Republican debate highlights and analysis: Fiery faceoff on Trump, Ukraine and more
The 2024 hopefuls took the stage in Milwaukee on Wednesday night, without Trump.
The first Republican debate of the 2024 presidential primary was held in Milwaukee on Wednesday night.
Eight candidates qualified for a spot on the stage: North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, former Vice President Mike Pence, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott.
Missing from the event was the primary's early front-runner: former President Donald Trump, who declined to participate and instead released a pre-recorded interview with Tucker Carlson.
ABC News and FiveThirtyEight live-blogged every major moment and highlight from the debate, aired on Fox News, with FiveThirtyEight providing analysis and a closer look at the polling and data behind the politicians. PolitiFact made real-time fact checks of key statements.
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Christie says Trump's conduct 'beneath' office
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
Ramaswamy says he would support Trump if he's the nominee, hits Christie
Ramaswamy repeated that he would support Trump if he is the nominee regardless of whether he's convicted of a crime.
"President Trump, I believe, was the best president of the 21st century," Ramswamy said before knocking Christie for his attacks on the former president:
"Your claim that Donald Trump is motivated by vengeance and grievance would be a lot more credible. If your entire campaign were not based on vengeance and grievance" against Trump.
-ABC News' Tal Axelrod
A majority (56 percent) of Republicans in a recent TIPP Insights/Issues & Insights poll feel that the charges against former President Donald Trump in both the classified documents case and the investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol are political harassment by the Biden administration. And in an August poll from Morning Consult, 69 percent of Republicans felt the 2020 election indictment was primarily motivated by a desire to damage Trump’s political career, rather than by evidence that he committed a crime.
-Analysis by FiveThirtyEight
Trump surrogates swarm the debate in his absence
Trump campaign surrogates like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., have been spending the day on media row touting Trump’s policies to various news outlets. She has plans to host a post-debate analysis show with Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., on conservative outlet Right Side Broadcasting Network.
Donald Trump Jr. and Kimberly Guilfoyle have also been live-streaming for his podcast outside the debate arena since Wednesday afternoon, joined by other Trump surrogates like Greene, Gaetz, and Kari Lake.
On the podcast, Donald Trump Jr., Guilfoyle and various surrogates sought to downplay the debate, calling the stage a “VP debate,” a “kids’ table” at a Thanksgiving dinner, and a “secretary of education debate.”
Other candidates have criticized the former president for declining to face them and make his pitch to voters in Milwaukee.
Lake on the Donald Trump Jr. podcast also said she spoke with the former president earlier on Wednesday afternoon about the pre-taped Tucker Carlson interview scheduled to be released Wednesday, saying it will be a “good interview.” She said the elder Trump sounded “really good” in the afternoon but told her that “things are going to get worse before they get better.”
-ABC News' Soo Rin Kim and Lalee Ibssa