Key Insights from the Fourth Republican Presidential Debate
The highly anticipated fourth Republican presidential debate in Alabama showcased intense competition as candidates, including DeSantis, Ramaswamy, Haley, and Christie, rallied to challenge Donald Trump's dominance in the 2024 primary From fiery exchanges to a resurgence in Christie's performance, this debate delved into culture wars and witnessed Ramaswamy unloading a series of controversial conspiracy theories
Former President Donald Trump's absence from the 2024 primary debate circuit became evident during the fiery fourth Republican presidential debate on Wednesday. The four contenders, including former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, engaged in heated exchanges throughout the two-hour event.
In the smallest debate field yet and with the Iowa caucuses less than six weeks away, the candidates had the opportunity to articulate their policy beliefs and highlight their major differences. The debate also featured several memorable personal attacks, including Ramaswamy's comparison of Haley to "lipstick on a Dick Cheney," Christie's mockery of Ramaswamy's "smartass mouth," and DeSantis's remark that Haley "caves every time the left comes after her."
Haley responded, "Thank you for the attention, gentlemen." The clash in Alabama, hosted by NewsNation, revealed that all the candidates on stage feel they need to establish themselves as the only alternative to the former president within the GOP before they can directly challenge him.
Nevertheless, it highlighted the reasons why Trump's absence from the debates did not affect his popularity in the polls. There were instances of criticism towards the former president: Christie, running his campaign on an anti-Trump platform, strongly argued against Trump's return to power, while Haley criticized his stance on China and DeSantis claimed that Trump had failed to fulfill his promise to "drain the swamp" and make Mexico pay for the border wall. However, these criticisms were the outliers in a debate largely centered around the clashes between the present candidates. Here are five key points to take away from the fourth Republican primary debate:
DeSantis and Ramaswamy versus Haley
The clearest sign of Haleys rise in the race? Her opponents made her the center of attention during much of the first hour of the debate.
DeSantis wasted no time before taking aim at Haley, sparking a dispute over transgender bathroom usage. Ramaswamy also continued to target Haley, focusing on her board service for Boeing. The two later piled on criticisms, focusing on her recent donor support and interest from prominent figures.
Later in the debate, Ramaswamy displayed his notepad with the word "Nikki = Corrupt."
Haley, who had recently earned the support of the conservative group Americans for Prosperity, expressed gratitude for any assistance but emphasized that it would not influence her policy decisions. She also suggested that her competitors would accept the funding if it was offered. Meanwhile, DeSantis' political campaign had actively sought out support from Americans for Prosperity and has witnessed a loss of wealthy corporate donors who had previously supported him.
"They're just envious," Haley remarked. "They want to be the ones receiving support."
DeSantis' focus on Haley was especially significant since, in previous debates, his campaign had implied that his leading position in the polls (among the non-Trump candidates) would make him a target for attacks. Despite this, he made sure to target Haley consistently and early on as he works to defend against the growing threat of her campaign in states like Iowa.
DeSantis interjected after her response on China to highlight her history of working with Chinese companies while serving as South Carolina's governor. Haley retorted that DeSantis had also engaged in similar activities in his own state.
"I have a proven track record of standing up and taking the necessary actions," DeSantis affirmed.
To which Haley replied, "You have a record of lying."
Christie was the exception onstage, coming to Haleys defense as Ramaswamy lobbed insults aimed at her foreign policy chops.
"Although we have differing opinions on certain matters, one thing we can all agree on is that she is an intelligent and accomplished woman," Christie stated.
Haley glanced at him and silently mouthed, "Thank you."
Christie gets his groove back
Christie has been facing challenges in trying to capture the same energy from the 2016 presidential primary debate season, where he effectively criticized Florida Sen. Marco Rubio for repeating a debate one-liner. Even though Christie didn't advance far in that primary, Rubio had difficulty shaking off the perception that he was mechanical.
In Tuscaloosa, the ex-governor of New Jersey reconnected with his energetic side, criticizing his opponents as inexperienced, bothersome, and unprepared for the role. While this may not secure him the nomination, it's certainly not making it any easier for the other candidates - specifically DeSantis and Ramaswamy. Christie also tried to portray DeSantis as evasive when responding to simple questions, such as whether he would deploy US troops to Gaza to rescue American hostages held by Hamas if he were president.
"As the president of the United States, there is no option to avoid answering that question," he asserted.
Later during the debate, DeSantis was questioned about his opinion on Trump's suitability for office. His response was, "Father Time always prevails." Christie maintained his stance.
"Either you're afraid or you're not listening," Christie asserted. "It's a straightforward question to answer. I'm a straightforward guy. I hear the question, and I respond."
Christie challenged Ramaswamy's tendency to backtrack on comments. As they engaged in a back-and-forth exchange, Christie criticized the Ohio businessman's proposal for a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia. The former New Jersey governor accused Ramaswamy of denying his campaign trail statements when on the debate stage and labeled him as annoying.
Christie pointed out that this would be the fourth debate in which he would be voted the most obnoxious blowhard in America within the first 20 minutes. However, much has changed since the 2016 election cycle, particularly Christie's loyalty to Trump. He directed his harshest criticism at all three of his opponents, accusing them of being afraid to "offend" the former president.
"You have to be willing to offend with the truth," he said.
He who should not be named
During the first 17 minutes of the debate, Christie observed his three opponents squabbling and attempted to shift the focus by pointing out that Trump is currently leading in the polls. "I've got these three guys who are all seeming to compete with Voldemort - He who should not be named," the former New Jersey governor said, alluding to the Harry Potter series villain whose name characters avoided saying. "They don't want to talk about it."
Christie suggested that other candidates are avoiding confronting Trump directly because they do not want to ruin their chances of being considered for vice president or their prospects for the 2028 presidency.
"When you speak the truth about someone who is a dictator, a bully, and has attacked everyone whether they have served him well or not, who would dare to disagree with him, then I understand why these three are hesitant to speak out," Christie said. "Perhaps it's because they have ambitions for the future; perhaps those aspirations are immediate or maybe they are four years away. But the reality is that the truth must be spoken."
The reaction to Christie's comments spoke volumes about the state of the GOP primary race. While questions asked of his rivals in the debate led to heated and sometimes personal exchanges, Christie's comments were met with silence from his rivals.
Later in the debate, some participants provided limited criticism of Trump. Haley stated that the former president had not been strong enough in dealing with China. DeSantis mentioned that Trump had not fulfilled his 2016 campaign promise to have Mexico pay for a wall on the southern US border.
However, Christie was the only one to consistently argue against the former president, a point he emphasized in his closing statement by stating that Trump would not be able to vote in the 2024 election "because he will be convicted of felonies before then."
The culture wars come in
After facing boos in response to his comments, Christie declared, "You can boo all you want and keep denying the truth. But if we as a party deny reality, we'll be stuck with four more years of Joe Biden."
DeSantis’ focus on combating the "woke" movement was sidelined during the initial three GOP debates, which instead highlighted foreign policy, electability, US border policy, and the economy. However, during this latest debate, he utilized two key domestic culture war issues— environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) investing, and transgender rights— to portray Haley as a more moderate candidate.
DeSantis quickly shifted the topic from his campaign to take a swipe at Haley over her stance on gender-affirming care for transgender minors in his initial response. "I passed a bill in Florida to prevent the gender mutilation of minors," DeSantis stated. "She is against this bill. She believes it's acceptable and the government shouldn't intervene."
His remarks echoed the arguments presented in a video released by Never Back Down, the super PAC supporting DeSantis, prior to the debate. The ad accused Haley of not being willing to combat the agenda of the left.
During a June interview with CBS News, Haley did mention that the "law should stay out of it." However, she also emphasized that parents should take the lead, and she did not express support for youth gender transition.
"The responsibility falls on the parents to address this, and once the child reaches 18, they have the option to make a more lasting impact," she stated.
DeSantis later teamed up with Ramaswamy to connect Haley's backing from affluent sponsors to the ESG investment movement on Wednesday evening.
"They want to use economic power to impose a left-wing agenda on this country," he said.
Ramaswamy unloads a string of conspiracy theories
Ramaswamy used his potentially final appearance on the GOP presidential debate stage to strongly advocate for the extreme conspiracy theories within the Republican Party, presenting himself as the only candidate willing to embrace them. He confidently shared a series of untrue and provocative conspiracy theories.
Ramaswamy presented several theories, such as calling the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol by Trump supporters "an inside job." He also claimed that the 2020 election was "stolen by Big Tech" and accused the government of lying about Saudi Arabia's involvement in the 9/11 attacks for 20 years.
Additionally, he expressed support for the "great replacement" theory, which is a racist conspiracy suggesting non-White people are being brought to Western countries to replace White voters and achieve a political agenda. Ramaswamy described this theory not as a grand right-wing conspiracy, but as a basic statement of the Democratic Party platform.
He stated that the greatest danger to the United States is "the deep state, which Donald Trump at least tried to confront."
In his closing statement, Ramaswamy asserted that the "climate change agenda is a deception."
"COVID was just the beginning - the climate agenda is far more concerning. We should not be submitting to this new ideology," he said. "That's exactly what it is – a replacement for a modern ideology. We're sacrificing our way of life and surrendering to this new climate deity, but that ends under my leadership."
This story has been revised with added details.
