The contentious discussion saw shouting, interruptions, and one conspicuous moment of drama provoked by Vivek Ramaswamy.
Candidates for the Republican Party’s 2024 presidential nomination aggressively sparred on issues ranging from inflation to foreign policy Wednesday evening at the fourth debate of the primary season.
The selection of candidates narrowed to four after Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) announced his withdrawal from the race last month.
Donald Trump was conspicuously absent from the debate stage after once again declining to appear, but the controversial former US president was the subject of much discussion over the course of the evening.
Appearing before the audience in the Deep South city of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, were Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.
Bathroom Bills
Transgender rights, a frequent preoccupation of the Republican Party’s socially conservative base, emerged as a point of contention early in the evening when Gov. DeSantis attacked former Ambassador Haley on the issue.
DeSantis and Haley, who polls show are competing for second place with former President Trump, attempted to differentiate themselves from one another throughout the debate, with DeSantis alleging Haley’s indifference to procedures he equated with “child abuse” and “mutilation.”
Haley rejected the accusation and claimed legislation relating to transgender people represents “the women’s issue of our time.”
Ramaswamy offered perhaps the most incendiary statement on the issue, declaring “transgenderism is a mental health disorder.”
Chris Christie, often considered the most politically moderate Republican candidate in the race, was the lone voice of disagreement on the highly controversial culture war issue. “Republicans believe in less government, not more” said Christie, casting the debate as an issue of “parental rights.” The stance was met with a lukewarm response from the conservative audience, with Ramaswamy claiming Christie’s position on the issue is “disqualifying.”
Shortly after, Ramaswamy generated perhaps the most memorable moment of the evening, attacking Haley’s alleged inconsistency on various issues and accusing her of utilizing “identity politics.” Ramaswamy held up a notepad with “Nikki=Corrupt” written in large letters, a gambit which mostly generated boos from the audience.
When asked for a response, Haley said “it’s not worth my time” to answer to the low polling candidate’s attack.
Foreign Policy
As in the previous GOP debate held just weeks after Hamas’ surprise attack, Israel dominated much of the foreign policy discussion.
DeSantis again broached the subject early in the evening by casting opposition to Israel as inherently antisemitic, a claim which has sparked intense political debate within the United States.
“They would wipe every single Jew off the map,” said DeSantis of Hamas, repeating the claim that October 7 represented the greatest violence against Jewish people since the Holocaust (Hamas’ most recent charter, in fact, accepts the Israeli state and proposes a Palestinian state within borders internationally agreed upon in 1967).
DeSantis quickly tied the issue to Iran, which has long been a major concern of foreign policy hawks within the Republican Party. “Biden is doing nothing to bring Iran to account,” said DeSantis, saying the country foments “jihad throughout the Middle East.”
Haley meanwhile brought Russia into the discussion, painting the country as part of an axis with China and Iran that “wants to destroy the West.” She also evoked the Ku Klux Klan, a racist terror group in the United States which she compared to pro-Palestine activists on college campuses.
“We’ve got to get foreign money out of our universities,” Haley declared, arguing that funding from China and other countries influences politics on US campuses. The neoconservative candidate also claimed viewing videos on TikTok makes people more antisemitic, insisting “we really do need to ban TikTok once and for all.”
Ramaswamy distinguished himself by claiming he was the first among the candidates to advocate a peace deal amidst the growing unpopularity of US military support for Ukraine in their proxy conflict against Russia. Ramaswamy called his opponents “toxic neocons” and alleged Haley couldn’t “even state… three provinces in Eastern Ukraine.”
A fierce debate erupted between Ramaswamy and Christie, with Christie labeling the tech entrepreneur and political newcomer “the most obnoxious blowhard in America.”
Border Politics
Immigration emerged as another significant issue, with Republican Party politicians often alleging a “crisis” at the US’ southern border.
Gov. DeSantis claimed he would finish the border wall long promised by former President Donald Trump, saying he would institute fees on remittance payments from outside the country to fund the construction. “There’s going to be a new sheriff in town,” proclaimed the Florida governor, a line he repeated once more later on in the debate.
Nikki Haley rejected former President Trump’s proposed “Muslim ban,” claiming she would not bar people from entering the United States on the basis of their Islamic faith. She said she would instead zero in on countries that are the most politically opposed to the US before insisting “the biggest threat we have right now is Communist China.”
Gov. DeSantis echoed the rhetoric of many anti-immigrant politicians throughout Europe, claiming Germany “imported mass numbers of people who reject their culture.”
“We’re not taking anyone from Gaza because of the antisemitism and because of their rejection of American culture,” the candidate promised.
Still No Trump
Amidst an unorthodox campaign season, former President Trump’s absence from the stage once again created a novel dynamic.
Chris Christie continued to represent the primary opposition towards the former president within the GOP primary, calling Trump “an angry bitter man.”
“He [Trump] wants to exact retribution on anyone who has disagreed with him,” Christie warned. “He doesn’t care for the American people – it’s Donald Trump first.”
DeSantis continued to suggest the former president may be too old to hold office again, a line of attack the governor’s campaign has previewed on social media in recent weeks. “Father Time is undefeated,” said the governor, claiming “I think we need somebody younger.”
