SIMI VALLEY, Calif. — No one dominated the stage or owned a singular moment at the second Republican presidential debate Wednesday. But there were plenty of disagreements, scuffles and key points as seven GOP candidates met at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.
Former U.N Ambassador Nikki Haley lowered the boom on Vivek Ramaswamy and several others. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis came ready to criticize former President Donald Trump — and former Vice President Mike Pence was one of a few who went after DeSantis, too. And ex-New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Pence combined to create one of the most bizarre debate moments of all time.
Here are the defining moments of the Republican debate.
Haley says she feels 'dumber' for listening to Ramaswamy
“Every time I hear you, I feel a little bit dumber for what you say.”
That’s how Haley responded to a lengthy answer from Ramaswamy after he answered a question about his appearance with Jake Paul in a video on TikTok, a popular video sharing app that most in the GOP field have criticized over its ties to China.
Ramaswamy called the app "digital fentanyl" before he became the first GOP candidate to join.
It wasn't the only attack Haley leveled in a feisty night, which also saw her grab hold of the spotlight several times and tangle with DeSantis and Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, among others. She criticized Scott for not accomplishing enough in a decade-plus in Washington, and she went after DeSantis over his state policy on fracking in Florida.
Her line about Ramaswamy was the most cutting by far on the night.
“TikTok is one of the most dangerous social media assets that we could have,” she added.
Ramaswamy tried to de-escalate as Haley continued to go after him, saying the Republican Party would be “better served” if the seven candidates onstage would not attack one another. He also noted the debate’s location, pointing to Reagan’s so-called 11th Commandment: “Thou shalt not speak ill of another Republican.”
“Let’s have a legitimate disagreement,” he said.
The answer was a departure from Ramaswamy’s performance at the first GOP debate in Milwaukee, where he got attention for being the most contentious candidate onstage and levied the most attacks.
DeSantis goes after Trump for being MIA at the debate — and on abortion
DeSantis needed a big moment at his second debate, and it showed in a couple of direct hits on Donald Trump.
In his first response of the night, DeSantis took a shot at President Joe Biden — his happy place on the presidential campaign trail. But then, without prompting, he went out of his way to open up on Trump.
“You know who else is missing in action? Donald Trump. He should be on the stage tonight,” DeSantis said in a moment that appeared prepared. “He owes it to you to defend his record.”
It was a bold attempt at a breakthrough by DeSantis, who has in the past called on Trump to debate but not from the national debate stage. And DeSantis circled back to the line later in the night, saying Trump should explain his remarks in a “Meet the Press” interview about abortion policy, including Trump’s calling DeSantis’ move to sign a six-week abortion ban in Florida "a terrible mistake."
“The former president, he’s missing in action tonight. He should be here explaining his comments," DeSantis said. "I want him to look into the eyes and tell people who were fighting this fight for a long time.”
Even allies said DeSantis needed a big moment in California if he was to keep his bid alive. That's the context in which he joined Christie, a more regular Trump antagonist, in bashing Trump multiple times.
Before the debate, a DeSantis bundler said in an interview that donors had all but lost faith in him.
“It’s make or break for the governor. He’s listing. He’s been floundering at best since the last debate,” the bundler said. “If he struggles, if he has another average or bad performance, I think the narrative becomes hard-wired that he’s dead and it’s irrecoverable.”
Scott takes aim at Ramaswamy over his past business dealings in China
One of the earliest dust-ups Wednesday featured Scott, who made it entirely through the first debate without throwing a single punch and got less speaking time than most of his rivals. But Wednesday, he came ready to engage, attacking Ramaswamy for his past dealings in China.
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Scott said he appreciated Ramaswamy for playing nice onstage after he had last time suggested that his rivals were all "bought and paid for."
"I thought about that for a little while, and said, you know, I can’t imagine how you could say that knowing that you are just in business with the Chinese Communist Party and the same people that funded Hunter Biden millions of dollars was a partner of yours, as well," he said.
Ramaswamy tried to push back but was quickly cut off. DeSantis chimed in, too, sarcastically calling to return to the issues because "everyone" already knew Ramaswamy had done business in China.
The Chinese business dealings involve the expansion of Ramaswamy's company, Roivant Sciences, into the Chinese market in 2018. The company “eventually wound down its operations there as the risks became apparent over time,” doing so before the former biotech executive's presidential run, his campaign wrote on his website.
“Vivek understands the threat posed by China more deeply than nearly any other politician in America,” it wrote.
As for the connection to Biden's son, there are a number of layers between Hunter Biden and Ramaswamy before a connection can be made; a conservative Washington Post columnist wrote out the thread that appears to be the basis for Scott's attack.
Pence goes after DeSantis twice
DeSantis didn't come in for much criticism at the first debate. But Wednesday, Pence tried to go after his résumé as governor — implying that he didn't do enough to make sure the shooter who killed 17 students at a high school in Parkland, Florida, got the death penalty — and over budgets he has signed increasing state spending.
“It is unconscionable that the Parkland shooter, Ron, is actually going to spend the rest of his life in bars in Florida,” Pence said. “That’s not justice.”
Nikolas Cruz received multiple life terms for the 2018 massacre. He didn't get the death penalty — at the time, Florida law required unanimous verdicts for death sentences, and the Cruz jury wasn't unanimous.
DeSantis, who get a chance Wednesday to respond directly to Pence, signed legislation in April lowering the death penalty threshold from unanimous to a supermajority, needing eight out of 12 jurors to hand down a death sentence.
“Once a defendant in a capital case is found guilty by a unanimous jury, one juror should not be able to veto a capital sentence,” DeSantis said.
On state spending, DeSantis’ first budget, signed in 2019, was $91.1 billion. His most recent budget, signed in June, was $117 billion, a large increase driven in large part by things like population growth.
DeSantis, though, does also own the largest budget veto in Florida history, which he issued when he cut $3.1 billion from the state’s 2022 budget.
Christie and Pence make it weird
In the middle of an answer about education, Christie took things in an unusual direction: "When you have the president of the United States sleeping with a member of the teachers union, there is no chance that you could take the stranglehold away from the teachers union every day."
The bizarre shot at first lady Jill Biden, a teacher, somehow came back around later in the debate — thanks to, of all people, the usually buttoned-up Pence.
"By way of full disclosure, Chris," Pence said solemnly, "you mentioned the president’s situation. My wife isn’t a member of the teachers union, but I’ve got to admit, I’ve been sleeping with a teacher for 38 years. Full disclosure."
