Republican debate recap: Christie, Pence and Haley pile on Ramaswamy

Vivek
Ramaswamy said
that
if
he
were
elected
president,
he
would
not
support
additional
aid
to
Ukraine
amid
Russia’s
war.

Of
the
eight
Republican
candidates,
Ramaswamy
slammed
the
current
administration’s
support
and
dismissed
Mike
Pence
and
Chris
Christie’s
visits
to
Ukraine.

U.S.
support
of
Ukraine
is
“disastrous,”
he
said,
and
resources
going
to
Kyiv
should
instead
be
used
domestically. 

“This
is
disastrous,
we
are protecting
against
an
invasion across
somebody
else’s
border,
when
we
should
use
those same
military
resources
to
prevent
the invasion
across
our
southern border
here
in
the
United
States
of
America,”
Ramaswamy
said,
adding
that
the
U.S.
should
pivot
its
focus
on
China
instead.

The
response
to
his
remarks
was
swift
and
sharp.

“You
have
no
foreign
policy
experience,
and
it
shows,”
Nikki
Haley
shot
back.

—
Amanda
Macias

Trump,
who
has
spent
years
falsely
claiming
that
the
2020
election
was
rigged
against
him,
is
already
floating
baseless
claims
that
the
2024
will
be
stolen
from
him,
too.

Trump
was
asked
by
former
Fox
host
Tucker
Carlson,
“If
you’re
saying
they
stole
it
from
you
last
time,
why
wouldn’t
they
do
the
same
this
time?”

Trump
replied:
“Oh,
well
they’ll
try.
They’re
going
to
be
trying,
yeah.
And
not
only
me.”

—

Kevin
Breuninger

Chris
Christie
just
thanked
his
debate
rival,
Mike
Pence,
for
his
actions
on
Jan.
6,
2021.

“Mike
Pence
stood
for
the
Constitution,
and
he
deserves
not
grudging
credit,
he
deserves
our
thanks
as
Americans
for
putting
his
oath
of
office
and
the
Constitution
of
the
United
States
before
personal,
political
and
unfair
pressure.”

Christie
said
it
was
important
for
the
party
to
move
on
from
Trump.

“The
argument
that
we
need
to
have
in
this
party
before
we
can
move
on
to
the
issues
that
Ron
talked
about,
is
we
have
to
dispense
with
the
person
who
said
that
we
need
to
suspend
the
Constitution
to
put
forward
his
political
career.
Mike
Pence
said
‘no’
and
he
deserves
credit
for
it.”

—

Emma
Kinery

Neither
President
Joe
Biden
nor
former
President
Donald
Trump
is
on
stage
in
Milwaukee,
but
they
are
both
hoping
the
shots
being
taken
at
them
during
the
debate
can
rake
in
some
campaign
cash.

Biden’s
joint
fundraising
committee
is
running
ads
on
Facebook
during
the
debate,
according
to
the
social
media
giant’s
ad
archive.

Biden’s
Facebook
ads
have
a
donation
link
calling
the
GOP
candidates
on
the
debate
stage
a
“threat
to
our
democracy.”

Since
Aug.
15,
the
Biden
Victory
Fund
has
spent
over
$150,000
on
Facebook
ads.
Over
the
past
month,
the
same
committee
has
spent
north
of
$1
million
on
ads.

Former
President
Donald
Trump’s
campaign
sent
out
a
fundraising
pitch
during
the
debate,
saying
that
as
long
as
there
are
still
other
GOP
candidates
in
the
race,
the
party
is
wasting
resources
that
could
be
spent
attacking
Biden.

–
Brian
Schwartz

Nikki
Haley
said
it’s
time
for
the
Republican
Party
to
turn
the
page
on
Donald
Trump.

“Trump
is
the
most
disliked
politician
in
America.
We
can’t
win
an
election
that
way,”
Haley
said.

She
noted
that
most
Americans
don’t
want
a
rerun
of
the
2020
election
between
Trump
and
President
Joe
Biden.

–
Dan
Mangan

Candidates
were
asked
to
raise
their
hands
if
they
would
support
Trump
as
the
GOP
nominee
if
he
is
convicted
of
crimes
“in
a
court
of
law”
stemming
from
his
four
active
criminal
cases.

Every
candidate
except
Hutchinson
raised
his
or
her
hand.
Christie,
Trump’s
top
critic
on
the
stage,
appeared
to
wag
his
finger.

Asked
to
clarify,
Christie
said,
“No,
I’m
doing
this,”
and
moved
his
finger
briefly.

—

Kevin
Breuninger

Christie
fumed
at
the
Department
of
Justice
offering
Hunter
Biden
a
pre-trial
diversion
program
on
a
felony
gun
charge,
saying,
“In
a
Christie
administration,
he
would
go
to
jail
for
10
years.”

But
a
ruling
on
another
gun
law
last
year
by
the
Supreme
Court,
which
has
a
conservative
supermajority,
has
raised
the
possibility
that
the
charge
prosecutors
lodged
in
Hunter’s
case
may
be
unconstitutional.

The
law
in
Hunter’s
case
bars
drug
addicts
from
possessing
firearms.
It
has
a
10-year
maximum
prison
term,
but
Hunter,
even
if
convicted
of
it,
would
likely
get
a
much
lower
sentence
than
that
by
a
federal
judge
given
his
lack
of
a
criminal
record.

–
Dan
Mangan

Before
throwing
to
a
commercial,
Fox
showed
footage
of
the
outside
of
the
jail
in
Fulton
County,
Georgia,
where
Trump
said
he
will
surrender
tomorrow
on
criminal
charges
related
to
his
efforts
to
overturn
his
2020
election
loss
in
the
state.

Questions
on
Trump,
the
absentee
frontrunner,
are
coming
up.

—

Kevin
Breuninger

Former
Governor
of
South
Carolina
Nikki
Haley
pushed
back
against
Vivek
Ramaswamy
after
he
claimed
climate
change
was
a
“hoax.”

“We
do
care
about
clean
air
and
clean
water,
and
we
do
want
that
to
be
taken
care
of,”
Haley
said,
adding
that
climate
change
is
real.

“We
need
to
start
telling
China
and
India
that
they
have
to
lower
their
emissions,”
Haley
said.

—
Amanda
Macias

Asked
if
he
would
sign
a
national
six-week
ban
on
abortion,
DeSantis
didn’t
directly
answer
but
said
he
would
“support
the
cause
of
life.”

“I’m
going
to
stand
on
the
side
of
life,”
DeSantis
said,
noting
states
may
decide
to
do
it
differently.
“I
will
support
the
cause
of
life
as
governor
and
as
president.”

DeSantis
signed
a
six-week
abortion
ban
in
Florida
earlier
this
year.

—

Emma
Kinery

Haley
pointed
to
her
personal
struggle
with
having
children
as
she
defended
her
“unapologetically
pro-life”
views
on
abortion.

But
“we
need
to
stop
demonizing
this
issue,”
she
said.

She
called
for
finding
common
ground
where
it
might
exist,
suggesting
that
policies
like
a
late-term
abortion
ban
have
broad
appeal.

“Let’s
treat
this
like
the
—
like
a
respectful
issue
that
it
is
and
humanize
the
situation
and
stop
demonizing
the
situation,”
she
said.

—

Kevin
Breuninger

Businessman
Vivek
Ramaswamy
took
a
shot
at
all
of
the
Republicans
on
the
debate
stage,
saying
every
candidate
was
“bought
and
paid
for”
by
donors
and
special
interests.

“I’m
the
only
person
on
this
stage
who
isn’t
bought
and
paid
for,”
Ramaswamy
said
after
the
group
was
asked
whether
climate
change
was
real.

Former
New
Jersey
Gov.
Chris
Christie
responded
to
Ramaswamy
in
that
exchange.

“I’ve
had
enough
already
tonight
of
a
guy
who
sounds
like
ChatGPT,”
Christie
said
to
Ramaswamy.
He
then
compared
Ramaswamy
to
former
President
Barack
Obama.

—
Brian
Schwartz

North
Dakota
Republican
Gov.
Doug
Burgum
addressed
his
injury
on
the
basketball
court
leading
up
to
the
debate
in
Milwaukee.

“I
think
I
took
it
a
bit
too
literally
when
they
said
‘go
to
Milwaukee
and
break
a
leg,'”
Burgum
told
the
crowd
watching
the
debate.

Burgum

picked
up
a
leg
injury
while
playing
basketball
with
his
staff
that
sent
him
to
an
emergency
room
before
the
debate.

—
Brian
Schwartz

Carlson
asked
Trump
twice
whether
he
believes
notorious
sex
criminal
Jeffrey
Epstein
actually
killed
himself.

Trump
demurred
twice.
“I
don’t
know.
He
was
a
fixture
in
Palm
Beach,”
he
said
the
first
time.

When
asked
again,
Trump
said
of
Epstein,
“Oh
sure,
it’s
possible.
I
mean,
I
don’t
really
believe
–
I
think
he
probably
committed
suicide.”

Carlson
then
asked
if
Trump
is
“worried
they’re
going
to
try
to
kill
you.”

The
former
Fox
host
did
not
specify
who
“they”
were,
but
asked:
“Why
wouldn’t
they
try
to
kill
you
–
honestly?”

Trump
replied,
“They’re
savage
animals.
They’re
people
that
are
sick
–
really
sick.”

—

Kevin
Breuninger

Former
Vice
President
Mike
Pence
just
tussled
with
Vivek
Ramaswamy
over
the
question
of
experience.

“Now
it’s
not
the
time
for
on-the-job
training,”
he
quipped
at
the
38-year-old
entrepreneur
and
political
neophyte.
“We
don’t
need
to
bring
in
a
rookie.
We
don’t
need
to
bring
in
people
with
no
experience.”

—
Christina
Wilkie

DeSantis
blasted
the
Trump
administration,
which
included
Pence,
for
“locking
down
the
economy”
during
Covid
and
letting
top
pandemic
doctor
Anthony
Fauci
be
the
point
man
for
the
nation’s
response.

“As
your
president,
I
will
never
let
the
deep
state
bureaucrats
lock
you
down.
You
don’t
take
somebody
like
Fauci
and
coddle
him!”
DeSantis
said.
“You
bring
Fauci
in,
you
sit
him
down,
and
you
say
‘Anthony,
you
are
fired.”

—
Dan
Mangan

Chris
Christie
touted
his
records
as
a
two-term
governor
of
New
Jersey,
saying
“I
was
elected
as
a
conservative
Republican
in
a
blue
state
with
61%
of
the
vote.”

Despite
being
faced
with
a
Democratic-controlled
legislature,
“We
cut
taxes
in
New
Jersey,
we
cut
debt.”

Christie
called
for
cutting
spending
in
Washington,
saying
“we
cannot
sit
by
any
longer
and
allow
this
kind
of
spending.”

“It’s
robbing
our
country,”
he
said.

But
Bret
Baier
pushed
Christie,
noting
that
when
he
was
governor
New
Jersey
had
the
second-worst
credit
rating
of
any
state
in
the
nation.

“That’s
what
happens
when
you
inherit
a
blue
state,”
Christie
answered.

But
by
the
time
of
Christie’s
last
year
in
office,
New
Jersey
had
seen
nearly
a
dozen
credit
downgrades,
the
most
of
any
governor
in
U.S.
history.

—
Dan
Mangan

Haley
threw
some
of
the
first
intra-Republican
punches
of
the
night,
name-checking
Trump,
DeSantis,
Pence
and
Scott
as
she
decried
reckless
government
spending.

“No
one
is
telling
the
American
people
the
truth,”
Haley
said.
“Biden
didn’t
do
this
to
us,
our
Republicans
did
this
to
us,
too,
when
they
passed
that
$2.2
trillion
Covid
stimulus
bill.”

She
called
for
cutting
spending
and
borrowing
and
eliminating
earmarks
to
address
the
issue.

“You
have
Ron
DeSantis,
you’ve
got
Tim
Scott,
you’ve
got
Mike
Pence,
they
all
voted
to
raise
the
debt,
and
Donald
Trump
added
$8
trillion
to
our
debt
and
our
kids
are
never
going
to
forgive
us
for
this,”
Haley
said.

You
tell
me
who
are
the
big
spenders?
I
think
it’s
time
for
an
accountant
in
the
White
House,”
she
said.

—

Kevin
Breuninger

Sen.
Tim
Scott,
R-S.C,
came
out
swinging
against
President
Joe
Biden
and
his
administration
and
what
he
sees
as
excessive
government
spending.

Scott
told
the
crowd
in
Milwaukee
that
under
Biden
“we’ve
seen
inflation
explode”
and
noted
how
mortgage
rates
are
up
to

around
7%.

When
pushed
by
the
Fox
News
hosts
that
Scott
supported
spending
increases
during
former
President
Donald
Trump’s
administration,
Scott
insisted
that
was
due
to
the
federal
emergency
from
the
Covid-19
pandemic.

—
Brian
Schwartz

Former
New
Jersey
Gov.
Chris
Christie
was
the
only
candidate
on
the
stage
to
receive
boos
from
the
audience
in
the
opening
minutes
of
the
debate.

Within
the
GOP
field,
Christie
stands
out
as
the
toughest
critic
of
the
frontrunner,
former
President
Donald
Trump.

Trump
skipped
the
debate,
but
he
nonetheless
cast
a
long
shadow
across
the
stage
in
Milwaukee.

—
Christina
Wilkie

Vivek
Ramaswamy
opened
up
with
the
question
he
said
was
on
everyone’s
mind:
Who
is
he
and
“what
the
heck
is
he
doing
in
the
middle
of
this
debate
stage?”

Ramaswamy
introduced
himself
as
an
outsider
best
positioned
to
lead
the
Republican
Party.

“I
do
think
it’s
going
to
take
an
outsider.
Because
for
a
long
time
we’ve
had
professional
politicians
in
the
Republican
Party
who
have
been
running
from
something,
now
is
our
moment
to
run
to
something.”

—

Emma
Kinery

Ron
DeSantis
said
‘Bidenomics’
isn’t
working
and
it
is
time
for
President
Joe
Biden
to
go
“back
to
his
basement.”

“Our
country
is
in
decline.
This
decline
is
not
inevitable,
it’s
a
choice,”
DeSantis
said.
“We
need
to
send
Joe
Biden
back
to
his
basement
and
reverse
this
decline.”

—

Emma
Kinery

Trump
said
he
skipped
the
first
presidential
debate
because
he
did
not
want
to
be
“harassed”
by
candidates
who
are
significantly
behind
him
in
the
polls.

“I’m
saying,
do
I
sit
there
for
an
hour
or
two
hours,
whatever
it’s
going
to
be,
and
get
harassed
by
people
that
shouldn’t
even
be
running
for
president?
Should
I
be
doing
that?”
Trump
told
Tucker
Carlson
in
a
pre-taped
interview
that
went
up
on
X,
formerly
Twitter,
just
before
the
debate
began.

Trump
also
took
a
shot
at
Fox
News,
the
network
hosting
the
debate,
accusing
it
of
being
not
“friendly
to
me.”

“I
don’t
think
it’s
right
to
do
it,”
Trump
told
Carlson.

I’m
gonna
have
all
these
people
screaming
at
me,
shouting
questions
at
me,
all
of
which
I
love
answering
but
it
doesn’t
make
sense
to
do
it,”
Trump
said.
“So,
I’ve
taken
a
pass.”

Trump
previously
signaled
on
social
media
that
he
could
skip
the
Republican
National
Committee’s
other
scheduled
debates.

—

Kevin
Breuninger

Nikki
Haley
is
the
former
governor
of
South
Carolina
who
served
as
U.S.
ambassador
to
the
United
Nations
in
the
Trump
administration.
Haley
resigned
in
response
to
Jan.
6
but
has
continued
to
be
supportive
of
Trump.
She
has
focused
much
of
her
campaign
on
her
foreign
policy
chops,
expressing
support
for
Ukraine
and
Taiwan.

Haley,
51,
became
the
first
person
of
color
to
be
elected
governor
in
South
Carolina
when
she
took
office
in
2010.
She
is
a
graduate
of
Clemson
University.

—

Emma
Kinery

President
Joe
Biden
said
he
planned
to
watch
at
least
some
of
the
Republican
debate
while
vacationing
at
Lake
Tahoe.

“I’m
going
to
try
to
see
—
get
as
much
as
I
can,
yes,”
Biden
told
reporters.

Asked
if
he
had
any
expectations
for
the
event,
Biden
said
“I
have
none.”

—

Emma
Kinery

Florida
Governor
Ron
DeSantis
is
widely
seen
as
the
most
formidable
challenger
to
frontrunner
Donald
Trump.
DeSantis
has
consistently
placed
second
in
national
polls
of
the
sprawling
GOP
primary
field.
But
his
campaign
has
come
under
mounting
pressure
as
Trump
appears
to
be
widening
his
lead
over
the governor
and
has
already
launched
multiple
“resets.”
The
44-year-old
former
congressman
is
a
graduate
of
Yale
University
and
Harvard
Law
School
and
a
veteran
having
served
in
the
Navy’s
Judge
Advocate
General’s
Corps.

DeSantis’s
right-wing
policies
have
made
him
popular
in
his
home
state,
but
some
worry
stunts
like
sending
migrants
to
democratic-run
cities
and
his

lawsuit
against
Disney
may
make
him
too
polarizing
for
the
general
election.

—

Emma
Kinery

The
Republican
candidates
are
divided
over
America’s
future
role
in
Ukraine
as
the
war
marches
into
its
600th
day.

Some
candidates
in
the
Republican
field
have
come
to
the
stout
defense
of
Ukraine,
NATO
allies
and
American
democracy.
Others
have
called
for
policies
that
would
pull
U.S.
involvement
and
support
away
from
the
European
continent
in
order
to
deal
with
China’s
global
rise,
North
Korean
ambition
and
Iranian
aggression.

Nearly
all
of
the
candidates
have
leveled
criticism
over
Ukraine
at
President
Joe
Biden.

Read
the

full
story
of
where
the
candidates
stand
on
the
war
in
Ukraine.

—
Amanda
Macias

Vivek
Ramaswamy,
38,
is
an
entrepreneur
and
biotech
founder
with
no
prior
military
or
political
experience.
He
studied
biology
at
Harvard
University
before
attending
Yale
Law
School.
In
2014,
he
founded
Roivant
Science
and
resigned
as
CEO
in
2021.

Ramaswamy
recently
suggested
“the
truth”
about
the
September
11
attacks
is
still
unknown.
He
initially
claimed
that
he
had
been
misquoted
in
an
article
by

The
Atlantic,
however,
the
publication
later
released
an
audio
clip
of
his
interview
showing
that
he
was
quoted
accurately.

He
has
previously
said
that
he

opposes
U.S.
aid
to
Ukraine
by
arguing
that
the
conflict
on
the
European
continent
does
not
affect
American
interests.
He
says
the
Russia-China
axis
is
by
far
the
top
threat
to
U.S.
national
security
and
should
therefore
pull
more
focus.

Ramaswamy
has
also
detailed
a
peace
settlement
between
Kyiv
and
Moscow
that
would
include
Ukraine
conceding
nearly
all
of
its
Donbas
region
to
Russia
in
exchange
for
guarantees
that
Ukraine
will
not
join
the
NATO
alliance.

He
recently
pitched

closing
all
American
military
installations
located
in
Eastern
Europe
in
order
to
appease
the
Kremlin.
Ramaswamy
says
the
U.S.
in
return
should
ask
Russia
to
lessen
its
relationship
with
China.

—
Amanda
Macias

Around
noon
ET
on
Wednesday,
hours
before
the
first
Republican
debate
was
set
to
begin,
the
Trump
campaign
declared
victory
in
the
spar
he
isn’t
participating
in.

“President
Trump
has
already
won this
evening’s
debate
because
everything
is
going
to
be
about
him,”
Trump
campaign
senior
advisor
Chris
LaCivita
said
in
a
statement.
“Only
President
Trump
has
the
policy
ideas,
the
fortitude,
and
the
polling
to
go
head-to-head
with
Crooked
Joe
Biden
in
the
general
election.”

LaCivita
said
the
number
of
times
Trump’s
name
was
mentioned
during
the
debate
would
be
counted
as
his
speaking
time.

“When
the
other
candidates
do
get
a
chance
to
speak,
they
will
be
a
faint
echo,
or
maybe
even
a
copycat,
of
President
Trump’s
Make
America
Great
Again
agenda.”

LaCivita
closed
by
saying
the
event
“really
shouldn’t
even
be
called
a
debate”
but
was
more
of
an
audition
to
be
part
of
Trump’s
team.

—

Emma
Kinery

Candidates
needed
to
meet
the
threshold
set
by
the
Republican
National
Committee
in
order
to
qualify
for
the
debate.

Those
benchmarks
include
at
least
40,000
individual
campaign
donations
and
meeting
the
polling
qualifications,
either
1%
in
three
different
national
polls,
or
1%
in
two
national
polls
and
1%
in
another
poll
from
an
early
state
like
Iowa.

In
order
to
participate
candidates
also
needed
to
sign
a
pledge
of
support
to
whomever
gets
the
party’s
nomination.
Donald
Trump,
who
is
the
frontrunner
in
the
race,
has
refused
to
sign
the
pledge.

In
an
interview
with
Newsmax,
Trump
was
adamant
he
would
not
sign
the
pledge,
saying
“Why
would
I
sign
it?
I
can
name
three
or
four
people
that
I
wouldn’t
support
for
president.
So
right
there,
there’s
a
problem.”

—

Emma
Kinery

The
debate
will
start
at
9
p.m.
ET
Wednesday
in
Wisconsin,
a
battleground
state,
at
Milwaukee’s
Fiserv
Forum.

Fox
News
is
hosting
the
first
GOP
presidential
debate
in
the
leadup
to
the
primaries,
with
network
hosts
Bret
Baier
and
Martha
MacCallum
at
the
moderating
table.
The
debate
will
be
available
across
all
platforms
operated
by
the
Fox
News
network,
including
Fox
Business
Network,
Fox
News
Digital,
Fox’s
website,
the
Fox
Nation
streaming
service
as
well
as
Fox
News
Audio.

—
Amanda
Macias