Four Republican presidential hopefuls —
What to know
How to watch the Republican debate
A narrowing field is debating less than six weeks before the
The debate is a key moment for the young NewsNation cable network
The fourth debate is being held in
DeSantis draws loud cheers over remarks on transgender kids
DeSantis drew loud cheers when he said parents “do not have the right to abuse” their kids in response to Christie’s remarks about signing legislation as governor of
Christie said he stood up for parents.
“The minute you start to take those rights away from parents, you know, that’s a slippery slope,” Christie said. “What rights are going to be taken away next?”
Saying "as a parent, you do not have the right to abuse your kids,” DeSantis said, “This is mutilating these minors. These are irreversible procedures.”
Guidelines call for thorough assessments to confirm gender dysphoria before starting any treatment.
That treatment typically begins with puberty-blocking medication to temporarily pause sexual development while giving youngsters time to mature enough mentally and emotionally to make informed decisions about whether to pursue permanent treatment. Puberty blockers may be used for years and can increase risks for bone density loss, but that reverses when the drugs are stopped.
“Nikki = corrupt,” Ramaswamy writes on notepad
Signs aren’t allowed during debates, but Ramaswamy used a legal pad at his podium to write a note criticizing Haley.
Ramaswamy held up a handwritten sign reading “Nikki = corrupt,” a characterization he repeated during debate critique of her association with aerospace giant
Ramaswamy had been asked if he questioned Haley's Christian conviction after she was raised in the Sikh faith and converted.
All four candidates had notebooks on their podiums and were seen writing notes as soon as they walked on stage. It wasn’t clear when Ramaswamy had written the message.
Asked if she would like to respond after Ramaswamy invoked her name, Haley said, “No, it’s not worth my time to respond to him.”
Christie says Trump wasn't kidding about his dictator comment
Christie says he doesn’t think Trump is kidding when he says he would only be a dictator “on day one” if he returns to the
Christie says, “There’s no mystery” to what Trump wants to do as he has ramped rhetoric that has been criticized as increasingly authoritarian and violent.
“Do I think he was kidding? When he said he’s a dictator? All you have to do is look at the history,” he added, before criticizing his rivals on stage for failing to go after Trump more aggressively.
Some in the audience booed his comments.
On Tuesday, the former president declined to rule out abusing power as retribution in an interview with
“Under no circumstances, you are promising America tonight, you would never abuse power as retribution against anybody?” Hannity asked Trump.
“Except for day one," Trump replied.
Candidates and moderators let baseless conspiracy theories slide
As the candidates quibbled about who would speak the truth to voters, everyone — moderators and candidates alike — let a rant of baseless conspiracy theories from Ramaswamy pass by unchecked.
In a run-on sentence, Ramaswamy rattled off a series of false and dubious claims, including that the
He also reiterated his belief in a racist ideology known as the “ great replacement theory,” calling it “a basic statement of the Democratic party’s platform.”
The theory suggests there’s a plot to diminish the influence of white people and culture in America. Its adherents include far-right extremists, some of whom have committed violent acts.
Is Trump fit to be president? ‘Father time is undefeated,’ DeSantis says
DeSantis sidestepped questions about whether Trump is “fit” to be president but said he thinks the former president, is 77, is too old to be president.
“Father time is undefeated,” DeSantis said, adding: “I think we need to have somebody younger.”
The 45-year-old also said a candidate needed to be able to serve two terms, which Trump would not be able to do.
Christie then repeatedly tried to get DeSantis to answer whether he thought Trump was mentally fit, leading to extended cross-talk and bickering between the two.
DeSantis said of Trump: “I don’t know how he would score on a test.”
The
Fourth debate reveals little on positions on immigration and border
The fourth Republican presidential debate, like those before it, is revealing little about a core issue to many primary voters: immigration and border security.
A nine-minute segment focused largely on the fentanyl scourge, with Haley and Ramaswamy focused more on
There have been some wrinkles along the way, such as Ramaswamy’s call in the third debate for a border wall with
It is hard to out-
Expect the issue to become more prominent ahead of the general election, where contrasts with Biden and
Fiery exchange follows questions about Hamas and Iran
Questions about how to handle the conflicts with
Asked whether they would send
Ramaswamy, asked about his position that the
“Israel absolutely has the right to defend itself without the
Ramaswamy, who is often faulted for his lack of foreign policy experience, then turned the focus to Haley, a former
“Foreign policy experience is not the same as foreign policy wisdom,” Ramaswamy said. He followed up with a challenge to Haley to name three provinces in eastern
Haley did not bite on the
Christie defends Haley against Ramaswamy's attacks
They are facing off for the
After Ramaswamy repeatedly railed against Haley for what he characterized as her inability to name some of Ukraine’s provinces, Christie called Haley “a smart accomplished woman” and said Ramaswamy “should stop insulting her.”
Christie also said Ramaswamy would be voted “the most obnoxious blowhard in America.”
Christie and Haley were both elected governors of their respected states in 2010 and were friends during Christie’s time chairing the
Haley turned to Christie and seemingly uttered a “thank you” when he defended her.
Christie challenges rivals for not taking on Trump directly
Just like in past debates, Christie appears to be the only candidate on stage interested in taking on Trump directly.
He was the first to target the front-runner, calling Trump a “dictator” and a “bully” who “doesn’t have the guts to show up and stand here.”
“The fact of the matter is that he is unfit to be president,” Christie said about 15 minutes into the debate.
The former
“These three are acting as if the race is between the four of us,” he said. “It’s often very difficult to be the only person on stage who’s telling the truth.”
First questions of debate are unusually pointed
The fourth
You entered the race with so much momentum and are now trailing in the polls. Is it fair to say that voters are telling you not, ‘No,' but ‘Not now?' she asked DeSantis.
“Aren’t you too tight with the banks and the billionaires to win over the GOP’s working-class base, which mostly wants to break the system, not elect someone beholden to it?” she questioned Haley.
How could you possibly be the nominee of a party that does not appear to like you very much? Kelly challenged Christie,
Kelly famously tangled with former President
Ramaswamy and DeSantis go after Haley from the start
Ramaswamy used his first question of the debate to go directly after Haley, as he has done in previous on-stage clashes.
Asked if his critiques of other candidates made his candidacy seem less serious, Ramaswamy criticized Haley for being “bankrupt” when she stepped down as
In response, Haley defended her 10-month service on Boeing’s board, noting that she left during a dispute over COVID-19 bailout funds. “I love Boeing,” Haley responded.
In the third debate, Haley called Ramaswamy “scum” after the entrepreneur was critical of her daughter’s use of TikTok.
DeSantis joined in to criticize Haley, who he said “caves any time the left comes after her, anytime the media comes after her.” DeSantis also opened with criticism of Haley for meeting with executives from investment firm BlackRock.
Haley said her opponents were “just jealous” of the attention she’s been getting from donors.
DeSantis: ‘I’m sick of hearing about these polls'
The first debate question went to DeSantis, who was asked whether he should drop out of the race as his candidacy has failed to close in on Trump’s large polling despite his campaign and super PAC spending large amounts of money.
The
DeSantis said he will win the Republican nomination and said he’s been underestimated before. He said he’s “sick” of
DeSantis, who has campaigned as a pugilistic candidate, claimed he’s the only Republican presidential candidate who has “beaten” teachers unions, former chief
Smallest field of candidates yet kick off the fourth debate
A diminishing field of Republican presidential candidates has begun its fourth debate of the 2024 primary campaign, the last scheduled debate before the
Again, Trump, the front-runner, will not be on the stage.
Haley and DeSantis are positioned in the middle, while Christie and Ramaswamy are standing at podiums on the outside.
The debate is airing on NewsNation. The cable network is still trying to build its audience after taking over WGN America three years ago. NewsNation’s
Trump snags Alabama endorsement as rivals flock to the state
Trump is reminding his rivals for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination of his domination of the primary by rolling out new endorsements.
On Wednesday, he announced the backing of Sen.
Britt has never been a Trump critic, but she's also not a Trump acolyte, and she hails more from the old-guard Republican establishment. Before winning her seat, she was president of the
Dropping the Britt endorsement a day that
Notable lack of buzz ahead of the fourth debate
With Trump absent from Wednesday’s debate, the scene in
Less than two hours before the opening salvo, the media room, which is normally the practice hall for the University of Alabama’s
Will they take on Trump as the gloves come off?
In case you haven’t noticed, some of these candidates don’t like one another very much. And six weeks before
In the last debate, Haley called Ramaswamy “scum” after he picked on her daughter’s social media habits. Ramaswamy slapped at DeSantis’ choice of footwear. In recent days, DeSantis attacked Haley as the “last gasp of a failed political establishment.” And don’t sleep on Christie, who once upon a time almost single-handedly ended Marco Rubio’s presidential aspirations on the debate stage.
Perhaps most importantly, the participants also have an opportunity to go after Trump, who will not be on stage to defend himself.
They have poked at the absentee front-runner to varying degrees in prior debates, but nothing they have done to date has weakened his grip on the nomination.
Could another Democrat beat Trump? ‘Probably 50 of them,’ Biden says
Biden has said it is imperative that Trump doesn't get reelected to the
But on Wednesday, asked if another Democrat could defeat Trump in 2024, Biden answered, “Probably 50 of them.”
Biden declined to elaborate on who else he believed could best the Republican front-runner and former
Democrats say Trump's GOP rivals are just as extreme as he is
Biden’s deputy campaign manager,
Former
Jones says the rhetoric from
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