Despite DeSantis’s strong words against Trump, likely Republican primary voters still think highly of Trump, according to our pre-debate 538/Washington Post/Ipsos poll. 68 percent view Trump favorably, compared to 30 percent who have an unfavorable view.

—Analysis by Holly Fuong of 538

Government spending is certainly a factor when it comes to inflation. But it’s not the only factor.

The 2021 American Rescue Plan Act added about $1.9 trillion to the economy, and economists across the political spectrum say that it spurred inflation. They differ on the precise scale of its impact, with estimates ranging from two to four additional points out of the current inflation rate of about 8.5 percent.

However, none of the experts PolitiFact talked to, liberal or conservative, said Biden’s actions were responsible for all of the inflation. Past government spending, COVID’s disruptions to labor markets, energy prices and supply-chains also played significant roles. Most recently, the war in Ukraine has made a challenging situation worse.

-Analysis by Aaron Sharockman, PolitiFact

It took 15 minutes for the putative polling front-runner to get a word in, and DeSantis uses it to go after Trump on the debt and not showing up for the debate tonight. He even brought a prop -- a veto pen that he says he'll use to block "bloated spending" bills as president. But if he only gets off a few words every 15 minutes, this will be a long night for him.

—Jacob Rubashkin, 538 contributor

Christie goes after Republicans and Democrats for adding billions to the D.C., but he also takes a shot at Trump for not showing up to the debate. This is the first mention of the former president who is very likely to defeat all of these Republicans in the GOP primary.

—Analysis by Geoffrey Skelley of 538

—Galen Druke of 538