2024 hopefuls argued over education, spending and border security.
The second Republican debate of the 2024 presidential primary, taking place at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, has just come to an end.
The affair was more raucous than the first debate, which took place over a month ago. Candidates interrupted one another much more regularly and several — most notably former Vice President Mike Pence and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie — have directly criticized front-runner Donald Trump, who elected not to show up tonight. The two candidates from South Carolina, former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley and Sen. Tim Scott, went after one another for their records on spending, and seemingly everyone who had the chance to take a shot at entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy did so.
Read below for highlights, excerpts and key moments.
Americans of both parties don’t expect the national deficit to shrink, according to a June poll from the Pew Research Center. Seventy percent of respondents said they expected the annual deficit to grow in the next five years, including 80 percent of Republicans and 61 percent of Democrats. Just 11 percent of respondents said they thought the deficit would be smaller in five years, including 9 percent of Republicans and 14 percent of Democrats.
—Analysis by 538
A couple times tonight, Pence has made the case for a conservative, small-government focused GOP. But as evidenced by the crickets on his initial joke at the start of the debate, there just doesn't seem to be much appetite for him in the Trumpified Republican Party. This isn't a surprise really, given he started the campaign already a villain to many Republicans because Trump had blamed him for his defeat because Pence didn't try to block certification of Biden's victory. But Pence finds himself on the edge of the stage tonight because of his low polling level, and there has really been no good polling news for him recently. His horserace numbers are flat or going down and his favorability numbers among Republicans have worsened, with only Christie having more negative ratings. When might Pence actually leave the race? No idea. But in a field full of candidates who are struggling to have a path to winning, Pence is among those with the least signs of hope.
— Analysis by Geoffrey Skelley of 538
That's a rehearsed line from DeSantis on oil drilling locations if I ever heard one.
-Jacob Rubashkin, 538
The issue of supplying aid to Ukraine as the country remains invaded by Russia has been a major source of contention among the Republican party, even holding up budget negotiations as Congress barrels toward a government shutdown.
A few answers from the GOP candidates at the debate displayed the variety of opinion among the primary field. Christie, who shares the belief of establishment Republicans, spoke about his unrelenting support for Ukraine aid.
“That was the darkest moment in world history when the Soviet Union fell. Listen, everybody, [Putin] wants to put the old band back together, and only America can stop it,” said Christie, who noted that American leadership on the conflict could display strength in other areas of foreign policy.
“Ukraine – that's a green light to China,” Christie said. “They're all connected, Stuart. They're all connected. The Chinese are paying for the Russian war in Ukraine, the Iranians who supply more sophisticated weapons, and so are the North Koreans now as well, with the encouragement of the Chinese.
Christie bashed some of his primary challengers for their opposing views: “the naivete on the stage from some of these folks is extraordinary.”
DeSantis, like the right flank of the party, said he would not embrace continually funding the “territorial dispute.”
“It's in our interest to end this war and that's what I will do as president. We are not going to have a blank check. We will not have US troops and we're going to make the Europeans do what they need to do… Meanwhile, our own country is being invaded.”
–ABC News’ Isabella Murray
