What Happened in GOP’s Fourth Debate?

Republicans held their fourth presidential debate of the 2024 presidential campaign with only four contestants: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Southern Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. Donald Trump, the front-runner in the Republican race, did not attend the debate – again. Instead, he held a fundraiser in Florida.

NewsNation hosted the debate at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, and podcaster Megyn Kelly, NewsNation anchorwoman Elizabeth Vargas, and Washington Free Beacon Editor-in-Chief Eliana Johnson moderated the debate.

The number of contestants at this debate was half the number at the previous one. Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Gov. Doug Burgum (R-N.D.), and former Vice President Mike Pence left the campaign after the last debate. Former Gov. Asa Hutchinson (Arkansas) failed to qualify. Tyler O’Neil, Fred Lucas, Virginia Allen, Mary Margaret Olohan, and Jarrett Stepman listed eleven key takeaways from the debate in an article posted at The Daily Signal. The time given is when the highlight was added to the report. 

11:24 p.m.: AR-15s for Taiwan and America’s Fear of China

Vargas, as a moderator, cited [a] quote from Ramaswamy [“… to stop {China} from invading Taiwan, let’s open a branch of the [National Rifle Association] in Taiwan and put an AR-15 in the hands of every family and train them how to use it….”] … and asked the candidate whether, in light of the Taiwanese government’s enacting a zero-tolerance gun policy, that was a ‘serious’ idea.”

“It’s part of a broader deterrence strategy,” Ramaswamy replied, adding: “I think the next U.S. president needs to be crystal clear … [that] the U.S. will absolutely defend Taiwan….”

“India is a key part of a larger strategy of preventing China from taking Taiwan,” he said.

“India has to be able to block the Andaman Sea, which is where China gets most of its Middle Eastern oil supplies….” …

America’s dependency on China for pharmaceuticals and even military equipment has made us vulnerable, Ramaswamy concluded.

11:15 p.m.: “If They Are Harvesting, We’re Harvesting”

Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton was allowed to ask a question of the four GOP candidates.

“What should states do now to increase election integrity?” asked Fitton, head of the government watchdog.

DeSantis talked about his record of election reform in Florida, but said Republicans can’t unilaterally disarm on the issue.

“Do what we did in Florida….” …

“We are going to exploit whatever the rules are,” he said. “I favor changing the rules to be like Florida and some of the other states that have done a good job. But until then, we have to do that.”

11:10 p.m.: Ending Big Pharma’s Vaccine Liability Protection

The four candidates for president were asked about the Trump administration’s Operation Warp Speed, the program to develop COVID-19 vaccines in record time. Pharmaceutical firms were protected from legal liability as part of the effort….

Ramaswamy said he would take a different approach.

“I’ve pledged, as part of my legislative agenda, we will repeal that. Just like we will repeal every other form of crony capitalism….

Ramaswamy continued:

One of the top lessons we learned from that pandemic is that free speech in this country is most important in those alleged times of emergency.

If we had been allowed to openly debate the merits of those vaccines, they would never have been mandated in the way that they were.

11 p.m.: Ramaswamy’s Climate Warning

Ramaswamy brought up climate change, contending that the Left’s climate agenda is “shackling this country like a set of handcuffs.”

“The climate change agenda is a hoax because it has nothing to do with the climate,” he said, noting a “98% reduction in the climate disaster-related deaths in the last century.”

“If you thought COVID was bad, what’s coming with the climate agenda is far worse,” Ramaswamy warned….

10:40 p.m.: “I Stood UP for Little Girls, You Didn’t.”

As moderator, Kelly homed in on Christie as she turned the discussion toward transgender surgeries and related procedures for children.

“How is it,” Kelly asked the former New Jersey governor, “that you think a parent should be able to OK these surgeries, never mind the sterilization of a child, and aren’t you way too out of step on this issue to be the Republican nominee?”

Christie responded by insisting that elected officials “should empower parents to be teaching the values that they believe in in their homes,” rather than using the government to stop the transitioning of minors.

DeSantis took the opportunity to take a shot at Haley….

Haley then accused DeSantis of hypocritically downplaying the need for bills banning boys from girls’ restrooms to which DeSantis responded: “I signed a bathroom bill in Florida; so that’s obviously not true.”

“I signed it, you didn’t,” he told Haley. “You killed it, I signed it. I stood up for little girls, you didn’t do it.”

10:33 p.m.: “Conspiracy Theorist”

Ramaswamy depicted himself as a great truth-teller, willing to deliver truths that appear to be “conspiracy theories” to some.

“I think the real enemy is not Donald Trump. It’s not even Joe Biden. It’s the deep state that, at least, Donald Trump attempted to take on,” he said….

9:57 p.m.: DeSantis, Haley Trade Barbs Over Who’s Soft on China

A question about illegal immigration and the proliferation of fentanyl in the United States sparked a debate between DeSantis and Haley on who would be tougher on China.

9:50 p.m.: Securing America’s Southern Border

DeSantis had said during a previous debate that he would support shooting migrants who enter the country illegally carrying dangerous drugs.

“The drug cartels are invading our country, and they are killing our citizens by the tens of thousands every year,” the Florida governor said in defense of those comments.

“The commander-in-chief not only has a right, you have a responsibility to fight back against these people,” DeSantis said of the Mexican cartels.

He added that he supports both designating the cartels as foreign terrorist organizations and building a border wall and that he “will get it done.” …

9:33 p.m.: Would You Send Troops to Israel?

Eight Americans remain hostage in Gaza two months after Hamas took them captive in southern Israel on Oct. 7 along with over 200 others.

“How far would you go as president to secure the release of those eight American hostages, and would it include sending American forces into combat?” one moderator asked DeSantis.

“We have to look out for our people,” DeSantis said, adding that as president, “you have to do whatever you can” to get American hostages home….

Christie, dissatisfied with DeSantis’ answer, said that if he were president and facing a situation like the current one involving U.S. hostages, he would “absolutely” send troops if military advisers “had a plan which showed me that we could get them out safely.” …

Ramaswamy got involved in the discussion of the Israel-Hamas war when moderators questioned him on why he had criticized Haley for calling Hamas’ bloody incursion into Israel an attack on America.

The entrepreneur condemned Hamas’ terrorist attack, but added that “to say that that was an attack on America fails a basic test.”

He then took a shot at Haley.

“I mean, Nikki, if you can’t tell the difference between where Israel is and the U.S. is on a map, I can have my 3-year-old son show you the difference.”

Ramaswamy added that Haley’s language “is irresponsible, because it has major consequences, because that doesn’t leave room for what actually is an attack on America.”

9:23 p.m.: “Shut Up”: Christie-Ramaswamy Shoutfest

Two candidates at the back of the pack – Ramaswamy and Christie – engaged in a heated and seemingly personal exchange.

Haley talked about the need for a strong America in addressing the Russia-Ukraine war, prompting Ramaswamy to say that the former U.N. ambassador had “no idea” of the names of the Ukrainian provinces she would allow the U.S. military to fight for.

Ramaswamy said he was the first candidate to propose a “reasonable” peace deal for Ukraine and Russia, which invaded the former Soviet republic in February 2022.

Christie jumped in to say that deal would give Russia all the land it has stolen.

“This is the fourth debate that you would be voted … as the most obnoxious blowhard in America, so shut up,” Christie told Ramaswamy.

Ramaswamy shot back: “Your version of foreign policy experience was closing down a bridge from New Jersey to New York. Walk yourself off that stage, enjoy a nice meal, and get the hell out of this race!”

At that point, the top-polling candidates on the stage – DeSantis and Haley – remained quiet….

 

9:14 p.m.: DeSantis, Haley Spar Over Trans Procedures for Kids

Haley used a leftist slur to describe a Florida law that bans classroom discussions of gender and sexuality for children in kindergarten through third grade.

DeSantis slammed Haley’s remarks in an interview on “CBS Mornings,” which she made back in June.

“It wasn’t about the parents’ rights in education bill, it was about prohibiting sex-change operations on minors,” DeSantis said. “They do puberty blockers, they do irreversible – talk to [detransitioner] Chloe Cole, she went through this.”

“That is what Nikki Haley opposed,” the Florida governor added….

Haley disputed DeSantis’ characterization….