"HERE AND NOW," I'M STEVEN POTTER.

>> FOR THEIR TAKE ON THE REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY DEBATE, TWO VETERAN POLITICOS.

OUR POLITICAL PANELIST REPUBLICAN BILL McCOSHEN AND DEMOCRAT SCOTT ROSS.

THANK YOU FOR BEING WITH US, GUYS.

>> THANK YOU FOR HAVING US.

>> FIRST, WHAT WAS YOUR TAKE OF THE DEBATE?

>> I LIKED IT.

AS A FORMER HOCKEY COACH, I LIKE THE FACT THAT THEY COMPETED FOR THE NOMINATION.

YOU CAN'T TEACH KIDS TO COMPETE AND SIX OF THEM I THINK BROUGHT THEIR "A" GAME.

I DIDN'T THINK HUTCHINSON OR TIM SCOTT DID, BUT THE OTHERS COMPETED TO GET THIS NOMINATION.

MY RANKING OF THE DEBATE THE OTHER NIGHT WOULD BE DONALD TRUMP NUMBER ONE.

HE DIDN'T GET HIT AT ALL THE WHOLE NIGHT.

RON DeSANTIS, NUMBER TWO.

I WOULD HAVE HAD VIVEK RAMASWAMY NUMBER THREE AND NIKKI HALEY NUMBER FOUR AND MIKE PENCE NUMBER 5.

THERE'S A COUPLE PROBLEMS WITH A FEW OF THEM.

ONE WAS TRUMP.

HE WASN'T THERE.

WE'LL SEE OVER TIME WHETHER OR NOT THIS HURTS HIS BIG LEAD NATIONALLY AND IN THE KEY STATES.

I THINK IT WILL.

NUMBER TWO, VIVEK VFNLT HE TRIED TO FILL THE OUTSIDER LANE WHICH TRUMP HAS FULLY FILLED.

THE ONE THING THE MODERATORS DIDN'T ASK HIM, THE FOLLOW-UP QUESTION SHOULD HAVE BEEN HE'S IN THIS RACE, WHY ARE YOU IN THIS RACE?

NOBODY ASKED HIM THAT.

THE FINAL ONE IS MIKE PENCE.

SCOTT ROSS HAS MORE CHANCE OF GETTING THE REPUBLICAN NOMINATION THAN MIKE PENCE DOES.

VOTERS WILL NEVER ALLOW HIM TO BE THE NOMINEE, SO I THINK IT'S TIME FOR THE FORMER VP TO EXIT STAGE LEFT.

>> WHAT DO YOU THINK?

>> IF THIS IS JUST AN EXCUSE TO TRY TO GET ME TO GO TO MILWAUKEE NEXT YEAR, THAT'S NOT THE WAY TO DO IT.

[LAUGHTER] >> WHAT I SAW WITH THE AMERICAN PEOPLE SAW, WHICH IS AGREEING WITH BILL ON THE FACT THAT DONALD TRUMP, YOU KNOW, CAME IN SECOND.

JOE BIDEN CAME IN FIRST IN THAT DEBATE BECAUSE WHAT YOU SAW WAS A GROUP OF PEOPLE TRYING TO CLAMOR FOR DONALD TRUMP'S APPROVAL WHILE ISSUING OPINIONS THAT ARE JUST SO BEYOND WHAT THE AMERICAN PEOPLE ARE SUPPORTING RIGHT NOW.

THE AMERICAN PEOPLE DO SUPPORT ABORTION RIGHTS.

THE REPUBLICANS WILL HAVE A NATIONWIDE ABORTION BAN.

THE REPUBLICAN PARTY OPPOSES CLIMATE CHANGE AND DOESN'T BELIEVE IT EXISTS.

WE SAW THAT IN THE JUST TERRIBLE LACK OF RAISING HANDS AND THAT SORT OF THING.

OVERALL, I THINK THE BIG NEWS THERE WAS THAT RON DeSANTIS TURNED OUT TO BE EXACTLY THE PAPER TIGER THAT DONALD TRUMP SAID HE WAS BECAUSE HE HAD ABSOLUTELY NO IMPACT IN THAT DEBATE OTHER THAN LETTING US KNOW THAT ANY SINGLE TIME HE'S ASKED A QUESTION, HE'S GOING TO ANSWER IT IN A VERY SURLY, SWARMY WAY.

IF YOU'RE BEING IRRITATING LIKE VIVEK, I THINK THAT'S A FEAT WELL DONE.

>> MORDECAI LEE JUST SAID IN THE REPORT THAT WE HAVE ON THE DEBATE THAT REPUBLICANS HAVE A DEEP BENCH OF IMPRESSIVE PRESIDENTIAL HOPEFULS TO THE EXTENT HE SAID THAT DEMOCRATS SHOULD BE VERY, VERY AFRAID.

WHAT'S YOUR RESPONSE TO THAT?

>> THE DEMOCRATS HAVE JOE BIDEN TO RUN THIS TIME.

HE IS THE INCUMBENT PRESIDENT.

HE HAS CREATED 13 MILLION JOBS.

HE HAS HELPED BUILD AN COMEEP ECONOMY FROM THE GROUND UP AND THE MIDDLE OUT THAT IS HELPING ALL OF AMERICANS TO TRY AND THRIVE IN THESE TRYING TIMES.

THE DEMOCRATS DON'T NEED A GOOD BENCH RIGHT NOW IN 2024 BECAUSE THEY'LL BE RUNNING IN 2028 WITH A WHOLE NEW CANDIDATE.

>> JOE BIDEN IS 106 YEARS OLD.

I MEAN, YOU HAVE NO BENCH AT THIS POINT IN TIME.

I AGREE WITH MORDECAI ON THIS.

THE ONE ACTUALLY WHO IMPRESSED ME THE MOST BUT PROBABLY WON'T LAST MUCH LONGER WITH NORTH DAKOTA DOUG BURGUM.

I THOUGHT HE WAS AUTHENTIC WITH SMOOTH ANSWERS.

THE REALITY IS, HE PROBABLY WON'T MEET THE THRESHOLD FOR DEBATE IN SEPTEMBER.

>> SO SOMEHOW DOES DONALD TRUMP MAINTAIN SUCH A COMMANDING LEAD EVEN AS HE TURNS HIMSELF IN FOR ARREST ON HIS LATEST INDICTMENT?

>> THERE'S TOO MANY CANDIDATES IN THIS FIELD.

THE REALITY IS, THOSE THAT DID NOT QUALIFY FOR THE MILWAUKEE DEBATE SHOULD ALREADY BE OUT OF THIS RACE.

THOSE WHO DO NOT QUALIFY FOR CALIFORNIA WHEN THE STANDARDS GET RAISED SHOULD ALSO DROP OUT.

THE NOTION THAT THIS WILL GET DECIDED IN NEW HAMPSHIRE OR SOUTH CAROLINA OR ON SUPER TUESDAY IS NONSENSE IN THIS CYCLE.

THIS CYCLE IS MOVING FASTER THAN ANY IN OUR LIFETIME.

IF THOSE WHO WANT ANOTHER ALTERNATIVE OTHER THAN DONALD TRUMP TO BE THE NOMINATOR OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY, IF YOU ARE SUPPORTING SOMEONE OTHER THAN RON DeSANTIS OR NIKKI HALEY AT THIS POINT, YOU ARE WASTING YOUR TIME AND YOUR MONEY.

THE OTHERS NEED TO GET OUT SO THAT WE CAN SCHAI CONSOLIDATE TS RACE.

>> WHAT DO YOU SAY ABOUT DONALD TRUMP HAVING THIS COMMANDING LEAD?

>> IT SHOWS THAT THE REPUBLICAN PARTY HAS LOST ITS MIND BECAUSE THIS GUY JUAN FIT IN 2016, HE WAS UNFIT IN 2020 AND HE REMAINS UNFIT AND INDICTED IN 2024.

THE THING ABOUT THE DEBATE THE OTHER NIGHT THAT YOU NOTICED IS WHENEVER, FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, ANY OF THOSE CANDIDATES TRIED TO ARTICULATE A POSITION THAT SEEMED EVEN REASONABLE, THEY DISQUALIFIED THEMSELVES FROM WING THE ACTUAL PRIMARY.

THE THING THAT NIKKI HALEY SAID ABOUT HOW SHE WAS TRYING TO TALK ABOUT ABORTION AND TALK PROCESS ON IT AND WHY IT MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO BE POSSIBLE AND CHRIS.

>> NIKKI MOVED MY WIFE.

SHE HAD THE RIGHT ANSWERING ON ABORTION ON THE STAGE AND THE OTHER SEVEN BOYS OUTING TO PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT SHE SAID IF THEY WANT TO WIN.

>> SHE HAD AN ABSOLUTELY NORMAL OPINION.

70% OF AMERICANS SUPPORT ABORTION RIGHTS.

SHE MAY HAVE HAD AN EFFECT ON SOME WOMEN IN THE REPUBLICAN PARTY, BUT THE FACT IS THE VAST MAJORITY OF AMERICANS WHO ARE VOTERS SUPPORT ABORTION RIGHTS.

>> I WANT TO ASK YOU THIS, BILL.

SPEAKING OF INDICTMENTS, AS WE JUST WERE, WISCONSIN'S FALSE ELECTORS AND THE ARCHITECTS OF THAT EFFORT FIGURED PROMINENTLY IN THE GEORGIA INDICTMENT.

CAN WISCONSIN RETREAT FROM THE MADNESS OF ALL OF THIS THIS TIME AROUND?

>> WELL, WE'RE STILL SCHEDULED TO BE ONE OF THE FIVE KEY SWING STATES NEXT YEAR, BUT THAT COULD CHANGE.

I'M NOT TOTALLY CONVINCED DONALD TRUMP COULD BE COMPETITIVE HERE.

THERE'S NO EVIDENCE TO SUGGEST THAT HE'S GROWN HIS COALITION, IF HE IS, IN FACT THE NOMINEE FOR THE REPUBLICAN PARTY.

MOREOVER, HIS STYLE, THE SLEDGEHAMMER STYLE OF LITERALLY SMASHING HIS OPPONENTS WITHIN THE REPUBLICAN POTTER IS SO AGAINST RONALD REAGAN'S ELEVENTH COMMANDMENT, IT DOES NOT PLAY WELL HERE.

WE MAY NOT BE NICE, BUT WE'RE FAIR.

REPUBLICANS WILL NOT FAREWELL IF HE DESTROYS DeSANTIS OR NIKKI HALEY.

>> DEMOCRATS ARE HELL BENT ON GAINING POWER.

WE'VE SEEN THAT ACROSS THE BOARD.

I DON'T SEE HOW, WITH THE WAY THE REPUBLICAN MEDIA MACHINE WORKS IN TERMS OF ARTICULATING THESE THINGS THAT SEEM -- THE DEMOCRATS AREN'T JUST WRONG ON ISSUES; THEY'RE EVIL.

THAT'S A PROBLEM AND THEY'RE NOT GOING TO START.

DONALD TRUMP AT THE TOP OF THE TICKET IS NOT GOING TO CHANGE IN A, UNFORTUNATELY, FOR ALL OF US, FOR DEMOCRACY.

>> IT IS KIND OF TRUE, PEOPLE AREN'T JUST WRONG, THEY'RE EVIL.

RIGHT?

>> REPUBLICANS HAVE TO GET AWAY FROM THE NOTION OF OWNING THE LIPS.

LET'S SELL AN AGENDA.

I MEAN, YOU WANT TO BRING PEOPLE TO YOUR SIDE.

ULTIMATELY CAMPAIGNS, WINNING CAMPAIGNS ARE ALL ABOUT ADDITION, NOT SUBTRACTION.

>> WE NEED TO LEAVE IT THERE.