Second 2024 Republican presidential debate

Our live coverage of Wednesday’s GOP debate and the 2024 race has moved here.

The second 2024 Republican presidential primary debate ended just as it began: with former President Donald Trump – who hasn’t yet appeared alongside his rivals onstage – as the party’s dominant front-runner.

The seven GOP contenders in Wednesday night’s showdown at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California provided a handful of memorable moments, including former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley unloading what often seemed like the entire field’s pent-up frustration with entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.

Two candidates criticized Trump’s absence, as well. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said he was “missing in action.” Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie called the former president “Donald Duck” and said he “hides behind his golf clubs” rather than defending his record on stage. The GOP field also took early shots at President Joe Biden.

However, what played out in the debate, hosted by Fox Business Network and Univision, is unlikely to change the trajectory of a GOP race in which Trump has remained dominant in national and early-state polling. And the frequently messy, hard-to-track crosstalk could have led many viewers to tune out entirely.

Here are some key takeaways from the second GOP primary debate:

Trump’s safe approach appears to pays off: Trump might be playing it safe by skipping the debates and taking a running-as-an-incumbent approach to the 2024 GOP primary. It’s hard to see, though, how he would pay a significant price in the eyes of primary voters for missing Wednesday night’s messy engagement. Trump’s rivals took a few shots at the former president. DeSantis knocked him for deficit spending. Christie mocked him, calling him “Donald Duck” for skipping the debate. But he largely escaped serious scrutiny of his four years in the Oval Office from a field of rivals courting voters who have largely positive views of Trump’s presidency.

A messy two hours: The second GOP primary debate was beset by interruptions, crosstalk and protracted squabbles between the candidates and moderators over speaking time. That’s tough for viewers trying to make sense of it all but even worse for these candidates as they attempted to stand out as viable alternatives to the absentee Trump. Further complicating the matter, some of the highest polling candidates after Trump – DeSantis and Haley – were among those least willing to dive into the muck, especially during the crucial first hour.

Candidates piled on Vivek Ramaswamy: Some of the candidates onstage didn’t want to have a repeat of the first debate, in which Ramaswamy managed to stand out as a formidable debater and showman. Other candidates still had clashes with him. South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott Scott went after the tech entrepreneur, saying his business record included ties to the Chinese Communist Party and money going to Hunter Biden. At another point after Ramaswamy had responded to a question about his use of TikTok, Haley jumped in, saying, “Every time I hear you, I feel a little bit dumber from what you say” and adding, “We can’t trust you.”

Palmetto pummeling: All night, Scott seemed like he was looking for a fight with somebody and he finally got that when he set his sights on fellow South Carolinian Haley. He began his line of attack – which Haley interjected with a “Bring it” – by accusing her of spending $50,000 on curtains in a $15 million subsidized location during her time as the US ambassador to the United Nations. What ensued was the two Republicans going back and forth about the curtains.

An uneven performance for DeSantis: Confronted by his Republican competitors for the first time in earnest, DeSantis delivered an uneven performance from the center of the stage – a spot that is considerably less secure than it was heading into the first debate in Milwaukee. Despite rules that allowed candidates to respond if they were invoked, DeSantis let Fox slip to commercial break when Pence seemed to blame the governor for a jury decision to award a life sentence, not the death penalty, to the mass murderer in the Parkland high school shooting. The Florida governor did manage to first speak Wednesday night just in the nick of time – 16 minutes into the debate. And when he finally spoke, he continued the sharper attacks on the GOP front-runner that he has previewed in recent weeks.

Read more debate takeaways.

Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy led with over 12 minutes of speaking time in tonight’s debate, which saw candidates scrambling for airtime and talking over each other as they jockeyed for opportunities to distinguish themselves.

Gov. Doug Burgum of North Dakota had the least amount of time to get his message out, speaking just under eight minutes.

Here’s how long the candidates spoke:

Following Wednesday night’s Republican presidential primary debate, CNN’s Gary Tuchman joined a group of voters in Nevada, Iowa, who weighed in and offered their opinions of the candidates.

The group consisted of 18 voters, 16 are undecided, Tuchman noted.

Asked about who they thought won the debate, nine voters raised their hand for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley came in second with six people raising their hands, while one person raised their hand for Vivek Ramaswamy and one person for North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum.

None were ready to caucus for former President Donald Trump.

Asked if it was disrespectful for Trump not to participate in the debate, there was a mixed response.

One voter said she didn’t think it was disrespectful.

“I just think that, you know, it’s his decision — it’s personal decision. And I think he just feels like he has a lot of people that just knows what he’s about. He’s been here several times. He’s done several rallies, he’s done lots of interviews and so I think he probably feels like that kind of takes the place of him having to be on that debate stage,” the voter said.

Another voter said disagreed.

“I think it’s disrespectful that he didn’t come to try to earn Iowans votes because so many people’s votes are still up for grabs here in Iowa and so not coming to try to earn that with the other candidates I think is a sign of disrespect and I don’t think he earned anyone’s vote by not coming,” she said.

Many said it was a bad night for Pence.

“I think he completely destroyed his credibility,” one voter said. Noting that he didn’t answer direct questions on his record. Another voter said that Pence comes across as “not very believable.”

Former Vice President Pence claimed that “one of the signature accomplishments of our administration was in just a few short years, we achieved energy independence.”    

“We became a net exporter of energy for the first time in 75 years,” he added. “But on day one, Joe Biden declared a war on energy.”   

Facts First: This is misleading on a few counts. During brief periods prior to Trump’s presidency, the US exported more oil, gas and petroleum products than it imported. While 2019 did mark the first full year the country did so, that trend has continued through the Biden administration in 2021 and 2022. And by at least one measure, “energy independence” is actually at a record high under Biden. 

It’s misleading for Pence to suggest Biden “declared a war on energy” as US energy production continues to boom under his administration, contrary to frequent Republican claims. 

According to the Energy Information Administration, in 2022, US total energy exports were the highest on record, and also exceeded total energy imports by the largest margin on record. 

Domestic crude production in the first six months of 2023, the most recent data that is currently available, was the highest on record for the first six months of a year, and US crude oil production in 2022 was the second-highest on record, behind only Trump-era 2019.  

Natural gas production in the US has also continued to surge under Biden.  US production of dry natural gas set a new record in 2022 and even outpaced 2022 levels in the first five months of 2023. 

Additionally, it’s worth noting that “energy independence” is a political phrase, not a literal phrase, and it’s one that energy industry experts call ridiculous. 

Under Trump, the US still relied on imports of foreign oil and gas even though it met some of the common political definitions of “energy independence” — and the US continues to meet those definitions of “energy independence” under Biden.   

According to the EIA, net US energy exports increased from 3.48 quadrillion British thermal unit (Btus) — or “quads” — in 2019 to 3.62 quads in 2021, Biden’s first year in office. In 2022, US net energy exports set a new record at 5.94 quads, and the US produced 3.3% more energy than it consumed. 

On the Republican presidential primary debate stage Wednesday night, the candidates repeatedly invoked China as an antagonist to the United States, especially around economic and financial issues.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis called for “decoupling” the US economy from China. Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy said, “we need to declare independence from China.” And North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum said the US is “in a cold war with China.”

But the US and China are, respectively, the world’s two biggest economies — in fact, the two biggest economies the world has ever known. And as a result, the relationship between the two is far more interlaced, complex and nuanced than much of the debate might have suggested.

This year alone, a parade of US officials and CEOs have flocked to China, underscoring the ties between the two nations.

When Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen visited Beijing in July, she said the world was big enough for the US and China to thrive.

“The United States will, in certain circumstances, need to pursue targeted actions to protect its national security. And we may disagree in these instances,” she said at the time. “However, we should not allow any disagreement to lead to misunderstandings that needlessly worsen our bilateral economic and financial relationship.”

In August, US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo echoed Yellen’s remarks on her own trip to China, telling Chinese officials that the United States was not seeking a decoupling.

“While we will never, of course, compromise in protecting our national security, I want to be clear that we do not seek to decouple or to hold China’s economy back,” Raimondo told officials.

South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott told CNN that while he was “surprised by the vitriol” from the other candidates during Wednesday night’s debate, it was still “a really good night.”

“I enjoyed my night tonight, relaxed, had a good time,” he said.

Scott said the exchanges during the night were more substantive, saying that “last time was just a food fight.”

He also said he thinks it’s necessary to be “talking about the differences between the candidates.”

“I think it’s really important for us to paint a contrast between where I am on some of the important issues and where others are,” the senator said. “Having the opportunity to do that on the debate stage is a great place to do it, because frankly, the American people, and frankly Republican primary voters, want to know what the differences are.”

California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom defended his state after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis used crime in Los Angeles and San Francisco to argue that the country is “decaying” during the second GOP presidential debate. 

DeSantis “has a higher homicide rate statewide — 16% higher — than the state of California,” Newsom told CNN’s Dana Bash. “For whatever reason he didn’t bring up Tennessee, Arkansas, South Carolina, he didn’t bring up Texas — all with higher crime rates than the state of California.” 

During the debate, the Florida governor said he and his wife “have met three people who have been mugged on the streets” since they’ve been in southern California, where the debate was held.

“The crime in these cities is one of the strongest signs of the decaying of America,” DeSantis said. “We can’t be successful as a country if people aren’t even safe to live in places like Los Angeles and San Francisco.”

When Newsom was asked by Bash if he’s saying that San Francisco is “in good shape,” the California governor said “crime is a real issue” but finds DeSantis to be hypocritical. 

“I find the hypocrisy, the unwillingness to be honest with the American people, and the unwillingness to take responsibility — Ron DeSantis take responsibility for his own crime rate in his own major cities, I find that curious, not surprising,” Newsom said. 

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum told CNN after Wednesday’s debate that he felt frustrated about his lack of speaking time, despite having experience in many of the issues that were discussed.

He said he has experience in many of the issues discussed during the debate — business, job creation, border policies, energy policies and technology — but he didn’t get to answer those questions.

“I’m the only tech guy on the stage who understands software and we’re talking about TikTok, and I don’t get a question. I don’t get a question on the economy,” he told CNN after the debate. “So of course, the frustration came across.”

“I had to fight my way in. I mean literally, I think I got one or two questions in two hours,” he said.

During a discussion about the Russian war in Ukraine, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie falsely claimed President Joe Biden said, “a small invasion wouldn’t be so bad.” 

Facts First: This is misleading. Shortly before the war, Biden caught some flak for drawing a distinction between a full-scale invasion and a “minor incursion.” But he never said it would be acceptable or “not so bad.”  

In January 2022, Biden said: “It’s one thing if it’s a minor incursion, and we end up having to fight about what to do and not do. But if they actually do what they’re capable of doing with the forces amassed on the border, it is going to be a disaster for Russia if they further invade Ukraine.” 

CNN reported at the time that Ukrainian officials were aghast by Biden’s suggestion that the US might respond less aggressively to a “minor incursion” by Russian forces. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky even rebuked Biden, saying, “there are no minor incursions.”  

But Christie’s retelling of the diplomatic dustup wasn’t quite accurate. Biden never said that a “small invasion” (or a “minor incursion”) “wouldn’t be so bad.”  

Moments later during Biden’s same news conference in 2022, he said Russian President Vladimir Putin would “pay a serious and dear price” if there are “Russian forces crossing the border, killing Ukrainian fighters.” Biden continued to clean up his comments in the subsequent days, amid the prelude to the Russian invasion.  

South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott said he would lower Americans’ taxes when asked about how he would address high child care costs in the US during Wednesday’s GOP debate.

He pointed to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the 2017 Republican tax package that he said he helped write. 

“We actually lowered a single mother’s taxes by 70% on the federal level and for dual-income households by 60%,” he said. “Then we went a step further. We doubled the child tax credit and made it refundable. By doing that, more parents had more resources to make the decisions on how to take care of their family.”  

Facts First: Scott greatly exaggerated the tax cuts for single mothers and married couples, and his comments on the child tax credit changes need context. 

Under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the average federal tax reduction for single parents was $1,010, a change of less than 14%, according to Elaine Maag, a senior fellow at the nonpartisan Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center. Families in certain income brackets saw larger declines in their tax levies. For instance, those earning between $30,000 and $40,000 annually saw their taxes drop by an average of almost 57%. 

For married couples, the average tax cut was $3,350, or 9.2%, Maag said. Those with incomes between $10,000 and $20,000 received an average tax cut of 58%, while those earning between $20,000 and $30,000 saw their taxes decline by an average of 56%. 

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act did double the child tax credit to $2,000 — temporarily. But it has been partially refundable since 2001. The 2017 tax package temporarily increased the refundability, allowing more low-income families to receive a larger credit. 

The Democrats’ American Rescue Plan Act, which passed Congress in 2021, made the child tax credit fully refundable for one year.  

Moderator Ilia Calderón asked Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to address the descendants of enslaved people regarding his state’s new standards on how to teach Black history in schools.   

Calderón: “Florida’s new Black history curriculum says, ‘slaves developed skills, which in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit.’ You have said slaves developed skills in spite of slavery, not because of it. But many are still hurt. For descendants of slaves, this is personal. What is your message to them?”  

DeSantis: “First of all, that’s a hoax that was perpetuated by Kamala Harris. We are not going to be doing that. Second of all, that was written by descendants of slaves, these are great Black history scholars, so we need to stop playing these games,” DeSantis said. 

Facts First: DeSantis’ claim is false. Florida’s new standards for teaching Black history do include the clause that Calderón read out. 

In July, the Florida Board of Education approved a new set of standards for how Black history should be taught in the state’s public schools. The standards for middle schoolers include a benchmark that says, “Instruction includes how slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit.” 

When asked about the benchmark in July, DeSantis told CNN he “wasn’t involved.” Instead, just as he did in his response tonight, he deferred to those who wrote the education standards.   

“You should talk to them about it. I didn’t do it. I wasn’t involved in it,” DeSantis said at the time. 

Pressed further at the time, he said: “I think that they’re probably going to show some of the folks that eventually parlayed, you know, being a blacksmith into, into doing things later in life. But the reality is, all of that is rooted in whatever is factual. They listed everything out. And if you have any questions about it, just ask the Department of Education.” 

DeSantis has argued that it is unfair to depict the standards as broadly pro-slavery, saying that they are clear and detailed about the evils of slavery. 

The new standards have been criticized by civil rights advocates and Black lawmakers. Vice President Kamala Harris also criticized the new standards, saying in a speech in July “they decided middle school students will be taught that enslaved people benefited from slavery.” 

Tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy told CNN after the second Republican presidential debate that the criticism from former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and former Vice President Mike Pence over his business dealings “was puzzling.”

While he admitted to CNN’s Dana Bash that he did “do business in China,” he said it’s not a mistake.

“I’ll admit mistakes, but that’s not mistake because every American CEO was expanding into China and I was among them,” the Republican candidate said.

But he added that he pulled out from that business when he learned it was expected that businesses cannot criticize the Chinese Community Party, and decided after creating his second business that “we would never build an asset management business in China — that was unique.”

During the debate, Haley slammed the entrepreneur, claiming that his company’s withdrawal from China came shortly before he ran for president — a point to which Sen. Tim Scott added, “2023. 2023.”

Haley also went after Ramaswamy’s use of TikTok, the social media platform owned by a Chinese company. While Ramaswamy argued that he joined the app to reach young voters, Haley called for a total ban of the app.

“Every time I hear you, I feel a little bit dumber,” Haley said in response to Ramaswamy’s remarks on TikTok, later adding, “We can’t trust you.”

Ramaswamy also touted that his campaign has been effective in reaching young voters, a point he raised during the debate as well. The candidate recently joined TikTok, the social media platform owned by a Chinese company, leading to a sharp exchange with former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.

Ramaswamy also laid out the next phase of his campaign, telling Bash that that he hopes voters will get to know “a different side of me.”

“We’re not going to be doing media frenzies or anything going forward — I’ll talk to everybody, left-wing, right-wing media, doesn’t matter — but I’m going to focus more on what is day one going to look like,” he told CNN.

“And not just what day one is going to look like, what does January 2033 look like,” Ramaswamy added. “When I leave that office after two terms hopefully, what do I want to tell the people of this country we did?”

Sen. Tim Scott claimed that his chief of staff, Neri Martinez, is the “only Hispanic female chief of staff in the Senate.”  

Facts First: This is false. A number of senators have hired a Hispanic woman to be their chief of staff over the years, and at least three Hispanic women hold that title in the current Senate.

New Mexico Democratic Sen. Martin Heinrich announced in 2019 that he had hired Rebecca Avitia to lead his staff.

And New Jersey Democratic Sen. Cory Booker hired Veronica Duron in 2021 to oversee his office. 

Former South Carolina allies Nikki Haley and Sen. Tim Scott exchanged several heated moments during Wednesday night’s debate in Simi Valley, California. 

Asked why he believes he deserves the next White House nomination over Haley, Scott laid out several of his proposals, including passing a balanced budget amendment and growing the economy to reduce the national debt.

Haley, who appointed Scott as a US senator to fill vacancy in 2012, slammed Scott for his last 12 years in Congress.

“I appreciate Tim. We have known each other a long time, but he has been there 12 years and he has not done any of that … Where have you been, Tim? Twelve years. We have waited. Nothing has happened,” Haley said while interrupting Scott as he attempted to interject.

Scott later circled back to address his fellow presidential opponent saying: “I would love to finish my conversation with Nikki as it relates to the job that needs to get done.” 

Tim continued to address Haley raising the state gas tax in South Carolina by 10 cents as opposed to reducing it during her time as governor. 

Haley quickly responded saying “bring it, Tim” and added “You got bad information. I fought the gas tax in South Carolina multiple times against the establishment.”

“Just go to Youtube … All you have to do is go watch Nikki Haley on YouTube,” Scott interrupted.

Haley continued defending her decision to not reduce the gas tax during her time in office, and explained the deal included a three times reduction in income tax in exchange for a possibility of lowering the state gas tax, which ultimately never happened. 

Scott also appeared to accuse Haley of spending $50,000 on curtains in a $15 million subsidized location during her time as the UN ambassador, which Haley said were purchased by former President Barack Obama and are currently in the State Department. 

“Did you send them back?” Scott asked Haley.

“Did you send them back? You’re the one who works in Congress. You get it done…you are scrapping,” she told Scott.

Former Vice President Mike Pence slammed President Joe Biden’s economic policies during Wednesday night’s GOP debate in California. 

“Bidenomics has failed. Wages are not keeping up with inflation,” Pence said, referring to the president’s economic plan.  

Facts First: While there are several ways to measure inflation and wages, at least two indicators show that Pence’s specific claim about wages is no longer true – though it was accurate for much of Biden’s presidency.   

In June, for the first time in 26 months, US workers’ real average weekly earnings grew on an annual basis — by 0.7%, according to a Bureau of Labor Statistics report, which looks at inflation-adjusted earnings. That growth slowed but remained positive in August, at 0.3%, the most recent data available, meaning that wages continued to outpace inflation.  

Likewise, the bureau’s Employment Cost Index showed that inflation-adjusted wages and salaries for private industry workers increased 1.7% for the 12 months ending June 2023, the most recent data available.  

The quarterly index tracks changes in employers’ labor costs for wages and salaries but is not subject to the same distortions as other measures, such as average hourly earnings, because it keeps the composition of the workforce constant. 

Seven GOP presidential hopefuls went to battle in the second 2024 Republican presidential primary debate on Wednesday in Simi Valley, California, with one notable absence: party front-runner and former President Donald Trump.

The candidates scrambled for breakout moments, talking over each other and the moderators at the debate hosted by hosted by Fox Business Network and Univision at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.

See photos from some of the most memorable moments:

After sparring and interrupting each other for hours during Wednesday night’s debate, the participating Republican presidential candidates were given the chance to say who should be out of the race.

“None of you have indicated that you’re dropping out [of the presidential race], so which one of you onstage tonight should be voted off the island. Please use your marker to write your choice on the notepad in front of you,” moderator Dana Perino asked, a nod to the CBS competition show “Survivor” where contestants vote each other off the show.

Instead of voting one person off, they refused to answer the question, with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis saying it was “disrespectful.

“With all due respect, I mean, we’re here. We’re happy to debate but I think that that’s disrespectful to my fellow competitors,” DeSantis said.

When Perino then asked if any of the candidates wanted to participate, some were seen shaking their heads. But moderator Stuart Varney then alleged that he saw former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie write down an answer on his notepad.

“I think I’m the only one on this stage who’s been clear about this: I vote Donald Trump off the island right now,” Christie said. “This guy has not only divided our party, he’s divided families all over this country. He’s divided friends all over this country.”

Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy had the last word in tonight’s debate, telling viewers a different generation can help take former President Donald Trump’s “America First” agenda to the next level.

“I think Trump was an excellent president. But the ‘America First’ agenda does not belong to one man. It does not belong to Donald Trump, it doesn’t belong to me. It belongs to you, the people of this country,” Ramaswamy said.

He was responding to an earlier question from the moderator about the candidates’ mathematical path to beat Trump in 2024.

He added, “The question is: Who’s going to unite this country and take the ‘America First’ agenda to the next level?”

Ramaswamy said that when voters rallied around the agenda, “We did not just hunger for a single man. We hungered for the unapologetic pursuit of excellence. So, yes, I will respect Donald Trump and his legacy because it’s the right thing to do but we will unite this country to take the ‘America First’ agenda to next level and that will take a different generation to do it.”

Univision anchor and moderator Ilia Calderón asked former Vice President Mike Pence how he will reach out to Latino voters.

“I think the president of the United States needs to be a champion for the American dream for every American,” Pence answered, saying that “it begins with the unborn.”

“And it begins with every ethnic group in this country. And I promise you if I’m president of the United States, I will be a champion. I will be a champion for the American dream. For Hispanic Americans and for every American, so help me God,” he continued.

He touted his record working on tax cuts and reforms during his time in Congress, and claimed that he achieved the lowest unemployment rate among Hispanic Americans and African Americans ever as well as the lowest unemployment rate among women in 50 years.

When moderator Calderón gave South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott time to respond, he began by highlighting that he appointed a Hispanic woman to be his chief of staff, but then moved on to talking about gas prices and sparring with former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley on the issue.

Eventually, the sparring between the two GOP primary candidates gave way to another round of chaotic cross talk among the rivals on stage, which had to be broken up by Fox Business anchor and moderator Stuart Varney, who ushered in a commercial break.

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley sharply attacked entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy at the second Republican presidential debate over his stance toward TikTok, the social media app owned by a Chinese company.

Responding to Ramaswamy’s justification for joining the app, Haley bluntly stated, “every time I hear you, I feel a little bit dumber.” 

Ramaswamy, who recently joined TikTok after a conversation with social media influencer Jake Paul, argued the app provides a platform to spread his message to younger voters. He said if he were elected president, he would ban anyone under 16-years-old from all “addictive social media,” but advocated for the pragmatic benefits of campaigning on the app.

“We need to win elections, and part of how we win elections is reaching the next generation of young Americans where they are. So when I get into office, I’ve been very clear kids … under the age of 16 should not be using addictive social media,” Ramaswamy said. “We’re only going to ever get to declaring independence from China, which I favor, if we actually win.”

“While the Democrats are running rampant reaching the next generation three to one, there’s exactly one person in the Republican Party which talks a big game about reaching young people, and that’s me,” he said.

Haley sharply responded to Ramaswamy’s participation on the social media app by calling it “one of the most dangerous social media apps that we could have.” 

“One-hundred fifty million people are on TikTok. That means they can get your contacts, they can get your financial information, they can get your emails, they can get your text messages,” she said.

Haley continued to attack Ramaswamy for his business dealings in China and called for a total ban on the social media app.

The sharp attacks recall exchanges from last month’s Republican primary debate, where Haley repeatedly attacked Ramaswamy for his foreign policy views. Since the first debate, Haley has seen a rise in her support in polls of Republican primary voters.  

South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott pushed back against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ benchmark clarification policy within his state’s education standards for teaching Black history during Wednesday’s debate.

The standard teaches middle school students “how slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit,” which DeSantis has defended as slaves developing skills despite slavery, not because of it.

“That is a hoax perpetrated by Kamala Harris and we are not going to be doing that,” DeSantis said.

“That was written by descendants of slaves. These are great Black history scholars, so we need to stop playing these games,” DeSantis continued, pivoting to what he calls a decline of the country’s education system.

Scott responded: “America has suffered because of slavery, but we’ve overcome that. We are the greatest nation on Earth, because we’ve faced our demons in the mirror and made a decision.” 

Scott, the only Black Republican candidate on the debate stage, continued, “So often we think that all the issues talked about crime and education and health care. We always think that those issues go back to slavery.”

He went onto list the number of hardships that Black families in America have faced and overcome including, “Slavery. We survived poll taxes and literacy tests. We survived discrimination being woven into the laws of our country.”

Scott then claimed that what was a tough situation to survive was “(President Lyndon B.) Johnson’s Great Society where they decided to put money where they decided to take the Black father out of the household to get a check in the mail. And you can now measure that and unemployment and crime and devastation. If you want to restore hope, you’ve got to restore the family, restore capitalism and put Americans back at work.”

He added, “Our nation continues to go in the right direction. It’s why I can say I have been discriminated against, but America is not a racist country.”

Then, speaking directly to voters, Scott said, as the audience cheered: “Never ever doubt who we are. We are the greatest country on God’s green earth. And frankly, the city on the hill needs a brand new leader and I’m asking for your vote.”

Former Vice President Mike Pence, speaking of the Trump-Pence administration, claimed during Wednesday’s GOP debate that “we reduced illegal immigration and asylum abuse by 90%.” 

Facts First: This is misleading. The total number of Border Patrol apprehensions, which is widely used as a proxy for illegal immigration, was actually higher during Trump and Pence’s four years in office than it was in the final four years of the Obama administration, largely because of a major spike in early 2019. So where did Pence get the supposed 90% reduction? He didn’t explain — and didn’t explain what he meant by “asylum abuse” – but other fact-checkers, such as those at PolitiFact and The Washington Post, have found that you can find a roughly 90% drop in apprehensions if you compare the month with the highest Trump-era number of apprehensions, May 2019, to the month with the lowest Trump-era number, April 2020 — in other words, by cherry-picking the most advantageous start and end dates.  

The Trump-Pence reelection campaign did similar cherry-picking in a television ad in 2019, claiming Trump had cut illegal immigration in half. Small print in the ad made clear that the campaign, too, had started the clock in May 2019 rather than from the beginning of the administration.  

CNN asked Pence’s campaign two days before the September debate to explain the math behind this claim. The campaign did not respond.  

Members of the Trump campaign are continuing to dismiss the Republican primary debates as something that is beneath the former president, stating that Donald Trump made the right decision in not participating.

Trump campaign senior adviser Chris LaCivita told CNN that Wednesday’s debate is “a joke,” adding that it so far has amounted to “an interview to be the ‘designated’ survivor.”  

LaCivita is at the debate and will be representing the former president in the spin room despite his absence on stage, in addition to other Trump surrogates.

His comments echo the narrative the Trump team has been crafting. Trump is continuing to bypass the debates in his effort to be seen as leaving his primary challengers behind and instead wanting the 2024 race to be seen as a rematch between Trump and President Joe Biden. 

Additionally, Trump’s campaign sent a fundraising text to supporters during Wednesday night’s debate, attacking his GOP challengers as “playing right into Crooked Joe’s hands.”

“As you read this message, disloyal ‘Republicans’ (RINOs, as we like to call them) are dishonestly attacking yours truly in tonight’s GOP debate and are playing right into Crooked Joe’s hands,” the fundraising message read.

Other Trump allies are also taking shots at Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who attacked the former president for being “completely missing in action” and adding to the national debt. 

Andy Surabian, former Trump administration official and Trump ally, posted on social media: “‘Missing in action’ and ‘Strength over surrender’ Two clearly pre-rehearsed, poll-tested and consultant written lines that underscore the fundamental problem with the DeSantis campaign.” 

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley said the only federal aid that should be spent to tackle the migrant crisis is to “secure the border,” as opposed to using it for combatting the root causes behind the increase in migrants.

“The only aid we should be spending is to secure the border. The southern border, the northern border, period,” Haley said. “We need to keep Americans safe, and Americans are not safe. Only when we fix the immigration system, only when we get the border secure should we ever look at putting any more money into this. Our money should be about keeping Americans safe. We’re not doing that. Joe Biden is not doing that.”

Haley also laid out her plans to address the border crisis, including defunding sanctuary cities and increasing the amount of border patrol agents.

“We need to make sure we put 25,000 more border patrol agents on the ground and let them do their job,” she said. “Let’s go back to the Remain in Mexico policy. Instead of catch and release, let’s go catch and deport.”

When asked about his failure to pull through on his 2016 promise to repeal all Obamacare mandates, former Vice President Mike Pence instead pivoted to a completely different topic.

“First, let me speak to the mass shooting issue and then I will answer the question. It’s an important one,” Pence said before going on to talk about a federal expedited death penalty he would pass in Congress if elected president.

Moderator Dana Perino tried to steer the former vice president back to her Affordable Care Act question.

“I appreciate that,” she said. “Does that mean Obamacare is here to stay?”

Pence thanked Perino for asking the question again and said that as president, it will be his intention “to make the federal government smaller by returning to the states those resources and programs that are rightfully theirs under the 10th Amendment of the Constitution.”

“That means all Obamacare funding, all housing funding, all HHS funding, all of it goes back to the states,” he explained. “We’ll shutdown the federal Department of Education. We’ll allow states to innovate. We’re going to revive federalism in America and states are going to help.”

Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday made a direct appeal to Michigan union workers to pressure their leaders to endorse him for president as he delivered a sustained attack on President Joe Biden’s electric vehicle policies.

Trump skipped the second Republican debate to instead give a speech in Michigan to an audience that included current and former union members. Speaking at Drake Enterprises, a non-Union auto parts supplier in Clint Township, Trump sought to cast himself as a fighter for union workers. 

He criticized Biden’s trip to Michigan saying Biden came to Michigan “to pose for photos at the picket line,” and attacked his policies which he argued “send Michigan autoworkers to the unemployment line.”  

“That’s why I’m here tonight to lay out a vision for a revival of economic nationalism and our automobile manufacturing life blood which they’re sucking out of our country. I want a future that protects American labor, not foreign labor. A future that puts American dreams over foreign profits,” Trump said.

Trump frequently used dark imagery to make his argument. The former president said he was fighting against what he described as “blood-sucking” globalists and saying he stood up to people whom he said, “hate our country.” But, he urged those in attendance to get their union leaders to endorse him.

“But your leadership should endorse me, and I will not say a bad thing about them again,” Trump said at Drake Enterprises.

Trump recently criticized the head of United Auto Workers — a key labor union currently on strike — after UAW president Shawn Fain said a second Trump presidency would be a “disaster.” Fain was on the picket line Tuesday with President Joe Biden, who came to Michigan to show his support for striking auto workers. 

“If you could speak to Shawn, he’s listening right now, I’m sure, Shawn, endorse Trump and you can take a nice two-month vacation, come back and you guys are going to be better than you ever were,” Trump said Wednesday.

Trump painted a dire picture of the future of American jobs and manufacturing. He described Biden as a “vulture” as he criticized his policies, and tried to paint himself as a savior who could change the trajectory of the auto industry. 

Trump briefly referenced the competing second Republican presidential debate, saying, “You know we’re competing with the job candidates; they’re all running for a job. No, they’re all job candidates – they want to be in the – they’ll do anything — secretary of something. They even say VP. I don’t know. Does anybody see any VP in the group? I don’t think so.”

Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy has clocked in the most speaking time one hour into the debate, with more than six minutes on the board.

Coming next is former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum has had the least speaking time so far.

Follow along as we track the candidates’ speaking time live.

Several GOP presidential candidates paid homage to former President Ronald Reagan tonight, but they utterly ignored his famous 11th Commandment: Thou shalt not speak ill of a fellow Republican.

As a spectacular sunset fell across Simi Valley, California, an unseemly shouting match unfolded inside the Reagan Presidential Library. The challengers ignored the moderators, talked over one another and struggled to break through in the second Republican debate.

South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott assailed entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy. Former Vice President Mike Pence took on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie tore into former President Donald Trump, who once again was an early winner by choosing to skip the debate and stay above the fray.

The Fox Business hosts repeatedly tried to bring a semblance of order to the first half-hour of the chaotic debate, but it was nearly impossible to hear what any of the candidates were trying to convey. 

Dana Perino, a former White House press secretary and veteran Fox News host, chided the candidates and implored them to obey the rules of the debate.

So far tonight, one thing seems clear: Time is running out for some of the contenders in the scramble for second place to be seen as the leading alternative to Trump.

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said during Wednesday night’s GOP debate that former President Donald Trump “said he was going to build a wall across the whole border” but actually “built 52 miles of wall.” Later in the debate, former Vice President Mike Pence used a much different figure, saying that “we built hundreds of miles of border wall.” 

Facts First: This needs context. Both candidates’ claims are defensible; Christie, though, didn’t explain that he was talking only about barriers that were erected in spots on the southern border where there had not been any barriers before. If you count all of the barriers built on the southern border under Trump, as Trump and Pence do, then the total is much higher — more than 450 miles.   

Here are the facts. 

When Christie says only 52 miles of wall were built under Trump, he is referring solely to one category of wall construction – “primary” wall that was built in parts of the border where no barriers previously existed.  

When Pence puts the figure in the “hundreds of miles,” he is referring to all wall construction during the Trump-Pence administration. The total number is 458 miles, according to a federal report obtained by CNN’s Priscilla Alvarez: 52 miles of “primary” wall built where no barriers previously existed, plus 33 miles of “secondary” wall that was built in spots where no barriers previously existed, plus another 373 miles of primary and secondary wall that was built to replace previous barriers the federal government says had become “dilapidated and/or outdated.”   

While some Trump critics have scoffed at this replacement wall, the Trump-era construction was generally much more formidable than the older barriers it replaced, which were often designed to deter vehicles rather than people on foot. Washington Post reporter Nick Miroff tweeted in 2020: “As someone who has spent a lot of time lately in the shadow of the border wall, I need to puncture this notion that ‘replacement’ sections are ‘not new.’ There is really no comparison between vehicle barriers made from old rail ties and 30-foot bollards.”   

Ideally, Trump, Pence and their critics would all be clearer about what they are talking about: Trump and Pence that they are including replacement barriers, critics that they are excluding those barriers.

Remember: Trump skipped tonight’s debate.

South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott attacked entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy for his previous business ties to China — reflecting a new sense of urgency and aggressiveness distinct from his previous debate performance.

While responding to a question about whether he supports maintaining birthright citizenship for undocumented immigrants, Scott went out of his way to point out Ramaswamy’s previous business dealings in China with the biotechnology firm he founded. 

Scott referenced the previous debate where Ramaswamy said that the other candidates were “bought and paid for.”

“I thought about that for a little while, and said, you know, I can’t imagine how you could see that knowing that you were 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,” Scott said.

“That’s nonsense,” Ramaswamy responded. “These are good people who are tainted by a broken system.”

After a chaotic back-and-forth between Scott, Ramaswamy and other candidates looking to interject, the entrepreneur defended his previous business in China.

Ramaswamy argued his business entered the Chinese market along with other American businesses, but left shortly after. 

“When every other CEO expanded into the Chinese market, you know what I did with my first company? We opened a subsidiary in China. But you know what I did that was different than every other company? We got the hell out of there,” Ramaswamy said. 

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley jumped in to note his company’s withdrawal from China came shortly before he ran for president.

“2023. 2023,” Scott chimed in.

The exchange reveals a visibly more confrontational approach in Scott’s second debate performance.

He also pushed back against Ramaswamy’s controversial position on the children of undocumented immigrants, suggesting it was unconstitutional to deny birthright citizenship to people born on American soil.

Scott’s team previously told CNN the South Carolina senator planned to be more aggressive during Wednesday night’s debate than the previous debate in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie stepped up his direct attacks on Donald Trump from the debate stage, speaking directly to camera.

Asked about law and order, the former New Jersey governor drew attention to the fact Trump wasn’t on stage. He turned directly to the camera, saying, “Donald, I know you are watching. You can’t help yourself.”

Continuing to speak directly to an absent Trump, Christie said the former president isn’t skipping the debate because of his poll numbers or criminal indictments. 

“You’re not here tonight because you are afraid of being on the stage and defending your record,” he said.

Shortly after the moment, Christie tweeted out a cartoon image of Donald Duck giving a thumbs up and winking.

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley criticized President Joe Biden for joining the United Auto Workers picket line in Michigan earlier this week and blamed his economic policies for high inflation.

“I think we need to look at exactly what happened. Biden showed up on that picket line, but why are those workers actually there? It’s because of all of the spending that he has pushed through the economy that has raised the inflation,” Haley said during the second Republican presidential debate.

Haley went on to tout her economic proposal, dubbed “The Freedom Plan,” that she rolled out last Friday during a speech in Manchester, New Hampshire.

“I came out with an economic plan. Eliminate the gas and diesel tax so that they have more money in their pocket. Let’s focus on going after middle America and cutting taxes for middle America and collapsing those brackets,” the former South Carolina governor said.

“Let’s focus on what it takes to get more cash in the pockets of workers. That is when we will be able to do with strikes like this, not sitting on a picket line like Joe Biden,” she added.

More on Haley’s plan: Haley’s proposal is part of her larger plan to revive America’s middle class and an attempt to reverse the Biden administration’s economic policies, dubbed by the White House as “Bidenomics.” 

The proposal would eliminate the federal gas and reduce income tax rates, make small-business tax relief permanent, and end certain tax deductions such as the deduction for state and local income taxes, also known as SALT. 

Republican candidates are sparring on issues relevant to voters and also for speaking time.

About 30 minutes into the debate, Republican primary candidates have already spoken over each other and interrupted the moderators multiple times to claim more speaking time on issues like the US economy and immigration.

For example, just as entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy wrapped his answer on uniting the Republican Party, other speakers tried to jump in as moderators were left urging the candidates to let them questions on immigration.

“We are going to talk about immigration and the border and —,” Univision anchor and moderator Ilia Calderón said as she was interrupted by North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum.

Fox News anchor and moderator Dana Perino then stepped in to tell him “sir, we will get you some questions. But you’re going to have to let us move on. We’re going to the border next.”

He spoke again, and Perino stopped him again, and Calderón proceeded with the question.

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie took direct aim at Donald Trump in his first answer at the second Republican presidential debate, placing blame on both the former president and President Joe Biden for gridlocked spending debates in Washington, DC.

Pressed on whether voters should blame Republicans if the government shuts down at the end of the week, Christie said they should blame “everybody who is in Washington, DC.”

He expressed the need to be “honest” with voters, pointing out the $7 trillion added to the national debt under the Trump administration, as well as the $5 trillion added under Biden.

“They have failed and they’re in the spot they’re in now because none of them are willing to tell the truth,” he said, “None of them are willing to take on the difficult issues. They just want to keep kicking the can down the road.”

Christie said Americans are suffering because of government spending, yet “Joe Biden hides in his basement, and won’t answer as to why he’s raising the debt the way he’s done.” 

“Donald Trump hides behind the walls of his golf clubs and won’t show up here to answer questions like all the rest of us,” he went on.

Christie’s campaign made clear he will keep his focus on Trump in tonight’s debate, even though he is not on the stage.

More on the possible government shutdown: With just four days before government funding expires, there is still no clear path to avert a shutdown. The House and Senate are on a collision course as House Republicans have thrown cold water on the prospect of passing a bipartisan Senate proposal that contains additional aid to Ukraine.

The Senate has taken a bipartisan approach – unveiling a stopgap bill negotiated between the two parties to keep the government open through November 17. But House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has signaled that there is not sufficient support in the House for the Senate stopgap bill amid criticism of the measure from House conservatives. A number of House Republicans oppose further aid to Ukraine and oppose any kind of short-term funding patch.

CNN’s Clare Foran, Haley Talbot, Morgan Rimmer, Kristin Wilson and Lauren Fox contributed reporting to this post.

Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina and Vivek Ramaswamy lead the group in speaking times, followed by former Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey.

Follow our live graphic to see who’s getting the most and least airtime.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis used his first speaking opportunity at the second Republican presidential debate to take a swipe at former President Donald Trump for his contribution to the national debt and failure to appear on the debate stage.

Fighting for time with Sen. Tim Scott, DeSantis – given the floor – said both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump are “missing in action.” 

“Where’s Joe Biden? He’s completely missing in action for leadership, and you know who else is missing in action? Donald Trump is missing an action. He should be on this stage tonight. He owes it to you to defend his record where they added $7.8 trillion to the debt that set the stage for the inflation that we have now,” DeSantis said.

DeSantis then pointed to his record in Florida. 

“As governor of Florida, we cut taxes, we ran surpluses, we’ve paid down over 25% of our state debt and I vetoed wasteful spending, when it came to my desk and as your President, when they send me a bloating spending bill that’s going to cause your prices to go up, I’m going to take out this veto pen and I’m going to send it right back to them,” DeSantis said, holding a pen up to the camera.

South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott once again walked back comments he previously made suggesting he supported firing striking auto workers while criticizing the Biden administration’s role in the strike for approving union pensions that “overpromise and underdeliver” for auto workers. 

Moderator Stuart Varney asked Scott, who struggled to capture attention in the first debate, the first question of the night about controversial comments he made, suggesting striking workers should be fired.

“Obviously the President of the United States cannot fire anybody in the private sector,” Scott answered. “However, we should look back at the first bill in Congress under Joe Biden. The first bill had $86 billion for the union pensions because they continue to over promise yet under deliver. One of the challenges that we have in the current negotiations is that they want four-day French work weeks but more money. They want more benefits, working fewer hours. That is simply not going to stand.”
“We must make sure that we honor the commitments that we make and one of the ways that we do that: Do not over-promise and under-deliver and leave the taxpayers on the hook,” he continued. “I’ll say this, Joe Biden should not be on the picket line. He should be on the southern border, working to close our southern border because it is unsafe, wide open and insecure.”

Scott’s response comes amid an ongoing dispute with the United Auto Workers union that began when Scott evoked a quote from former President Ronald Reagan in discussing the strike at a campaign event in Iowa last week. 

“Ronald Reagan gave us a great example when federal employees decided they were going to strike. ‘You strike, you’re fired,’” he told the audience. “Simple concept to me, to the extent that we could use that once again.” 

The comment sparked strong pushback from the union and drew criticism from fellow Republican candidates.

In response to Scott’s comment, the United Automobile Workers union President Shawn Fain filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board, arguing Scott’s comments unlawfully threatened members of his campaign staff if they went on strike, according to a copy of the complaint posted online by The Intercept.   

Scott has since embraced the conflict with the auto workers union. He sent a fundraising email to supporters on Tuesday in which he called the UAW “one of the most corrupt and scandal-plagued unions in America,” encouraging supporters to donate to his campaign to “help me defend America’s workers.”

In a speech at a non-union auto supplier just outside Detroit Wednesday night, former President Donald Trump, the current GOP front-runner, made a likely futile pitch for the union’s endorsement.

Trump, who skipped tonight’s Republican presidential debate in California, told the crowd, which included United Auto Workers rank and file members, that they should push UAW President Shawn Fain and the union to endorse him because he would stop the auto industry’s planned shift to electric vehicles, which he predicted would lead to the demise of the US auto industry and jobs.

“Your leadership should endorse me, and I will not say another bad thing about them,” he added later.

Fain has so far declined to endorse Biden. He met with Biden Tuesday when he became the first sitting president to visit a union picket line. 

But Fain has made it clear he would not support Trump. He told CNN Tuesday that he wouldn’t even meet with Trump when on his Michigan visit.

“I find a pathetic irony that the former president is going to a rally for union members at a non-union business,” Fain told CNN earlier in the week, ahead of Trump’s visit. “I see no point in meeting with him because I don’t think the man has any bit of care about what our workers stand for, what the working class stands for. He’s the billionaire class and that’s what’s wrong with our country,” Fain said.

In remarks in Michigan, former President Donald Trump accused President Joe Biden of “personally taking money from foreign nations, hand over fist. Look at the money he got from China. Look at what’s coming out. China.” 

Facts First: There is no public evidence that Joe Biden himself made any money from foreign deals in China or elsewhere. That being said, Hunter Biden, the president’s son, did earn millions of dollars from business deals in China, Ukraine, and other countries, including while his father was vice president, raising conflict-of-interest issues.  

This has been one of the most persistent unproven claims from Trump and the congressional Republicans pushing for Joe Biden’s impeachment.   

Trump may have been reacting to new disclosures from House Republicans, who said Tuesday that they received documentation of wire transfers where Hunter Biden listed his father’s address in Wilmington, Delaware, when receiving payments from Chinese nationals.  

However, the files don’t prove that Joe Biden received any money — and Hunter Biden has lived at times at his father’s home, and listed the address on his driver’s license, according to previous CNN reporting.  

Trump, the current GOP front-runner, skipped tonight’s Republican debate again and instead delivered a primetime speech to former and current union members in Detroit.

Vivek Ramaswamy said that the real divide is not within the Republican Party, but is between the majority of Americans in the country and in the Democratic Party — in response to moderator Ilia Calderón asking a question that characterized him as a “Trump populist protégé.”

“I think the artificial division is unhelpful in our party. The real divide is not between the Republicans on this stage and in the Reagan Library,” he said. “I want to say these are good people on this stage. The real divide between the majority of us in this country who love the United States of America and share our founding ideals.”

He went on to say that a minority within the Democratic Party is driving the division.

“And the fringe minority in the Democrat Party that has a chokehold over that party, that’s the real divide,” he claimed.

Former Vice President Mike Pence slammed President Joe Biden’s economic policies, saying in tonight’s debate that “Bidenomics has failed.”

Fox Business anchor Stuart Varney asked Pence his position on American workers amid the ongoing United Auto Workers strike.

“Bidenomics has failed. Wages are not keeping up with inflation. Auto workers and all American workers are feeling it. Families are struggling in this economy,” Pence said Wednesday.

Pence detailed the changes he would make if he won the presidency.

“We ought to rebuild the green new deal, get rid of the mandates and subsidies that are driving American gasoline, automotive manufacturing into the graveyard,” he said. “As president of the united States, I will be standing with workers all across America and I’ll be standing for the right to work of every American to join a union or not join a union as they decide.”

Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy said he sympathizes with those on strike with the United Auto Workers union, saying that he personally has experienced “real hardship” growing up.

“I understand that hardship is not a choice, but victimhood is a choice and we choose to be victorious in the United States of America,” Ramaswamy told moderator Dana Perino at tonight’s debate.

Ramaswamy mentioned that his father stared down layoffs at General Electric and recalled his mother working overtime in nursing homes in order “to make ends meet.”

Members of the United Auto Workers union are striking against the Big Three automakers – General Motors, Ford and Stellantis – for a second week. The union is preparing to announce a possible expansion of its strike against General Motors, Stellantis and maybe Ford this Friday if there isn’t more progress in talks, a union source familiar with plans said Wednesday.

The entrepreneur said his advice to workers on strike is to “go picket in front of the White House in Washington, DC.”

“That’s really where the protest needs to be,” he said, adding that “disastrous economic policies” have increased interest and mortgage rates in the country while keeping wages stagnant.

“We need to deliver economic growth in this country,” Ramaswamy said.

“Unlock American energy. Drill, frak, burn coal and embrace nuclear energy. Put people back to work. By no longer paying them more money to stay at home,” he added.

President Joe Biden on Tuesday joined members of the United Auto Workers in Michigan on the picket line, a historic moment for a modern president. Former President Donald Trump, the front-runner in the GOP presidential primary race, skipped tonight’s debate to deliver a prime-time speech to an audience of current and former union members, including from the UAW, in Detroit. 

We’re tracking how long each candidate speaks during the second Republican primary presidential debate. Follow our live graphic to see who gets the most and least airtime.

The second Republican presidential primary debate of the 2024 campaign cycle has begun at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California.

The debate, hosted by Fox Business and Univision, marks a new phase in the GOP race, as the stage narrows from eight candidates from their first debate in Milwaukee last month to seven — former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson didn’t make the cut.

The following candidates met the RNC’s heightened polling and fundraising standards for Wednesday’s debate:

Fox Business anchor Stuart Varney, Fox News anchor Dana Perino and Univision anchor Ilia Calderón are moderating.

Former President Donald Trump, the front-runner for the 2024 GOP nomination, is skipping the event.

Former President Donald Trump scoffed at President Joe Biden’s Tuesday visit to a United Auto Workers picket line in Michigan, claiming during a speech Wednesday that Biden “had absolutely no idea what he was saying” and “didn’t know where he was.” Trump mockingly claimed that Biden said, “They grow wheat in Michigan.” Trump then added, “That’s Iowa.”  

Facts First: Trump’s claim is false in two ways. Biden did not make any comments on Tuesday about Michigan growing wheat — and Michigan actually does grow wheat, significantly more than Iowa. Iowa was a leader in wheat farming in the 19th century.

This is not the first time Trump has made a false claim about Biden while professing to be describing Biden’s own confusion. In an interview on NBC earlier in September, he falsely claimed that Biden had claimed “he flew airplanes,” though Biden did not. 

The 2024 GOP presidential debate stage is shrinking after the Republican National Committee (RNC) announced late Monday that seven candidates are set to participate in the second debate – down one from their first clash.

The following candidates met the RNC’s heightened polling and fundraising standards for Wednesday’s debate:

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who appeared in the first Republican presidential primary debate, did not. Former President Donald Trump, the front-runner for the 2024 GOP nomination, is skipping the event.

The debate, which will air at 9 p.m. ET Wednesday and hosted by Fox Business Network and Univision, is taking place at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California.

New polls released over the weekend from NBC News and The Washington Post/ABC News found Trump with a clear nationwide lead in the GOP primary. NBC showed the former president with 59% support, ahead of DeSantis at 16%, Haley at 7%, Pence and Christie at 4% each, Scott at 3% and Ramaswamy at 2%. The Post/ABC poll put Trump’s support at 54% support to DeSantis’ 15%, with Haley receiving 7%, Pence 6%, Scott 4%, and Christie and Ramaswamy at 3% each.

To qualify for the second debate, GOP candidates had to register at least 3% in two national polls or one national poll and two polls from separate early voting states – Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina or Nevada. Those polls had to be released at least 48 hours prior to the debate and meet the RNC’s standards. Candidates were also required to have a minimum of 50,000 unique donors, with at least 200 donors in 20 states or territories. Debate participants will also need to sign a pledge committing to supporting the eventual Republican nominee.

Despite former President Donald Trump’s absence at Wednesday’s Republican debate, the Democratic Party is hoping his presence will cast a shadow over the field – both literally and figuratively.

The Democratic Party is flying a banner over the site of the debate, Reagan Presidential Library, in Simi Valley, California, labeling the Republican primary as “a race for the extreme MAGA base.” The banner was spotted by CNN from the debate venue Wednesday afternoon. 

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is also driving a “mobile billboard” in the vicinity of the Reagan library on Wednesday, featuring criticisms of Trump as well as the Republican primary candidates attending the debate, which they name the “MAGA field.” 

The airplane banner and the billboard are part of an effort made by the Democratic Party and the Biden campaign to insert its message into prominent Republican primary events.

On Tuesday, the Biden campaign announced an endorsement from the United Farm Workers union during a news conference near the site of the debate.

The DNC also launched a billboard campaign in Detroit today where Trump is speaking Wednesday evening, attacking Trump’s economic record as president.

Republican presidential candidates are looking for a way to knock former President Donald Trump down a peg without alienating his supporters or facing criticism for their own past support of his administration. 

One possible strategy? Tell voters he’s changed. 

Ahead of tonight’s debate, Republicans have increasingly argued that the former president no longer holds the same beliefs that he did in 2016 and 2020. From abortion to foreign policy, they have suggested that voters who liked the first Trump presidency shouldn’t expect a repeat.

“In 2016, he stood on the convention stage and said ‘I am your voice.’ Today he says ‘I am your retribution,’” former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie told CNN earlier this month. “Those are two very different people.” 

Trump’s recent abortion comments, in which he called the six-week abortion ban Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law a “terrible mistake,” opened the door for DeSantis to contrast the Trump of today with the former president who appointed the Supreme Court justices who helped overturn Roe v. Wade. 

“I think it’s a window into how he’s changing as he’s running this campaign,” DeSantis told Radio Iowa on Monday. “I think he’s changing in a way that is not consistent with the values of the people in Iowa.”

Like DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence has tried to portray himself as the most consistent conservative voice in the field. 

“While we governed as conservatives during our years in the White House, Donald Trump makes no such promise today,” Pence said during a Fox News interview this week.

Former South Carolina Nikki Haley said Trump was “the right president at the right time” after a voter asked how she thought Trump would be remembered in 100 years.

“He used to be good on foreign policy,” Haley, Trump’s former ambassador to the UN, said at a Portsmouth, New Hampshire campaign event last week. “And now he has started to walk it back and get weak in the knees when it comes to Ukraine.”

Trump continues to dominate the GOP primary, and attacking him directly is more likely to draw the ire of his supporters than convert them. But with the window to overtake him in the polls rapidly closing, candidates are facing increased pressure to convince voters to look elsewhere.

“The candidates need to make an argument for why they would be a better nominee than the front runner,” said Alex Conant, a Republican political strategist who worked on Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio’s 2016 presidential campaign. “They didn’t even try to do that at the first debate. It sounds like they’ll be focused on it in the second debate.”

Wednesday’s debate is taking place at an iconic venue – the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.

The 40th president’s library played host to GOP presidential debates in 2008, 2012 and 2016. And in former President Donald Trump’s absence, several candidates could seek to use the soaring backdrop of the majestic library to tap into the Gipper’s glow.

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley has been familiarizing herself with some of Reagan’s great lines.

South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, who struggled to break through with his optimistic message amid the fireworks of the first debate, sent supporters a fundraising email in which he drew explicit comparisons to Reagan. Its opening line – “America is at a time for choosing” – recalled Reagan’s 1964 speech on behalf of GOP candidate Barry Goldwater that launched the onetime actor into the national spotlight.

What’s not clear is whether invoking Reagan still has an effect on voters in a party that has abandoned many of his principles in recent years.

Former Vice President Mike Pence, who for decades has spoken about how Reagan steered him toward conservatism, stood by his 2016 comparison of Trump to Reagan in a recent interview with CNN.

“Many people believed when he chose me, someone that had been in the conservative movement since the days of Ronald Reagan, it was evidence of the sincerity of his purpose,” he said.

But Pence also insisted the former president has strayed from those principles since then. He has urged the party to steer away from populist “imitators.”

While Ron DeSantis’ campaign manager wouldn’t speak for the Florida governor when it comes to how he might broach attacks on Donald Trump, he emphasized the former president’s absence on the stage.

“This election is not something that is inevitable or guaranteed to somebody. You have to work for it. You have to earn it,” James Uthmeier, DeSantis campaign manager, told CNN. “If the former president is so confident in these polls and the outcome, then he should be here to present his case with all the other candidates.” 

On the trail and in recent weeks, DeSantis has leveled criticism at Trump for his contribution to the national debt, failure to complete the border wall, “drain the swamp” and his comments on abortion — where Trump called some Republican state restriction’s “terrible.”

“When it’s come up, he’s pointed out the contrast with Trump. The governor is not one of these people that wants to push personal jabs, but he focuses on the contrast. I think spending is a big one. He’s pointed out that both Republicans and Democrats alike have been irresponsible with spending at the federal level,” Uthmeier said.

“I think he’s pointed out that while Trump ran on immigration and started the wall, it’s indisputable that the border is less secure than it has ever been,” he added.

Asked if DeSantis would make those contrasts tonight, Uthmeier said: “I’ll let him speak tonight. I don’t want to get ahead of him.”

Ahead of the debate, DeSantis and Florida first lady Casey DeSantis will receive a prayer from Greg Laurie, the senior pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship, based in Riverside, California, Uthmeier said.

Laurie will be seated in the audience tonight as a guest of Casey.

“This is an important time in our country, and it’s a time for choosing, as Reagan said,” Uthmeier said. “There is a choice with him to move forward.”

Tomorrow, DeSantis will be fundraising in Monterey, Fresno and San Francisco, according to a senior campaign official. On Friday, he will have a campaign event in Long Beach, California and later headline the California GOP Convention.

Ahead of tonight’s Republican primary debate at the Reagan Presidential Library, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott sat for an interview with the Reagan Foundation where he portrayed Ronald Reagan as the “quintessential optimist” in an effort to cast himself as the candidate best positioned to replicate the former president’s accomplishments. 

“Ronald Reagan gave us a vision. A revolution was born out of that vision that all things are possible for the city on the hill,” Scott told Reagan Foundation CEO David Trulio in an interview released Wednesday.
“He was a man who believed in the power of optimism. Not a happy hope, but a hope that inspires you to go to work. He did it. We should do it again,” Scott said.

Scott cited Reagan’s economic policy of reducing taxes and regulations and his stance toward authoritarianism abroad as successes of the Reagan presidency. He referred to Reagan’s famous campaign slogan in forecasting another “morning in America” if he were elected.

“There’s no doubt morning in America was a real thing because he believed that all things were possible, and frankly, I believe that it is time for us to have another American sunrise,” Scott said.

When asked why Republican voters should vote for him, Scott leaned on his optimistic message and argued he can sway independent voters in blunt terms. 

Scott said immigration is the most important issue he wants people to hear about during Wednesday’s debate and criticized President Joe Biden’s immigration policy for allowing illegal fentanyl trafficking over the southern border.

“We should finish our southern border wall so that we stop the deaths of 70,000 Americans who have died in the last 12 months because of fentanyl,” Scott said. 

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is taking aim at former President Donald Trump’s conservative credentials – not his conduct – as she works to cement her position as a leading alternative to the former president.

A modest wave of momentum from the first debate in Milwaukee follows Haley to California, where she faces a fresh test of trying to distinguish herself from the field and taking her performance to the next level.

Haley, who was at the center of a fierce foreign policy fight with entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and a spirited disagreement over abortion policy with former Vice President Mike Pence at last month’s debate, has also been increasingly talking about Trump – under whom she served as US ambassador to the United Nations. A forceful critique of his fiscal and spending policies has given way to a broader assessment of his fitness for office.

Haley has been testing some of those anti-Trump lines at town hall meetings. Late last week, she told a New Hampshire voter that Trump was “thin-skinned and easily distracted.” She also said he “got weak in the knees when it comes to Ukraine.”

While that assessment has earned her support from some moderate Republicans, will her rivals try to slow her rise by pressing harder on her foreign policy views and how they fit with the current mood among the party’s base?

In an interview aired Tuesday, former President Donald Trump remarked that anti-abortion groups are “raising money all the time,” and suggested they were “some kind of a business.”

Trump touted his role in overturning Roe v. Wade and said in the interview with the National Pulse, “pro-life was fighting it. We have these groups fighting this thing for so many decades, but it’s exactly 52 years as of a date in the not-too-distant future. And that’s a long time. Everybody’s raising money all the time, everybody, I don’t know, maybe it’s some kind of a business, I don’t know what’s going on.”

Some anti-abortion activists have been critical of Trump for not endorsing a federal abortion ban and describing strict abortion bans across the country, including the six-week ban in Florida, as a “mistake” and “too harsh.”

When asked about the comments, Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung told CNN: “Bottom line he has a record of achievement, and that voters know who he is and what he’s done.” 

Trump, the current 2024 GOP front-runner, will skip the debate again tonight and instead deliver a primetime speech to former and current union members in Detroit.

Donald Trump will skip another Republican presidential debate on Wednesday night because no one will punish him for not being there. No other Republican front-runner could so contemptuously snub their party’s second on-stage forum and do their own thing.

While getting away with it is the ex-president’s quintessential political skill, his talent for evading consequences is facing a grave challenge in another sphere – the courts. A New York judge on Tuesday underscored the growing threat to Trump from his mountain of legal challenges, ruling in a civil case that the ex-president and his adult sons were liable for fraud. The judgment, which poses a severe threat to the future of the Trump Organization, comes ahead of the ex-president’s four criminal trials in other matters.

Trump cannot control his legal fate, but his political destiny is still within his hands. The power of his political persona has cowed GOP critics and created a cult of personality that makes him invulnerable to attacks from within the party.

So there’s very little risk for Trump in boycotting the debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. It would be a major surprise if one of his rivals used the debate, which is effectively a showdown for second place, to launch the kind of searing criticism of Trump that could puncture his standing among GOP voters.

Only candidates who barely register in most polls – like former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie or former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who didn’t meet the RNC’s criteria to participate in this debate – have vigorously hammered Trump. While candidates like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley have hit Trump on issues like abortion or tepidly over his electability, they’ve not risked a direct attack on the ex-president’s growing extremism. Mike Pence, the former vice president whom Trump’s supporters wanted to hang on January 6, 2021, has become more scathing – and has been rewarded with a sagging campaign.

Read more here.

Ahead of the second GOP presidential debate, former president Donald Trump – who is skipping the event – remains the undisputed frontrunner for the Republican nomination. In the latest update to the CNN Poll of Polls on the race, Trump holds an average of 58% support. The state of the race has remained nearly unchanged from two CNN averages released earlier this month, with Trump’s support continuing to hover just shy of the 60% mark.  

Behind Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis runs a distant second with an average of 15% support, followed by former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley (6%), businessman Vivek Ramaswamy (5%), former Vice President Mike Pence (4%), South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott (4%), former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (3%), former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (1%) and former North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum (less than 1%). 

A Monmouth University poll released Tuesday finds that nearly three-quarters of Republican and Republican leaning-voters say that Trump is definitely (48%) or probably (24%) the strongest Republican candidate to take on President Joe Biden in 2024. Only one-quarter (25%) say they’re even somewhat concerned that the criminal indictments against Trump would make him a weaker general election candidate, little changed from 27% in July. 

More on the poll: The CNN Poll of Polls is an average of the five most recent non-partisan, national surveys of either potential or likely 2024 Republican primary voters which meet CNN’s standards. When a pollster has released multiple polls in that timeframe, only their most recent is included in the average.

The Poll of Polls includes results from the Quinnipiac University poll conducted September 7-11, the Fox News poll conducted September 9-12, the NBC News poll conducted September 15-19, the Washington Post-ABC News poll conducted September 15-20 and the Monmouth University poll conducted September 19-24.

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley on Wednesday said the key issue she wants to address during the second Republican primary debate is the economy.

Haley sat down for an interview with Ronald Reagan Foundation CEO David Trulio ahead of Wednesday night’s debate in Simi Valley, California, and said she believes she’s the only candidate among her contenders that brings “dual experience” to the race. 

“I’ve been a chief executive. I was a two-term governor. I also have foreign policy experience. I negotiated not with one country, but with 193. I’m the daughter of legal immigrants that reminded us how blessed we were to live in this country. I’m the proud wife of a military combat veteran and I know the sacrifices they make. I’m the mom of two children and I wanted a future for them that’s brighter than what we have,” Haley said.

Reflecting on what former President Ronald Reagan means to her, Haley emphasized his patriotism.

“He was all about freedom. He was all about patriotism, and he was all about restoring that love for America, and that’s what we have to go back to,” she said.

The former South Carolina governor also said trust is the biggest lesson she’s learned from Reagan that is most relevant to the current challenges America is experiencing.

“He trusted the American people. He was very transparent, he told them what the issues were. He told them how we could solve them, and they did it as a country,” Haley said.

After a splashy debut at last month’s first Republican presidential debate, Vivek Ramaswamy has gone from an unknown to a contender who’s now facing questions about his youth and lack of political experience, especially given his position as the first millennial to run for the Republican presidential nomination. He’s being vetted over how he made his millions at the biotech company he started in his late 20s and frequent shifts in his foreign policy platform. He’s also facing questions about how he would, if elected, enact his agenda and defend it from legal challenges.

One of the latest moments to illustrate this came last week when, a few days after a dinner with social media personality Jake Paul, he became the first of the major GOP primary candidates to join TikTok in an effort to appeal to younger voters, despite his concerns. Up until that point, he had railed against TikTok, calling it an addictive “digital fentanyl” and expressing an openness to ban it as part of his broader platform on curbing China’s power.

“I’m a person who’s always open to new arguments,” he told reporters hours after he posted his first TikTok. “In this case, yes, I changed my mind.”

The moment underscores a growing challenge for Ramaswamy and his campaign ahead of the second GOP primary debate: proving that his policy platform is substantive, even as it’s constantly evolving.

Ramaswamy has gained ground in national and state polls, where he frequently places behind former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. A CNN/University of New Hampshire poll of Granite State voters released last Wednesday showed him in a close race for second place with three rivals trailing Trump, who was the top choice of 39% of likely GOP primary voters surveyed. Ramaswamy, at 13%, ran about even with former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley at 12%, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie at 11% and DeSantis at 10%.

He’s built his message around the idea that Americans lack purpose and meaning, and that the country needs someone like him – young, unjaded and an outsider without the baggage of Trump – to help restore the country’s national identity.

Read more about Ramaswamy’s candidacy.

Republican presidential candidate Asa Hutchinson will not be on the debate stage tonight in Simi Valley, California, despite making the first GOP debate last month. 

So on Wednesday, the former Arkansas governor launched an interactive artificial intelligence interface for voters to know where he stands on the issues.

The AI platform — askasa.us — prompts visitors to “Ask Asa Hutchinson Anything!” The website has been loaded with Hutchinson’s past public remarks, speeches and interviews, and policy stances, according to the campaign.

“The American people are going to have an opportunity to hear from some candidates this evening at the second RNC Presidential Primary Debate, but they won’t have the opportunity to hear from all of us,” Hutchinson said in a statement.   

“It is vitally important for every voter to be able to have an answer to their question and not simply rely on a moderator to hopefully ask it for them. That is why I am excited to unveil our Ask Asa platform this afternoon. This tool will allow voters to ask questions on their most important issues and get a response back from me,” the statement read.

Hutchinson plans to watch the second GOP debate from Washington, DC., where he — a former Drug Enforcement Administration chief — will attend the 50th anniversary of the federal agency on Thursday.

After the RNC announced its debate lineup that did not include him, Hutchinson told CNN that he is not dropping out of the race and that he’s set a goal to be at 4% in polling by the next debate or Thanksgiving.

Former Vice President Mike Pence touted endorsements on Tuesday from a handful of former Ronald Reagan administration officials, who argued that he’s the candidate “best equipped to uphold the Reagan legacy.”

Wednesday’s GOP debate will be at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley.

Pence argues that he’s the most consistent conservative candidate in the race, often invokes Reagan on the campaign trail, and subscribes to the Reagan Doctrine for foreign policy. Pence also credits Reagan for drawing him to the Republican Party when he was a young Democrat.

The officials who endorsed Pence on Tuesday include:

“As we approach the critical 2024 election, we believe it is our opportunity and pleasure to endorse a candidate who embodies the spirit and principles of Ronald Reagan. That candidate is Mike Pence, and we wholeheartedly endorse him for President of the United States,” the former Reagan officials wrote in a letter.

The candidates who will gather for the second Republican presidential debate tonight face an unusual challenge: how to take on a front-runner who’s not on stage and is already acting as if he’s the nominee.

Former President Donald Trump’s posture was symbolized by his decision to hold a general election-style speech in Michigan rather than attend the debate.

Trump’s inclination to look past the primary, even before it’s officially begun, partially reflects the historic lead he has amassed in national polls. But it also derives from the failure of the other candidates to formulate a clear line of argument that might threaten him. That failure was on display during the first debate, which he also skipped, when almost all of the field largely ignored him.

“The best thing that Trump has going is that none of his opponents are running a strategy to defeat him,” said Mike Murphy, a long-time GOP strategist who has become a frequent Trump critic. “None of his major ones. They are just doing Trump impersonations.”

The key question for the second debate may be whether anyone in the field can use Trump’s absence to make a stronger case against him – and force him to reconsider his strategy of virtually ignoring the field. “I can’t blame him for skipping the second debate,” Murphy said. “If they are not going to engage him, and they are just going to imitate him, then he doesn’t have to be there.”

At the first debate last month, the candidates devoted very little attention to Trump, whom co-moderator Bret Baier accurately described as “the elephant not in the room.” Former Govs. Chris Christie of New Jersey and Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas, as usual, argued that Trump was unfit to serve as president, and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley questioned his capacity to win a general election, calling him “the most disliked politician in America.” Haley, who served in his Cabinet as ambassador to the United Nations, also jabbed Trump over the increase in the national debt during his presidency.

But those were little more than momentary exceptions in the 90-minute encounter. Apart from Christie and Hutchinson, all of the candidates indicated they would support Trump if he wins the nomination, despite the 91 felony criminal charges he’s facing. The candidates spent much more time sparring with each other than offering any reason for GOP voters to reconsider their support of the man who leads all of them by as much as 40 percentage points in national polls.

Read the full analysis.

North Dakota Republican Gov. Doug Burgum will be the least known candidate on the GOP stage on Wednesday, a Monmonth poll shows — but he is expected to use the national platform to continue to introduce himself to voters, a spokesperson said.

After making the first Republican debate in Milwaukee, Burgum, a former software executive before entering politics, only recently qualified for the second debate in Simi Valley, California.

He also plans to bring up his record of job creation during the debate, according to Burgum campaign spokesperson Lance Trover. 

“I think if you look at the last debate, it was an introductory opportunity for him, and the reception he got was overwhelming very positive,” Trover told ABC News. “I think you’ll see more of that introductory come tonight from him. I think you’ll hear him talk about being a political outsider. I think you’ll hear him talk about his work in North Dakota.”

“He’s going to say that he’s created more jobs than anybody on that stage put together,” he added.

Burgum ruptured his Achilles tendon ahead of the first GOP debate by playing a game of pickup basketball, but he “cowboyed up” and participated. The governor is still healing from his injury and remains in a cast. 

“I assure you no basketball games were played last night,” Trover told ABC News.

After the first debate, Burgum joked on the campaign trail that he had the “best debate performance ever at a presidential debate by someone standing on one leg.”

A group of former President Donald Trump’s surrogates and advisers are planning to attend the second Republican primary debate in California on Wednesday while the former president courts working-class voters in Michigan, according to two Trump aides

Former Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, Trump aide Chris LaCivita and Miami-Dade County Commissioner Kevin Cabrera will represent the former president both at the debate and in the spin room afterward, aides Steven Cheung and Jason Miller said.

Cheung and Miller will be part of another group traveling with the former president to Macomb County, Michigan, for his speech to a group of current and former union members.

Similar to the first GOP primary debate in August, Trump’s team wants his allies and surrogates to represent the former president at the debate despite his absence on stage. 

Lake, who lost the 2022 race for Arizona governor and has closely aligned herself with Trump, is expected to announce a Senate bid as early as next month, CNN previously reported. 

She previously traveled to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for the first Republican primary debate to represent Trump in the spin room. Other Trump allies who were at the first debate, including Florida Reps. Byron Donalds and Matt Gaetz, will remain in Washington, DC, while Congress is in session.

Former Vice President Mike Pence is criticizing Donald Trump for not attending the second GOP debate on Wednesday. Pence argued that the former president “owes it to voters to answer the tough questions.”

“I think he ought to be on that debate stage. He ought to be engaging all of us that are vying for this nomination. He ought to be sharing his vision,” Pence said of Trump in an interview with ABC News on Tuesday.

Trump will be in Michigan addressing autoworkers instead of appearing on stage in California along with his 2024 presidential rivals.

Pence has recently ratcheted up his criticism of his former running mate, arguing that Trump is moving away from conservative values and toward populism.

The Republican presidential candidates are all vying to take on President Joe Biden in November 2024. But first, they’re competing in the GOP primaries and caucuses, which begin in January, to emerge as the party’s nominee.

Here’s a look at the current GOP candidates:

With his recent criticism of strict anti-abortion measures in GOP-led states, former President Donald Trump opened what could be the party’s most significant policy fissure.

Trump, who paved the way for Roe v. Wade’s reversal by appointing three conservative Supreme Court justices, won’t be onstage to defend his recent assertions to NBC News that bans on abortion after six weeks of pregnancy, such as the one enacted by Florida under Gov. Ron DeSantis, are “terrible” and that some conservatives “speak very inarticulately” about the issue.

But his comments gave rivals struggling for attention a new opening to attack the former president from his right flank – and several have already pounced.

“This is not the guy who ran in 2016. He’s now attacking the pro-life movement. He’s attacking states that enacted pro-life protections that had support,” DeSantis said on an eastern Iowa radio program Tuesday morning.

It’s also a cudgel that some of the more socially conservative candidates, including former Vice President Mike Pence and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, who both back 15-week federal abortion bans, have suggested they could use against others on the debate stage. Those targets might include former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who has downplayed the political feasibility of new federal abortion restrictions.

The results of the 2022 midterms, abortion-related ballot initiatives in red states and off-year races such as a Wisconsin Supreme Court election this spring suggest that Republicans could alienate much of the November 2024 electorate by sprinting right on abortion. But for primary contenders seeking to break out of the field as the strongest Trump alternative, it could be a way of appealing to the social conservatives who dominate the Iowa caucuses, which will kick off the GOP presidential nominating process in January.

Read more about the debate

Senator Tim Scott is getting ready for Wednesday night’s Republican primary debate by spending his day with family, reading scripture and exercising, a campaign spokesperson told CNN. 

Scott’s nephew Ben is in California with him. He shared a photo of the two of them at Ronald Reagan Presidential Library where the debate will be held this evening. 

“Blessed to have my nephew Ben here with me in California for the debate!” Scott said in the post. “Having my family by my side means the world.”

Scott will be taking time for prayer and devotionals ahead of the debate, the spokesperson said. The candidate posted a Bible verse to social media Wednesday morning that he said has “brought me peace leading into tonight’s debate.”

“Some scripture that has brought me peace leading into tonight’s debate is Proverbs 3:5-6. ‘I lean not on my own understanding, but in all my ways acknowledge the Lord, and He shall direct my paths.’ Praise God,” he said in the post. 

The Scott campaign spokesperson added Scott has been listening to the song “Way Maker” by Christian rock band Leeland in the days leading up to tonight’s debate. 

Though Donald Trump will not be on the debate stage on Wednesday night, Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie will be squarely focused on his former ally, according to a campaign spokesperson.

Christie will call out Trump on both substantive policy issues and his conduct.

Though Christie has said he’ll call out other candidates if they say something “ridiculous” on stage, the spokesperson made clear not to expect Christie to take “random punches” at his rivals. He’s focused on delivering his clear message about Trump to voters, particularly in New Hampshire.

In interactions with other candidates, Christie will attempt to “force contrast” on the stage by pointing out where his rivals stand on Trump. The spokesperson also said Christie is ready to own up to his record if confronted.

Though Christie has ramped up his campaign trail rhetoric against Vivek Ramaswamy after the pair shared contentious exchanges in the first debate, he denies his jabs at Ramaswamy are part of a larger strategy, saying last week in New Hampshire, “It’s just that he’s too easy to go after.”

Christie will be accompanied by his wife, Mary Pat, and son, Andrew, and will not have any surrogates in the spin room, according to the spokesperson, who also noted the former New Jersey governor will likely listen to “plenty of Bruce Springsteen” to prepare.

Christie told reporters last week he had had two prep sessions, and a senior source with the campaign told CNN his last debate prep session was Monday. He noted many of those helping him prep have been with him since 2009, when he was preparing to debate incumbent New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine, who he ultimately defeated.

“They’re not afraid to tell me the truth,” he said.

Hours before former President Donald Trump is slated to speak to a crowd that is expected to include current and former union workers in Michigan, someone is sending him a message.

A plane with a banner that reads “TRUMP SOLD US OUT. TRUMPHATESWORKERS.COM” is flying over the auto parts manufacturer plant in Clinton Township, Michigan, where Trump will give a speech instead of appearing on the GOP debate stage.

The link takes readers to a research book compiled by the Democratic organization American Bridge PAC that calls Trump’s administration “anti-labor” and provides a list of bullet points about Trump’s labor stances and policies while in office. 

Trump’s trip is laying the groundwork for a potential 2024 general election competition for working-class voters in battleground states such as Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin that helped propel him to the White House in 2016 but favored Biden four years later. 

It comes one day after President Joe Biden met United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain in the state and made the unprecedented move of joining striking auto workers on the picket line.

Former Vice President Mike Pence is getting ready for tonight’s second Republican presidential primary debate with a workout and light prep, according to his spokesperson Devin O’Malley.

Pence will also spend time with his wife and their daughter and granddaughter, according to O’Malley.

The Biden campaign is tapping into small-dollar donors ahead of the Republican primary debate Wednesday, sending an e-mail in Vice President Kamala Harris’ name predicting the event will be “messy” as the candidates “pander to the ultra-MAGA crowd.”

“In just a few hours, we’re going to hear from the extremist presidential candidates at their second debate in my home state of California — and if it’s anything like the first one, it’s going to be messy,” Harris writes in the e-mail. “While the Republican candidates compete to see how far to the right they can go to pander to the ultra-MAGA crowd, Joe and I are working to unite the country and lead us forward.” 

Harris asks the “grassroots team to help Joe and I fight back and ensure we have the resources to get our message out and win in 2024.”

The fundraising e-mail comes as Biden’s team is in its final push to boost its campaign war chest ahead of the end-of-quarter deadline on September 30.

President Joe Biden is in California for a trio of Bay Area fundraisers, including one hosted by billionaire and environmental activist Tom Steyer on Wednesday. Biden has another fundraiser scheduled for Thursday in Arizona, where he is also delivering a speech on addressing threats to democracy.

The president will be in transit between San Francisco and Phoenix for the majority of tonight’s GOP debate, which could give him the opportunity to catch parts of it aboard Air Force One. Biden watched most of the first primary debate while on vacation in August.

The Biden campaign has a team on the ground in Simi Valley to respond to the debate, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Democratic National Committee chair Jaime Harrison and campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez.

Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie told former President Donald Trump on Wednesday “we are never ever getting back together,” having some fun with Taylor Swift lyrics ahead of the second GOP primary debate.

In a repost of a viral tweet joking that the former New Jersey governor was spotted in the stands of a Dallas Cowboys football game on the same day Swift made headlines in the crowd of a Kansas City Chiefs game, he wrote, “I was just a guy in the bleachers on Sunday… but after tonight, Trump will know we are never ever getting back together.”

Though Trump will not be on stage Wednesday, Christie has made clear he won’t hold back in criticizing his former ally, saying it is “disrespectful” to voters that the former president won’t debate. He has vowed to “go out and find” Trump after the second debate, bringing the confrontation to him.

Only a few months ago, the Florida governor was believed by many Republicans to be the party’s best hope of dethroning former President Donald Trump.

Now, with the first primary votes on the horizon, Ron DeSantis has fallen back into the pack – running about even with former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie in a recent CNN/University of New Hampshire primary poll of the Granite State.

Even with Trump out of the picture at last month’s first GOP debate, DeSantis cut an anonymous figure, further fueling doubts over his political mettle and ability to translate conservative support in Florida to the national stage.

On Wednesday in California, though, DeSantis will again be center stage and under intense scrutiny from anxious donors. Like during the Milwaukee debate, Trump’s absence offers the governor another shot to distinguish himself without the threat of being upstaged or attacked by the former president.

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley’s preparation ahead of the second GOP primary debate in Simi Valley, California, includes listening to a playlist of 20 songs, including “She’s a Beauty” by The Tubes and Luke Combs’ cover of “Fast Car” by Tracy Chapman.

Haley said she is looking forward to participating in the debate and touted her more than 80 campaign events in Iowa and New Hampshire since launching her presidential bid as the “best debate prep.”

“I’ve done 85 events in New Hampshire and Iowa not counting the events we’ve done in South Carolina. And I will tell you, the town halls are where we let them ask any question. We stay there, we shake every hand. I’m the last person to leave. That’s the best debate prep you can get because they pepper you with questions all the time and you get to listen to what they care about,” Haley told Fox Business on Friday. 

Here’s a look at Haley’s full playlist:

 “I Love Rock N Roll” by Joan Jett & The Blackhearts  “Alright” by Darius Rucker “I Want You to Want Me” by Cheap Trick “She’s A Beauty” by The Tubes “Cruel Summer” by Bananarama “We Got the Beat” by The Go-Go’s “Photograph” by Def Leppard “Call Me” by Blondie “Peace Train” by Cat Stevens “Take What You Want” by Post Malone & Ozzy Osborne “Take Me to Church” by Hozier “Jolene” by Dolly Parton “Fast Car” by Luke Combs “Queen” by Radio Ga Ga “American Girl” by Tom Petty “Mr. Brightside” by The Killers “Send Her My Love” by Journey “Dancing Queen” by Abba “No One Is to Blame” by Howard Jones “Pour Some Sugar on Me” by Def Leppard

Ahead of the second Republican presidential debate, the campaign manager for Tim Scott’s presidential campaign has circulated a memo to prospective donors outlining the campaign’s belief that Scott is well-positioned to win the Republican nomination despite a low-key performance at last month’s debate and a series of recent polls showing the South Carolina senator has yet to gain ground among the field. 

In a memo sent to donors last week obtained by CNN, Scott campaign manager Jennifer DeCasper argued the campaign is positioned to withstand short-term fluctuations in popularity as they continue to reiterate its core message to voters in the early nominating states. The memo was first reported by Politico.

“We saw a lot of ink spilled in the wake of the last debate on ‘who’s up,’ ‘who’s down,’ and how the entire campaign seemingly is won or lost in 90 minutes on a stage in Milwaukee. I’m here to tell you to ignore the noise and focus on the facts in front of us,” DeCasper said in the memo. 

DeCasper went on to make unnamed digs at other campaigns that have also struggled to gain a foothold in the race, “despite some of them spending over $40 million, having almost 100% name ID, or launching campaigns months before us.” 

“These things happen because press hype or a few snappy lines on national television don’t change the fundamentals of a campaign,” she said. 

Leading up to Wednesday’s debate, a Scott campaign official pointed to the memo written by DeCasper as instructive of the mentality the Scott campaign is taking into the debate. 

In the memo, DeCasper cited data in recent polling showing Scott’s high net favorability with voters as among the reasons she feels the Scott campaign has “the most room to grow.” In a recent CNN/University of New Hampshire poll of likely Republican primary voters in New Hampshire, 45% of voters said they viewed Scott favorably, compared to 13% who viewed him unfavorably. In that same poll, only 6% of voters said they would support Scott, putting him behind former President Donald Trump, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. 

“More than anything else, ballots are a lagging indicator that trails a candidate’s image and favorability. How favorably a candidate is viewed shows you their ceiling and floor. What you see from these numbers is that – more than anyone else in the field – we have the most room to grow,” DeCasper said in the memo.

Former President Donald Trump is scheduled to have his busiest stretch of campaigning this week since launching his bid for a second White House term last fall. But one stop will be notably absent from the GOP front-runner’s schedule: the second Republican primary debate.

While his GOP rivals began the week preparing for Wednesday’s debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, Trump is taking a dual approach of shoring up support in early-nominating states and wooing swing-state voters who will be vital to his general election prospects if he wins the GOP nod.

The former president kicked off the week Monday afternoon with a rally in the early-voting state of South Carolina. He plans to follow that with a visit to Michigan on Wednesday to give a speech before union workers. He is scheduled to be in California on Friday – two days after the debate – to speak at the state GOP’s fall convention in Anaheim. And on Sunday, Trump will travel to Ottumwa, Iowa, to hold a commit-to-caucus event and deliver policy remarks largely focused on agriculture, according to a source familiar with his plans.

Trump’s rally Monday took place at Sportsman Boats in Summerville in the greater Charleston area. The former president used ominous rhetoric in his speech, describing the 2024 campaign as the “final battle.” “With you at my side, we will demolish the deep state, and we will expel the warmongers,” he said.

Trump enjoys wide leads in the GOP primary polls both nationally and in South Carolina, which is home to two of his primary opponents – former Gov. Nikki Haley and US Sen. Tim Scott. Haley and Scott are among several candidates currently vying for second place in GOP polling and a chance to emerge as the main Trump alternative for primary voters.

On Wednesday, the former president travels to Detroit to give a prime-time speech, which will serve as counterprogramming to the second GOP presidential debate. He’s slated to speak to an audience that will include current and former union members amid the ongoing United Auto Workers strike, which began after the union and the nation’s three largest automakers failed to reach a deal to avert it.

His trip to Michigan also signals the former president has an eye on the general election and a potential rematch with President Joe Biden — who on Tuesday made his own trip to Michigan to walk the picket line with UAW workers. Trump lambasted Biden’s trip, asserting that the president is only going because Trump had announced his own visit. Trump narrowly won Michigan in 2016 but then lost the battleground state in 2020 to Biden. Ahead of his trip, Trump’s campaign released a radio ad in Detroit and Toledo, Ohio, bashing Biden over his support for transitioning the auto industry to electric vehicles and casting Trump as supportive of autoworkers.

Trump then travels to the West Coast on Friday to join several other 2024 rivals in speaking at a convention hosted by the California Republican Party in Anaheim. Scott and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis are scheduled to take the stage the same day as Trump, and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy has a speaking slot the following day.

First mate Andrew Konchek uses a dockside crane to lower the last giant chest of ice onto the stern of the Alanna Renee. Moments later, the fishing boat eases off the dock and heads out of Portsmouth Harbor in the moonlight.

This is a two-day trip, and a storm is coming. Konchek often spends 80 hours a week on the water, sometimes more. It is grueling work – and it shapes his politics.

“I’m a Republican,” the 38-year-old commercial fisherman said last week. “You know, they are for the working man. … I believe Republicans stand for us. So yeah, when it comes to gas prices and everything else, the economy feels better run by Republicans.”

In 2016, Donald Trump captured Konchek’s attention, and he was among those who helped the first-time candidate to his game-changing initial win in the New Hampshire primary. Now, Trump again tops Konchek’s list as he looks over another crowded Republican field.

“Donald Trump as of right now but I’m going to keep it open so I can make an educated decision,” Konchek said. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is his second choice.

“You know [Trump] does a bunch of negative things and a lot of things I don’t agree with,” Konchek said. “But as a businessman he can run the country as a business that way.”

Konchek is among a group of New Hampshire residents CNN contacted as part of a 2024 reporting project aimed at tracking the presidential campaign through the eyes – and the life experiences – of voters who live in key battlegrounds or are members of critical voting blocs.

New Hampshire’s 2024 primary will be a crucial early test of Trump’s comeback bid. The state also could be a general election battleground. New Hampshire and national Democrats are still at odds over scheduling the presidential primary, and the state could forfeit some convention delegates if it ignores the Democratic National Committees rules. Still, the Democratic primary, whenever it is held, would be a test of President Joe Biden at a time even many Democrats say they would prefer a younger candidate.

A common complaint from the fishermen CNN spoke to is that they are left out of the state and national post-pandemic recovery and get double hit by inflation because it increases the cost of fuel, bait and other things they must buy for work in addition to thumping them, like everyone else, at the grocery store or the gas pump.

Keep reading the full story.

No candidate benefited more from former President Donald Trump’s absence in the first debate than entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who successfully made himself the evening’s main character with a showman’s attitude and willingness to spar with Chris Christie, Mike Pence and Nikki Haley, who all came out with ire trained on the youngest candidate in the field.

Ramaswamy emerged from those exchanges seemingly without a scratch after elevating himself as the Trump stand-in – an unconventional voice on a stage of largely conventional speakers.

The question heading into Wednesday night’s event: Who else will try to take on the Ohio businessman this time?

Christie has a well-known record of eviscerating lesser debate-stage presences, so if he largely failed in his bid to do the same to Ramaswamy, the prospect may not be overly appealing to others. But Ramaswamy will likely be looking, again, for a fight and the chance to dominate the post-debate analysis.

Ron DeSantis, in particular, has reason to attempt to blunt the tech entrepreneur’s appeal – and his increasingly strong connection to a MAGA constituency that both would like to capture. Whether he is nimble enough to come out ahead in a head-to-head exchange, though, is less certain.

On the day of the second presidential GOP debate, President Joe Biden’s campaign is out with a new ad slamming Donald Trump’s record with autoworkers ahead of the former president’s trip to the battleground state of Michigan, underscoring how critical working-class voters will be in the upcoming presidential election in 2024.

The 30-second ad is the campaign’s first to directly attack Trump, the frontrunner in the GOP presidential primary race. It will air nationally on cable and on television in Michigan. It will also run on Fox Business ahead of Wednesday’s debate.

Titled “Delivers,” the ad shows pictures of Trump golfing as a narrator claims Trump “passed tax breaks for his rich friends while auto makers shuttered their plants and Michigan lost manufacturing jobs.”

“Manufacturing is coming back to Michigan because Joe Biden doesn’t just talk, he delivers,” the ad continues.

The ad is being released a day after Biden joined a picket line of auto workers in Michigan. It’s part of a $25 million television and digital ad campaign in battleground states, first reported by CNN last month.

“More empty promises in Michigan or anywhere else can’t erase Donald Trump’s egregious failures and broken promises to America’s workers,” said Kevin Munoz, Biden-Harris 2024 campaign spokesperson. “He can’t hide his anti-labor, anti-jobs record from the countless American workers he’s let down. This election will be a choice between a real advocate for working Americans and a rerun of billionaire Donald Trump’s broken promises to the middle class.”

Biden is increasingly looking past the Republican primary to focus on Trump as his 2024 challenger, including during remarks behind closed doors to donors. In the past week, he has accused Trump of trying to destroy democracy in fundraiser remarks, a sentiment he’s expected to take public in the coming days. 

CNN’s Kevin Liptak contributed reporting to this post.

A furious scramble for second place is underway in the crowded Republican primary contest, with candidates vying for an opportunity to directly take on front-runner Donald Trump. The position, once held by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, now appears to be more of a free-for-all.

Since the 2024 presidential race began, the second-place spot in GOP primary polling has been a coveted one. The conventional wisdom was that for candidates not named Trump, one of their earliest objectives would be to become the consensus alternative to the former president. Before and in the early days of DeSantis’ campaign, it seemed like he would be that candidate. The Florida governor enjoyed a robust campaign war chest and early polling showed him trailing only Trump, albeit by a wide margin.

But more recently, DeSantis’s star has begun to fade. He was more muted compared with other rivals at last month’s first Republican primary debate in Milwaukee, and he’s now polling at similar levels to several other non-Trump contenders. A new CNN/University of New Hampshire poll of likely GOP primary voters in the Granite State found a close contest for second place between entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and DeSantis.

Ahead of the second GOP debate, Haley has been gaining ground with Republican moderates, according to surveys in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, and is increasingly trying to distinguish herself on both fiscal and foreign policy.

“We need a leader who will stand up to Democrats and Republicans,” the former governor said last Friday as she unveiled her economic policy in an address at St. Anselm College in New Hampshire. “Republicans talk a big game, but they’re nearly as reckless as the Democrats on spending.”

Her strong showing at the Milwaukee debate, particularly the exchanges with Ramaswamy, gained her the admiration of voters like Tom Boyer, who came to see her speak Friday.

“I appreciated what she said and agreed with her wholeheartedly,” Boyer told CNN. “I like the fact that she’s in favor of supporting Ukraine, and some of her Republican opponents are not. I like her economic plan. I like her reasoning.”

Read more about how the 2024 campaign is shaping up.