Haley draws fire in 4th Republican debate as Christie warns absent Trump is still biggest issue
The Iowa caucuses are weeks away; the former president remains the favorite.
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:
'America right now is acting like it's Sept. 10': Haley
Asked what threats she worries could blindside the U.S. amid what federal officials have called a heightened threat level during the Israel-Hamas war, Haley focused on "foreign infiltration."
"America right now is acting like it's Sept. 10. We better remember what Sept. 12 felt like, because it only takes one," she said.
"We've got to get the foreign infiltration out of our country -- whether it's in our schools, whether it's on our social media, we need to stop all foreign lobbying that's happening to members of Congress, and we need to start securing America again," she continued.
-ABC News' Meredith Deliso
Ramaswamy levels another personal attack on Haley to more boos
Ramaswamy again trained his ire toward Haley, with whom he has feuded across the debates this year, saying she was “woke” and “had a corruption problem.” Ramaswamy raised a notepad which had the message “NIKKI=CORRUPT.” A chorus of boos filled the venue.
The entrepreneur said Haley would “send your kids to die so she can buy a bigger house.”
Given the chance to respond, Haley said only, “No. It’s not worth my time to respond to him.”
- ABC News’ Chris Boccia
The U.S. Postal Service is actually very popular
In that question, Tom Fitton just pointed out, incredulously, that the U.S. Postal Service is more popular than the FBI. But this actually isn’t surprising -- the Postal Service is quite popular! According to a 2023 poll from the Pew Research Center, 77% of Americans have a favorable view of the Postal Service. It’s the second-most popular federal agency, after the National Park Service.
-Analysis by Nathaniel Rakich of 538
Fact-check: Ramaswamy’s false, outdated claim on transgenderism as 'disorder'
PolitiFact rated Ramaswamy’s claim false after he introduced it at the second primary debate.
In the past, the medical community used to view the experience of being transgender as a "disorder," but they no longer agree on that categorization. In the last decade, diagnostic manuals published by the World Health Organization and American Psychiatric Association contained updated language to clarify that being transgender is not a mental illness.
Experts told us that persistent gender dysphoria can cause other mental health issues, but it is not itself a mental health disorder.
-Analysis by Katie Sanders of PolitiFact