Rep. Byron Donalds: 'Donald Trump’s The Winner Of This Debate,' 'It’s A One-Person Race' - Who Do You Think Won?

Congressman Byron Donalds (R-FL), joining the Fox spin room during the first Republican Primary Debate on Wednesday, told reporters that Donald J. Trump, the 45th President and clear frontrunner, won the evening in absentia.

Donalds told the press that despite several admirable performances, none of the candidates on the stage had emerged with enough support to challenge Trump. The congressman already endorsed Trump for the 2024 nomination earlier in the year.

“It’s not a two-person race at this point. In my view, it’s a one-person race with a lot of other people in the race," he said, according to Breitbart. 

"And that’s what I think really came out of this debate tonight. That’s why I think in the grand scheme, Donald Trump’s the winner of this debate. Nobody on that stage, from what I saw, really galvanized Republicans.”

Speaking with GB News' Nigel Farage, he told the pro-Brexit former member of the EU Parliament turned commentator, "There's a reason heavyweights don't box with middleweights, Donald Trump is the heavyweight champ right now." Farage posted to X that "Congressman Byron Donalds is very impressive. One to watch."

Posting the GB News video, Donalds wrote, "The 'Deep State' is real: It's lobbyists, staffers, media, consultants–everyone tied to the web of DC. When you come from the outside & want to make change, they push back HARD. They turned our very institutions COMPLETELY against Trump as a citizen, his campaign & his admin."

Speaking with Newsmax on Thursday, he told that outlet, "The indictments are nothing but election interference. We CANNOT let our institutions become political weapons. If they'll do it to Trump, they'll do it to anyone. America is a country based on freedom, liberty, free speech & free thought. This is a disgusting abuse of power."

Rep. Donalds gained national prominence during the historic 2023 House Speaker vote that required 15 rounds to select Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA). Donalds emerged as an unexpectedly strong alternative candidate to the establishment-friendly California Republican by picking up twenty votes starting in the fourth round and depriving McCarthy and Democrat Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of a majority. This kept up until the 12th round when limited support for Jim Jordan (R-OH), Kevin Hern (R-OK), and Andy Biggs (R-AZ) emerged.

Short though it was, in those 11 days in January, Byron Donalds became a nationally recognized and respected name with the congressman taking the podium several times to present his vision of the GOP platform. And this nationally recognized figure of the GOP's future just called the 2024 nomination for Donald Trump.