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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (NewsNation) — The fourth Republican presidential debate centered on the viability of the four candidates on stage to mount a serious threat to front-running former President Donald Trump. You can read NewsNation’s full recap here.
The candidates each took turns attacking the others’ credibility on dinner table issues and personal grounds. Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy said former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley was an identity-politicker too corrupt to trust. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and the other candidates were too afraid of offending Trump to trust in a room with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
There were moments of policy discussion, such as DeSantis calling on universities to back student loans, Christie cautioning against government getting involved in gender-affirming care (which inspired a quick rebuke from his opponents), Haley rejecting calls for bombing Iran in response to the Oct. 7 violence in Israel, Ramaswamy calling for the strong defense of Taiwan against China and the candidates agreeing quick action on the border is needed.
Below is our live blog for the debate, featuring regular updates and analysis from a team of journalists from NewsNation, our sister publication The Hill and The Dispatch.
Providing expert analysis are David M. Drucker, senior writer for The Dispatch, and Jesse Byrnes, senior editor for The Hill. They will add regular political insight and analysis throughout the debate. You’ll see additional updates from Tulsi Kamath, managing editor of digital for NewsNation, about the scene in Alabama, and regular summaries of the questions and candidate responses and additional context from NewsNation Digital Producers Tyler Wornell, Steph Whiteside and Damita Menezes.
We’ll also follow your commentary through social media about tonight’s debate. We’ll be watching the hashtag: #GOPDebate. Use it as you post about tonight’s debate, and we may incorporate your comments into our coverage.
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Haley becomes a target within 10 minutes of the debate with Ramaswamy and DeSantis attacking her.
Vivek Ramaswamy has campaigned on a message of unity but has increasingly taken shots at the other candidates during each of the three preceding debates. Moderator Megyn Kelly asks: Is he worried that voters may be questioning his authenticity?
He responds by criticizing Haley’s record and calls her “corrupt.”
Ron DeSantis is asked a pretty simple question: Is now your time? And he looks back to the pandemic. Since the pandemic, he’s launched book bans and revised the study of slavery and signed a 6-week abortion ban. This isn’t a pandemic anymore. Missed opportunity to talk about the future.
Nikki Haley doesn’t exactly lean into unity in her opening statement but rather takes an opportunity to talk about how she has gone further on anti-trans rhetoric. She’s portraying herself as a fighter, and the fight goes back and forth before Ramaswamy chimes in.
Ramaswamy uses his opening statement to attack Nikki Haley for working for a U.S. manufacturing company while he took investment from foreign countries for his business. Interesting tactic, and probably fits the description Megyn Kelly opens with — he’s unpredictable and not exactly the same candidate on each debate stage.
Here we go.
Former President Donald Trump continues to hold a strong lead in the GOP primary race despite not participating in any of the debates.
While Trump may play well with the Republican base, there are fears he won’t be able to perform as well in the general election. The former president faces four major legal battles during the campaign year, and voters have been less than enthusiastic about a rematch between Trump and President Joe Biden.
She says he distorts her record.
The first question to Nikki Haley is about her net worth and current and past relationships with corporations and big-name donors. Haley says “we’ll take support from anybody we can take support from” but says she’s been a “conservative fighter” all her life.
The first question posed to candidates is about electability. DeSantis is asked if recent polling numbers suggest 2028 would have been a better time to run, given most Republican voters still prefer Trump. “We’re going to earn this nomination,” DeSantis responded.
NewsNation’s Kellie Meyer says Ron DeSantis received the loudest cheers.
The visual of the four candidates on the NewsNation debate stage here in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, is notable and not necessarily insignificant. Three men in dark suits and red ties; Nikki Haley in white. It’s a four-person stage but Haley looks like she’s center stage. Television is a visual medium, and that could redound to Haley’s benefit, if she performs up to expectations.
The debate is getting underway.
Everyone is in their seats and behind their podiums.
As recent Republican presidential contests show, leading big in December doesn’t always mean you’re on your way to the nomination.
In the 2008 cycle, Rudy Giuliani held a strong lead around this time before Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) had a comeback win in New Hampshire — propelling his candidacy and eventual nomination.
At this point in the 2012 race, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) was ahead by 20 points. He ended that cycle fourth for total delegates, with Mitt Romney locking up the nomination.
For his part, Trump led the last contested GOP primary in 2016 for nearly the entire race once debates began, except for a brief scare by Ben Carson around the time of the third debate in the fall.
Of course, Trump’s lead eight years ago pales in comparison to his roughly 50-point advantage now. And unlike before, in addition to defending his big lead now, he is also battling four criminal cases.
The game
Americans vote, not polls. This race isn’t over until votes are counted. And the way votes are counted is set by each state’s party.
If a smart operator — and there are a lot of them on this stage — is planning a strategy for the game, they can look at the delegate math and play big if they can just stay in during Iowa and New Hampshire and pick off states on Super Tuesday. I remember Obama winning Idaho with about 80% of the vote. There is still a chance to bring about some surprises. And these candidates’ teams know it.
Nikki Haley
Nikki Haley has outperformed all of her fellow candidates on the stage in past debates and has drawn attention from the likes of big long-term Republicans because there’s a perception that she could bring people together.
Haley did that in the state of South Carolina, she got the Confederate flag down in the aftermath of a horrific crime, she kept the calm in the aftermath of a police shooting. America needs calm. Biden won in key districts because Americans wanted calm. Americans haven’t altogether been happy with Biden, and there’s a chance for someone like a Nikki Haley to bring back women in key states.
We’re seeing Haley perform, and I’m watching her tonight because she needs to again outperform. But will she live up to the expectations of those who believe she can unify?
Ron DeSantis
Since his faulty launch, DeSantis has struggled. His campaign has had shake-ups and his PAC recently. McCain did shake up his campaign and then won. It’s possible. But he has to have a good night.
He took the challenge to debate Gavin Newsom, thinking it would give him momentum in this debate, but the consensus was the debate was another missed moment. This is his last organized moment by the Republicans that we know of. He must throw the punch that lands if he wants the chance to be in the Oval Office.
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is facing mounting pressure to suspend his campaign and help consolidate the vote behind a candidate who can challenge front-runner former President Donald Trump.
Christie has trailed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley in the polls, with speculation he wouldn’t qualify for tonight’s Republican debate.
Seven candidates from the initially crowded field have already suspended their campaigns as some suggest consolidating support behind a viable challenger is the only way to keep Trump from winning the nomination.
Christie, for his part, has said he’s committed to remaining in the race through the Republican National Convention in July.
NewsNation contributor Mick Mulvaney says Iowa is different because candidates don’t need a lot of money initially to attract voters to their side.
NewsNation contributor Sean Spicer, meanwhile, says campaign money doesn’t matter if candidates don’t do well in Iowa.