MIAMI, Fla.—There was a Republican presidential candidate debate in Knight Concert Hall just north of MacArthur Causeway on Nov. 8. But on the streets around the venue, it was a just another Wednesday night in an empty business district hemmed in by massive road and condo construction projects.
Biscayne Boulevard and Bayshore Drive were braced with metal barricades for a two-block radius around the hall. Security need not have bothered: no one but police, media, five riot-control horses, three dogs, and—it was easy to count—12 people meandered through the NE 14th Street intersection near the venue’s front doors during the two hours that the five GOP hopefuls were debating inside.
The streets were empty as despairing reporters from across the country searched far-and-wide for someone to interview.
“Yeah, it’s quiet,” said a lone officer manning a check-point at NE 15th Street. “That’s a good thing, right?”
He didn’t sound too sure about that, seeming a bit disappointed.
Xavier Presley, 67, of Miami Beach, knew where everyone was: 15 miles away in Hialeah at former President Donald Trump’s counter-rally to the debate that he refused to participate in, as he did for the first two debates, and as he likely will for the fourth debate in Alabama next month.
Mr. Presley was at the Trump rally and was standing on the corner of NE 2nd Avenue and NE 14th Street holding two vulgar signs addressing the former president and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, drawing cheers and jeers from traffic.
He was the man of moment. Reporters were funneling from the media-filing center at the Marriott and Media Row across from the hall to find and interview “the protester.”
Unfortunately, Mr. Presley’s photo and videos of him won’t appear in most publications because, well, his signs, his hat, and even his white pants and shirt were plastered with aforementioned vulgarities.
But he was entertaining, at least, in fulfilling his role as “the protester” at the third GOP presidential debate.
“I’ve been protesting ever since Dr. King got killed,” he said, noting he is a certified chef and has been a high school football referee and baseball umpire for more than 30 years.
Mr. Presley doesn’t like Mr. DeSantis. “I’m disappointed that he really thinks our history of slavery is something you can hide,” he said. “I took that, well, personally. I really took it personal because they deny slavery just like the people who deny the Holocaust. This stuff is real.”
Mr. Presley doesn’t like President Trump. “He said he was the best baseball player from New York. That got to me. Oh, I can’t deal with that,” he said. “That’s the biggest lie he ever told.”
Right there: Best debate of the night.
Ruthless In a Parking Lot
Down NE 2nd Avenue, hidden behind a fence in a parking lot, there were, suddenly, people—about 40 folks watching the debate before a stage with a food truck and ad hoc bar.Ruthless Podcast founder John Ashbrook said he wasn’t necessarily surprised that the streets around the venue had more dog-walkers and cops on horses than protesters or looky-loos or people hawking clever T-shirts and buttons on the street corners.
“There’s a big television audience,” he said. “President Trump has, of course, a huge audience out in Hialeah and that’s not far from here. But I think there are a lot of people who are wondering, is there anybody else who can put up a fight? And we’re learning that tonight.”
From what he saw in the debate, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and Mr. DeSantis “both made a lot of really good points tonight. I think it would be good for [President Trump] to respond to them, be good for him to come to the next debate. I think it would do him well to show up and remind everybody just how talented he is.”
Mr. Ashbrook was particularly interested in debate commentary on China.
“All the candidates on stage talked about how we have to reorient ourselves with our relationship with China and I appreciate that,” he said. “Every candidate on stage reflected a much more aggressive posture, not just to China’s economic warfare, but the cultural war that it is waging against America.”
“DeSantis did a great job,” Comfortably Smug said, offering several real names that sounded as real as Comfortably Smug. “I’m surprised a lot of candidates didn’t try making the case [against President Trump] more. That should have been a centerpiece of the argument they made because Trump is far ahead. He’s way ahead.
Voices of Miami
Manny Gonzales and Andrew Perez, both of Miami, were not among the podcasters at the parking lot watch party.Mr. Gonzalez said he believes Ms. Haley has stepped forward as the GOP rival who can challenge President Trump but is very impressed with tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.
“They each had valid points. Each was on point,” he said. “Vivek is kind of young, but give him a few years and he’ll be unstoppable. He is a forceful speaker, right on point.”
Mr. Perez said he didn’t think any of the five on stage distinguished themselves enough to seriously challenge President Trump.
“You know, obviously, we’re all on the same team, being on the Republican side but I think they’re gonna have a difficult time beating Trump,” he said, noting the whole point is to elect someone who can defeat President Joe Biden in November 2024.
“I think, at the end of the day, what’s happening right now [in Israel] will be [like] what happened with Trump with COVID—it is Biden’s COVID with what’s happening with this war in Israel. And that obviously is not going to work to his advantage.”
The Israel-Hamas war has “created a division within the Democratic party where everybody just backstabs [Biden]. So, maybe he may not even run. A lot of Democrats are coming out saying don’t run—age, delusional, weak, you name it. So, this is all good for Trump and I think he’s going to win.”
There was no moon over Miami. But overhead, like 10-story derricks, crane booms loomed over Miami. Mr. Gonzales and Mr. Perez enjoyed the warm evening and the post-debate debates.
“That’s my point,” Mr. Perez said. “Trump—I think he’s going to win.”
