Reactions to the First GOP Debate

I wrote last night that Donald Trump, Marco Rubio and John Kasich were the big winners. Here are some other reactions:

Chris Cillizza: “As always, Trump is the hardest candidate to judge.  His unwillingness to commit to supporting the Republican nominee if he isn’t it should hurt him among Republicans. His general cluelessness about foreign policy specifics won’t help either. But, what  I’ve learned about Trump is that his brashness and boisterousness have an appeal with a not-small part of the GOP electorate. And, Trump did Trump tonight — unapologetic and dismissive at every turn.”

Harry Enten: “I have thoughts about who won and lost the debate, but I’m not trusting myself on who will drop or get a bounce out of the debate. Why? As Lynn Vavreck pointed out, a key experiment out of Arizona State in 2004 showed that voters’ minds can be greatly shaped by who the media says won or lost the debate. So while it pains me to watch cable news, I’ll be paying attention to the talking heads tonight and over the next few days.”

Dan Balz: “The first Republican debate of the 2016 campaign appeared to leave the nomination contest just as it was before. Donald Trump brought to Thursday’s debate the same sharp tongue and controversial style that has propelled him to the top of the polls in the Republican race. He was outspoken, bombastic and unapologetic. He did exactly what he has been doing up to now, and it hasn’t hurt him yet.”

Nate Cohn: “With so little time having passed after the debate, it’s impossible to know whether the media will deem him the sort of overwhelming winner who will get the attention necessary to make a big jump in the polls. But even if this is not the moment he breaks through, he surely advanced his case among the many electability-minded and conservative party elites with reservations about the abilities of both Mr. Bush and Mr. Walker.”

Nate Silver: “Just check his glowing Twitter mentions from members of the press corps: The media horde is likely to declare John Kasich the winner of the debate. For viewers at home, he’s not as much of a standout, at least based on his middling Google search traffic. But the post-debate spin often matters more than the reality.”

Ben Casselman: “One striking thing about tonight’s debate: how little of a role the economy played. Sure, there were scattered references to jobs and incomes, and there was a section of the debate that focused on economic issues. But in a sharp contrast to four years ago, the candidates often seemed eager to shift attention to other issues.”