Hutchinson has been critical of Trump since entering the race, calling on him to drop out, especially after his indictments. He pushed back against the loyalty pledge to support the eventual nominee, and tonight did not raise his hand when asked if he would support the nominee. "Over a year ago I said Donald Trump was morally disqualified from being president," he said tonight, to boos from the audience.
-Analysis by Monica Potts of FiveThirtyEight

In talking about the weaponization of the Department of Justice, Scott trotted out a line he’s used before — that parents at school board meetings, “they’re called, under this DOJ, domestic terrorists.”

That’s False.

In 2021, Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a memo directing the FBI to address violent threats against school board members. The memo never called concerned parents "domestic terrorists," and maintained that "spirited debate" surrounding school policy is protected by the U.S. Constitution. A lawsuit against Garland also found that parents’ rights had not been violated.
-Aaron Sharockman, PolitiFact

When asked if he'd support Trump as the party's nominee if the former president were convicted, Christie said he would not, saying "the conduct is beneath the office of the president of the United States."

Hutchinson also indicated he would not support Trump.

In a January survey by YouGov/The Economist, 70 percent of Republicans said they strongly or somewhat supported Congress investigating charges of weaponization of the FBI and Justice Department. Eleven percent strongly or somewhat opposed a congressional investigation, and 19 percent were unsure.
-Analysis by FiveThirtyEight

Nikki Haley has been in the race for longer than anyone else on the stage but hasn't had a breakout moment yet. She was clearly aiming to change that tonight, and she did have one of the most memorable back-and-forths of the night when she took Ramaswamy to task over his lack of foreign policy experience. She came out swinging early not just against Biden but against Republicans in Congress, and she was one of just a handful of contenders to make an electability argument against Trump by pointing out his low favorability ratings. But for a candidate who is polling at 3.4 percent nationwide, it's not obvious that was enough.

Burgum's presence was a victory in and of itself for the governor, given his injury today. But he got scant talking time, and his most interesting answer, when he came out definitively against a national abortion ban, isn't likely to earn him many new fans in the GOP.

But here's what I really think. The next debate is not for another month, but tomorrow, Donald Trump will surrender to the authorities in Atlanta. His mugshot will ricochet across the internet and land on the front page of every major newspaper in the country. At that point, will people be talking about tonight's debate? Or will they be back to talking about Trump? I'd put my money on the latter, and that's not good news for anyone on stage tonight.
-Analysis by Jacob Rubashkin, Inside Elections