Republican debate highlights and analysis: Candidates squabble in Simi Valley
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.
Latest headlines:
- South Carolina on South Carolina: Nikki Haley and Tim Scott spar several times on stage
- Brief debate answers on Ukraine reveal a rift among Republicans over the issue
- Survivor, GOP primary edition?
- Pence seems to be playing out the string
- Ramaswamy and Scott's debate over birthright citizenship devolves into chaotic exchange
Reagan’s being mentioned more than Trump
Mentions of Ronald Reagan, president of the U.S. from 1981 to 1989, so far tonight: 20.
Mentions of Donald Trump, president of the U.S. from 2017 to 2021 and current candidate for president: 12.
—Analysis by Nathaniel Rakich of 538
Nathaniel, I'd imagine Vivek's actual words spoken puts him even further ahead of the other contenders on stage. He even acknowledged he was "in a hurry" earlier in the debate, perhaps trying to inject a little humility and self-awareness into his image, especially after his unfavorability rating shot up after the first debate.
-Jacob Rubashkin, 538 contributor
Fact-checking Ramaswamy's claim that Ukraine banned 11 political parties
Ramaswamy differed with some of his opponents on the issue of Ukraine, arguing the United States should limit its support for the country in its fight against Russia.
“The reality is just because ... Putin's an evil dictator does not mean that Ukraine is good. This is a country that has banned 11 opposition parties,” Ramaswamy said.
That’s accurate. But it needs context.
Ukraine banned 11 pro-Russian parties — the largest of which occupied 44 out of 450 seats in parliament, according to Radio Free Europe. The leader of the party, Viktor Medvedchuk, is aligned with Putin. Putin is the godfather of Medvedchuk's daughter, Radio Free Europe reported.
-Analysis by Aaron Sharockman, PolitiFact
Burgum reminds us he’s here
Burgum gets a question for the first time in a while — on farmers — and turns it into a long foreign-policy answer. He’s trying to remain relevant but always seems to be late to the party on a topic that has already been talked out. According to The New York Times, he has spoken the least tonight: just five minutes and 49 seconds. By contrast, Ramaswamy has spoken the most: nine minutes, 25 seconds.
—Analysis by Nathaniel Rakich of 538
Haley hits Ramaswamy on TikTok
Haley abruptly jumped in to hit Ramaswamy for his use of TikTok to appeal to voters, calling TikTok "one of the most dangerous social media apps," and saying she feels "dumber" every time she hears Ramaswamy talk. This moment, along with some others, revealed two things: First, Haley is on the more assertive side of the GOP foreign policy debate when it comes to dealing with China (a Chinese company owns TikTok), although Ramaswamy has said that he'd like to keep people under 16 from accessing social media. Second, she and the other Republicans on stage really don't like Ramaswamy. There've been a few other jabs at Ramaswamy tonight, but her line about feeling dumber was pretty telling.
— Analysis by Geoffrey Skelley of 538