While Governor DeSantis stood at the center of the stage at the first Republican primary debate, it was his rival standing to the right, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, who appeared to dominate the conversation. 

Without President Trump in the room, the novice candidate and biotech entrepreneur represented himself as the most hardline conservative on the stage through repeated invocations of God and family and a sense of unbridled confidence. 

The youngest candidate on the stage and the first millennial to run for president as a Republican presented his age and lack of political experience as strengths. “I’m the only person on the stage who isn’t bought and paid for,” he said at one point, denouncing his rivals as “super PAC puppets” who are using “ready-made, pre-prepared slogans” to attack him.

“If you have a broken car, you don’t turn over the keys to the people who broke it again,” he said when asked why voters should choose him over more experienced politicians on the stage. “You hand it to a new generation to fix the problem. That is why I am in this race, and we are just getting warmed up.”

When the Fox News moderators asked the candidates if they would support Mr. Trump even if he was convicted of a crime, Mr. Ramaswamy instantly raised his hand, while Mr. DeSantis hesitated, seemingly searching for approval. “President Trump, I believe, was the best president of the 21st century,” Mr. Ramaswamy proclaimed, the crowd roaring. 

It was a reminder that despite being offstage, the 45th president was far from absent on the internet and social media during the debate. His pre-taped interview with former Fox host Tucker Carlson, broadcast on X, drew some 74 million viewers, Reuters reported.

Mr. Trump offered little in the way of policy substance during the interview, but did observe of the January 6 attack on the Capitol that “People in that crowd said it was the most beautiful day they ever experienced. There was love and unity. I have never seen such spirit and such passion and such love.”

Regarding the decision to sit out the debate, Mr. Trump asked “Do I sit there for an hour or two hours, whatever it’s going to be, and get harassed by people that shouldn’t even be running for president?”

Just as Mr. Ramaswamy was not afraid to express support for Mr. Trump, neither was he afraid to rail against his fellow contenders — particularly the former ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, Vice President Pence, and Governor Christie.

Mr. Ramaswamy rebuked Mr. Christie’s criticism of the former president’s “conduct,” arguing, “Your claim that Donald Trump is motivated by vengeance and grievance would be a lot more credible if your entire campaign were not based on vengeance and grievance against one man.”

This accusation appeared to resonate in the audience as delivered by a candidate whose campaign platform aims to cure moral malaise through policy prescriptions. In a discussion on crime, Mr. Ramaswamy attacked Mr. Pence’s claim that “we just need a government as good as our people,” instead offering a less cheerful description of the political moment. 

“Some others like you on this stage may have an, ‘It’s morning in America’ speech,” Mr. Ramaswamy said, seemingly dismissing the optimistic slogan of President Reagan’s 1984 political campaign. “It is not morning in America.”

Mr. Ramaswamy argued that to fix the violence and the mental health epidemic plaguing the country requires restoring the national identity alongside the values of family, faith, patriotism, and hard work.

When prompted to discuss his plans for education, Mr. Ramaswamy claimed that America’s “epidemic of fatherlessness” goes “hand in hand with the nuclear family, the greatest form of governance of all time.”

Mr. Ramaswamy’s Republican rivals pushed against his foreign policy pronouncements, which have received criticism for veering from the GOP mainstream. Asked whether America should increase military aid to Ukraine, Mr. Ramaswamy advocated for using those resources to defend the southern border.

“I find it offensive that we have professional politicians on the stage that will make a pilgrimage to Kyiv, to their Pope Zelensky, without doing the same thing for people in Maui or the south side of Chicago or Kensington,” he said, articulating his vision of prioritizing the national self-interest.

Mr. Pence pushed against Mr. Ramaswamy’s proposed land “giveaway” to Russia, arguing that it would encourage President Putin to enter NATO territory, which the U.S. Armed Forces would be required to defend.

Mrs. Haley also slammed Mr. Ramaswamy’s plans to “defund” Israel, “hand Ukraine to Russia,” and “let China eat Taiwan,” declaring, “You have no foreign policy experience, and it shows.”

In his response, Mr. Ramaswamy promised to lead an “Abraham Accords 2.0” and partner with Israel to ensure that Iran never obtains nuclear arms. “Friends help each other stand on their own two feet,” he said. 

While GOP heavyweights sought to dismantle Mr. Ramaswamy’s arguments, they disclosed the growing potency of his campaign in the primary race.