Live Updates: Fourth Republican debate

DeSantis expresses concern about aging candidates in office, including Trump, focusing on age rather than Trump’s specific policies. Christie goes after all of the others for failing to call Trump unfit, while Ramaswamy attacks the “deep state” instead of discussing Trump.

Christie is among the Republicans who have argued that this election is critical because of the threat Trump poses to American democracy. On Tuesday, Trump suggested in a town hall he won’t be a dictator, “except for Day 1.”

Age is a concern for some voters, too. In a September poll, about 38% of voters said they are very concerned about Trump’s cognitive health.

Ramaswamy advocates for deputizing local law enforcement to help carry out border policy with ICE. Christie pivots to criticizing Trump, noting candidates who said they would support the former president even if he is convicted of a felony. He said he didn’t think Trump was kidding when he said he’d be a dictator on the first day and called him unfit for office.

Haley rejects the idea of a Muslim ban proposed by Trump, instead advocating for a focus on screening people from countries that have an adversarial relationship with the U.S. or harbor terrorist groups. She clashed with DeSantis, who says the U.S. should not accept people from cultures who are “hostile,” including refugees from Gaza.

On many of the big topics covered here tonight, it’s the candidate not on stage who is most trusted by GOP voters — and even among some who don’t plan to support him.

According to the latest NewsNation/Decision Desk HQ poll released Monday, former President Trump drew 61% support on the question of who would best handle U.S. foreign policy and 64% on who would best handle the economy.

That’s slightly higher than the 60% of GOP voters who said Trump was their top pick for their party’s nomination. Those figures suggest that some Republican voters view Trump as the strongest candidate in the race on key issues, even if they don’t support him.

Both DeSantis and Haley have a lot of ground to make up here. On handling foreign policy, Haley was second in the poll with 13% support. DeSantis was second for who would best handle the economy, at a distant 8%.

Christie talks to Megyn Kelly. And Ramaswamy talks to DeSantis.

Ron DeSantis has broken through in the second half-hour of the debate with solid answers on border security and the economy. True, both topics are in his wheelhouse and hit his sweet spot. But the Florida governor was in command of a broad range of policy on both topics and showed the attention to detail for which he has distinguished himself in Tallahassee.

This is the DeSantis that might have been the frontrunner had he run a better campaign to date, and not run into a buzzsaw otherwise known as Donald Trump.

Acknowledging the mountains of student debt young Americans are straddled with, DeSantis says he would make student loans “backed by the universities” so they have an incentive to ensure their graduates can afford to pay them back.

Haley says she wasn’t suggesting to bomb Iran.

It’s never been more expensive to own a home, leaving young and middle-class Americans looking from the outside in as they try to buy. Haley faults the government and Federal Reserve for pumping money into the economy and aggressively raising rates. She vows to veto any spending bill that “doesn’t take us back to pre-COVID levels.”

The scourge of fentanyl coming into America has resulted in a drug epidemic that caused more than 100,000 overdose deaths in 2021. Ramaswamy says the “demand-side problem” needs to be addressed.

He blames China as the “root cause” for supplying Mexico with the precursor chemicals to manufacture fentanyl.

Haley sets herself apart from former President Trump on China policy. She calls out Trump for tough talk and little wins. Other Republicans are echoing this criticism. Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-WI, who chairs the Select Committee on China, said very much the same when I spoke with him recently here.

DeSantis attacked Haley and she went right back: “He’s mad because some of his Wall Street donors used to support him and now support me.”

Cities far from the border have been hit with an influx of migrants, straining resources, while the Biden administration has pushed Congress to pass meaningful immigration reform, which has not been done in decades.

One problem for those hoping to immigrate legally? A system plagued with backlogs and a lack of immigration judges means many will die waiting for green cards.

Among voters, the issue of border security is one of the top concerns, coming in second to economic concerns.

Both DeSantis and Haley say that if elected, they would use U.S. military assets at the southern border to go after Mexican drug cartels. It’s become a popular viewpoint among many Republicans.

Christie and DeSantis were seen talking.

A section on the war in Ukraine devolved into a bitter war of words with personal attacks. In a heated exchange, Ramaswamy suggests Haley wants to support a war just to support a war, arguing she can’t name a single province or village in eastern Ukraine. Christie jumps in to defend her and says that after four debates, Ramaswamy could be voted as the “most obnoxious blowhard in America.”

Christie has faced growing pressure among Republicans to drop out of the race to clear a path for Haley or DeSantis to consolidate the anti-Trump vote.

The former New Jersey governor may have tipped his hand a bit Wednesday night, coming to the defense of Haley as she parried a litany of attacks from Ramaswamy.

Christie dubbed Ramaswamy “the most obnoxious blowhard in America” and repeatedly tried to shut him down, including referring to his “smart-a– mouth.”

While Christie defended Haley against attacks on her intelligence, his existence in this race is ultimately aimed at preventing another Trump presidency.

For Haley allies, his continued candidacy risks peeling away some votes from her in early states.

It’s a family fight. That’s what primaries are. They’re uncomfortable because with many of your opponents you do agree and admire them. And yet you HAVE to differentiate yourself from the frontrunner if you want to take the lead. It’s what Barack Obama did to beat Hillary Clinton. Haley isn’t doing that. DeSantis isn’t doing that. Going to be tough to rise when voters don’t know why you, not them.

Nikki Haley is (basically) center stage and the center of attention, subject to attacks from Ron DeSantis and Vivek Ramaswamy — and defended against those attacks from Ramaswamy by none other than Chris Christie, who is finally delivering the sort of aggressive debate performance he is known for.

The most notable development so far is that Haley has resisted responding to a series of Ramaswamy hits that, as Christie pointed out, did not focus on simple policy disagreement, but insulted the former ambassador’s basic intelligence.. What will the second half hour bring?

Some supporters of Ron DeSantis are pushing him to be more aggressive in the debate against Donald Trump. DeSantis criticized Nikki Haley in his first answer.

“The number one opponent for Ron DeSantis is Donald Trump, not Nikki Haley. He needs to take the fight to Trump,” donor Dan Eberhart tells NewsNation.

Support for the war in Ukraine has become increasingly divisive in the Republican Party, with former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and former New Jersey Chris Christie among those who support continuing to send aid to the country.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy have been among those who want to see the U.S. pull back on support, with Ramaswamy saying in a NewsNation town hall that he would make a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

One place where all the candidates can agree? They all see China as the top threat to America’s national security.

Asked if he would support sending American troops to Israel to help in its war with Hamas, DeSantis says the Biden administration has “hobbled” Israel. But he doesn’t directly answer the question, which Christie notes. “He went on this 30-second hosanna,” Christie said in response.

The former governor said he would “absolutely” send U.S. troops to Israel if necessary.

Vivek hasn’t yet attacked the RNC. He came in swinging last time against the leadership of the RNC. This debate, however, he did a fundraiser for the Alabama GOP ahead of the debate. Not sure what the conversation was like after the last debate but surely there was one. That, however, hasn’t prevented Vivek from going hard. He’s getting some return fire; it’s well-earned.

Chris Christie finally gets in. He uses it to talk about former President Donald Trump. I remember when Chris Christie was the rising star in the Republican Party. He was close to Donald Trump, before and during his presidency. And he’s saying what many are saying behind closed doors: the former president is unfit to be president. So far, his campaign hasn’t caught momentum, but is he speaking for independents that Republicans would need?

The 38-year-old biotech entrepreneur was the subject of some of the most memorable moments from the first few debates. Haley swatted away Ramaswamy then, calling him “scum” in the last on-screen clash after telling him in September, “Every time I hear you, I feel a little bit dumber.”

That same energy was on full display Wednesday after Ramaswamy targeted Haley’s past corporate ties and pointed out contacts between Haley and BlackRock CEO Larry Fink as well as a donation to a pro-Haley super PAC from billionaire entrepreneur Reid Hoffman, who he called “George Soros Jr.”

“You are corrupt,” Ramaswamy said.

Haley is so far brushing off the barbs while touting her pro-business bonafides.

“I love all the attention, fellas,” she said later as DeSantis joined in on the attack.

Christie is the first to acknowledge Trump’s dominance in the polls, telling the audience that the other three candidates are “timid” to even say his name. Christie has been the most vocal critic of Trump, who he says is “unfit” to be president.

The message hasn’t appeared to resonate with voters.

The Israel-Hamas war is considered the top security concern among voters, with NewsNation/Decision Desk HQ polling finding 30.6% of Republicans saying it’s the biggest threat to the country’s national security.

But while there is support for sending military aid to Israel, there is less support for sending troops, with 25.8% of Republican voters saying they don’t want U.S. troops on the ground in the region.

Nikki Haley taking fire from all sides — Ron DeSantis and Vivek Ramaswamy — as the debate opens. What they’re saying is that she is the candidate to beat in the race to emerge as the consensus alternative to Donald Trump. How Haley handles the carpet bombing will matter. “They’re just jealous” is what Haley said in response to criticism that she’s a tool of the wealthy donors who have been flocking to her campaign. “Thanks for the attention, fellas,” she added a few minutes later. GREAT LINE.

If Haley gets attacked all night, that’s a win for her … as long as she can handle it. And it tells you how the winds have changed in the second tier of candidates hoping to become the consensus alternative to TRUMP.

After mentioning Trump, Christie garnered some jeers from the audience.

Haley was just repeatedly attacked by DeSantis and Ramaswamy for comments she made recently that people using social media should not be allowed to do so anonymously. Ramaswamy suggested she is a “fascist” for suggesting such a policy.

Clarifying her position, Haley says social media companies need to fight bots and “show us their algorithms.”