Haley draws fire in 4th GOP debate, Christie warns absent Trump is biggest issue

The Iowa caucuses are weeks away; the former president remains the favorite.

By538 and ABC News
Last Updated: December 6, 2023, 6:01 PM EST

With voting set to start in the 2024 Republican primary in less than six weeks, four of the top candidates again took the stage for a debate -- this time on Wednesday night in Tuscaloosa, Alabama -- and the event proved to be fiery.

Hosted by NewsNation and moderated by Elizabeth Vargas, Megyn Kelly and Eliana Johnson, the debate featured Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy. The primary's front-runner, former President Donald Trump, continued to skip the event despite criticism from his rivals. He was fundraising in Florida.

ABC News and the analysts at 538 live-blogged every major moment and highlight from the debate. PolitiFact made real-time fact checks.

Key moments:

Here's how the news developed. All times Eastern.
Dec 06, 2023, 9:12 PM EST

Haley rejects Trump's proposed Muslim ban, DeSantis says 'limits' needed

Crossing into the second hour of the debate, attention turned to Trump as Haley was asked if she agreed with his plan to bring back and expand his restrictions on immigration from Muslim countries.

Haley said there shouldn't be a straight ban on immigrants from Muslim countries, but rather a review of countries that have terrorist activity and represent a threat to the U.S.

"You look at what came across the southern border, what worries me the most are those that came from Iran, from Yemen, from Lebanon, those areas where they say 'death to America,'" she said. "That's where you want to be careful. It's not about a religion. It's about a fact that certain countries are dangerous and are threats to us."

DeSantis then stepped in, saying he would take it further.

"It's not just terrorism though," DeSantis said, adding: "There needs to be limits on immigration, and we should not be importing people from cultures that are hostile."

-ABC News' Alexandra Hutzler

Dec 06, 2023, 9:07 PM EST

Candidates questioned on border policies

The candidates were asked how tough they will be on high immigration at the southern border -- including the issues of unauthorized crossings and fentanyl being smuggled in.

DeSantis defended comments that he would order the military to shoot suspected drug smugglers "stone cold dead," despite critics saying that would violate the law, and he said he supports building a wall across the southern border

"The commander in chief not only has a right, you have a responsibility to fight back against these people," he said.

Haley was asked to clarify her stance on whether she would deport all unauthorized migrants. She said the U.S. has to "stop the incentive of what's bringing them over here in the first place" -- noting that President Joe Biden recently gave temporary protective status to 500,000 Venezuelans -- and also vet those who are in the country, for instance, based on their tax and employment status.

On the fentanyl overdose crisis, she turned to China, saying, "We need to end all normal trade relations with China until they stop murdering Americans with fentanyl."

Ramaswamy was asked how effective his policy to use the military to "annihilate drug labs inside Mexico" would be.

"I don't think it’s going to have to come to that if we deal with the actual demand-side problem that we also have in this country," he said. "I mean, the easy part is talking about how we’re going to use our military to secure the border. I will, and I believe that everybody else wants to do the same thing. But the harder part is dealing with the crisis of purpose and meaning, the mental health epidemic raging across the country like wildfire."

He also pointed to China as a source of fentanyl, saying, "We also have to hold them accountable with every financial lever that we have available."

-ABC News' Meredith Deliso

Dec 06, 2023, 9:09 PM EST

Haley points finger at Trump on spending, DeSantis blames 'both parties'

Haley lamented the state of economy, promising to veto any spending bill that doesn’t take federal expenditures to pre-COVID-19 levels. She slammed the Trump administration for adding $9 trillion to the federal debt.

DeSantis wouldn’t directly target Trump but chalked the the problem up to “both parties in Washington, D.C. That’s just a fact.” He pointed to student loans as an economic backbreaker for young people and touted his record on vocational education, which he said could encourage universities to become more accessible: “Don’t let anybody tell you the only way you can be successful is through a four-year, brick-and-ivy degree. That’s one way you could be, not the only way, and we’re gonna fix that problem in the United States of America.”

- ABC News’ Chris Boccia

Dec 06, 2023, 9:03 PM EST

Where might Ramaswamy and Christie supporters go if they drop out?

The early back-and-forths in this debate showed an interesting dynamic between Haley-Christie and, more subtly, DeSantis-Ramaswamy. Ramaswamy has been going after Haley hard, arguably doing some of DeSantis's work for him, while Christie found himself defending Haley from Ramaswamy's attacks.

What's interesting about this, beyond the fireworks, is where Christie and Ramaswamy supporters might go as this race proceeds, as neither candidate looks to have much chance of winning the GOP nomination (to put it mildly).

Ramaswamy is closely aligned with the Trump wing of the party, which DeSantis is also part of, so some Ramaswamy supporters might look at DeSantis as a preferable option (if they don't want Trump). Meanwhile, Christie's supporters are the least Trumpy, so if he goes by the wayside, they probably would prefer Haley -- a more traditional Republican -- over DeSantis, Ramaswamy and certainly Trump.

-Analysis by Geoffrey Skelley of 538

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