The victor was nowhere near the stage.
Seven Republican presidential hopefuls took to the stage for the second GOP primary debate last night — but the real victor was nowhere to be seen. Here’s what went down.
Donald Trump remains the clear front-runner
With less than four months to go until the first ballots are cast, Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, Tim Scott, Vivek Ramaswamy, Mike Pence, Chris Christie, and Doug Burgum scrambled to chip away at Donald Trump’s 40-point lead in the polls. Yet again, steering clear of the debate proved to be a winning strategy for the front runner.
“The dynamic of this race remains the same, with Trump on top by far,” conservative commentator Monica Crowley said per the New York Times.
Haley takes a swipe at Ramaswamy
There were a few standout moments, a few of which came courtesy Haley; she took a swing at Ramaswamy, who dominated the first debate, telling him: “Every time I hear you, I feel a little bit dumber.” While DeSantis swerved questions on healthcare, she cut through, asking: “How can we be the best country in the world and have the most expensive healthcare in the world?”
Scott, Christie, and Ramaswamy misfire
Scott falsely accused Haley of spending $50,000 on curtains during her time in a subsidized property as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. The pair then tussled in a fairly cringe-y back and forth, with Haley hitting back: “Do your homework, Tim, because Obama bought those curtains,” as Scott repeated, “Did you send them back? Did you send them back?” Haley then retorted: “Did you send them back? You’re the one who works in Congress.”
Christie attempted a dig at the absent Trump for “ducking” the debate, saying: “You keep doing that. No one up here is going to call you Donald Trump anymore. We’re going to call you Donald Duck.”
Ramaswamy later appeared to forget the Constitution’s enshrinement of birthright citizenship, promising to deport the children of undocumented immigrants.
Sidestepping abortion
Abortion got surprisingly little airtime given its prominence in the headlines, and wasn’t mentioned for the first 100 minutes of the debate. When the subject finally came up, it was swiftly dismissed. DeSantis, who signed a six-week abortion ban in April, appeared unconcerned about any potential effect on his ratings, highlighting his electoral success in the more liberal parts of Florida last year. He added a dig at Trump, who recently called the new laws “a terrible thing and a terrible mistake.”
The night’s biggest divider
As was the case in the August debate, the most contentious issue of the evening was aid sent by the U.S. to support Ukraine against Russia’s invasion. DeSantis and Ramaswamy said they would cancel America’s assistance, while Christie, Pence, and Haley cautioned that Russia’s President Putin cannot be appeased.
“The naivete on this stage is extraordinary,” Christie said.
