina also did an adequate job painting a picture of the 2016 election as a showdown between the conflicting ideologies of conservatism and progressivism, and lamented that big government was preventing too many people from realizing the American dream.

"2016 is going to be a fight between conservatism and a Democratic Party that is undermining the very character of this nation," she said. "I'm not a member of the political class… I will, with your help and support, lead the resurgence of this great nation."

She had her weaker moments, too: her foreign policy seemed only marginally more conciliatory than the hawkiest of the hawks, and she punted on an opportunity to stand up for tech privacy rights. Still, she is undoubtedly the candidate most deserving of promotion to the main event.