Several Hillsdale students traveled to Cleveland to attend the first Republican 2016 presidential debate at Quicken Loans Arena on Aug. 6.
Sophomores Claudia Sladick, Madeline Domalakes, Morgan Brownfield, and Michael Lucchese, all members of Hillsdale’s College Republicans chapter, arranged to meet in Cleveland with event tickets from the Cuyahoga County Republican Party. Although they disagreed about which candidate won, they were in agreement that the debate in person was much different from the debate on TV.
One off-camera highlight was a dispute between Donald Trump and Jeb Bush, former governor of Florida.
“[We] witnessed some verbal sparring between the two that looked to be very heated and ended with Trump turning his head and not looking at Jeb for the rest of the night,” Domalakes said.
According to Sladick, the Cleveland crowd gave Ohio Governor John Kasich a wild reception.
“They were very responsive to the candidates throughout the debate,” she said.
But everything didn’t go as planned- in fact, the group almost cancelled their trip. They were sidetracked when the Cuyahoga Republican Party, which had previously promised tickets for the four students and Sladick’s father, withdrew its offer.
After several phone calls to the organization, Lucchese and Brownfield managed to get the group admitted as volunteers.
“We didn’t have tickets until noon on the day of the debate,” Brownfield said. “I was thinking about cancelling my flight [from D.C.].”
While the delay prevented them from seeing the 5 p.m. forum, the students were able to watch the prime-time evening debate featuring the top ten candidates.
Sladick described debate moderators Bret Baier, Megyn Kelly, and Chris Wallace’s questions as “challenging, but necessary.” While the politicians did not answer with specific details, she hopes they will be more open in future debates.
Brownfield said that Sen. Marco Rubio was a “big hit” for the College Republicans because of the members’ strong support for him.
Though Rubio was the favorite throughout the group, Sladick thought neurosurgeon Ben Carson deserved special recognition.
“I felt that Ben Carson was impressive because he did not try to present himself as something he is not,” she said. “As one of the only non-politicians on the stage, he remained collected and well-spoken and did not seem insecure by his lack of political experience. Rather, he highlighted his intelligence and sense of humor while interacting with the moderators and other candidates.”
Domalakes said New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and Sen. Ted Cruz had “excellent” responses, but added that she believed Carson was only able to talk on foreign policy issues. She noted he may not have expected the moderator’s questions, but he should have been more thorough in his preparation.
Though their trip did not go according to plan, the students are glad to have had the opportunity.
“It was an absolute blast,” Domalakes said. “I have to thank Morgan and Michael for working so hard to give us the opportunity.”