Republican debate: Top three takeaways from the candidates’ latest meeting

SIMI VALLEY, Calif. — Seven Republican candidates took the debate stage Wednesday night during an unwieldy two hours that was filled with back-and-forth barbs. The economy, the southern border crisis, and education were among the topics they addressed.

Here are some of the top moments from the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California.

REPUBLICAN DEBATE: CAN GOP DEBATERS PUT PRESSURE ON TRUMP?

Candidates attack Vivek Ramaswamy … again

Several of the candidates took time during the debate to purposely slam entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who was a top topic during the first debate. Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) kicked off the first major criticism of Ramaswamy at the beginning of the debate.

“He said we were all bought and paid for, and 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 and millions of dollars,” Scott said.

“These are good people who are tainted by broken systems,” Ramaswamy shot back in response to the attacks.

Later, former Vice President Mike Pence took a moment to excoriate Ramaswamy as well. “I’m glad Vivek got pulled out of his business deal in 2018 in China; that must have been about the time you decided to start voting in presidential elections,” Pence said.

Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley may have had the sharpest exchange with Ramaswamy when he discussed joining the social media platform TikTok after persuasion from boxer Jake Paul. “This is infuriating because TikTok is one of the most dangerous social media assets that we could have,” Haley said. “Honestly, every time I hear you, I feel a little bit dumber for what you say.”

Haley also suggested Ramaswamy was “in business with the Chinese” and couldn’t be trusted.

Rivals take swipes at Trump

Former President Donald Trump skipped the second debate to speak to striking United Auto Workers in Michigan. But his 2024 rivals made sure to remind the audience Trump should have faced them onstage.

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie was the first candidate to reference Trump on the debate stage and continued his critiques throughout the debate. He also hit Trump with a zinger quote that spread on social media.

“I want to look at that camera right now and tell you, Donald, I know you’re watching. You can’t help yourself,” said Christie. “You’re not here tonight, not because of polls, not because of your indictments. You’re not here tonight because you are afraid of being on this stage and depending on your record.”

“You’re ducking these things. And let me tell you what’s going to happen. You keep doing that, no one up here is going to call you Donald Trump anymore. We’re going to call you Donald Duck,” Christie continued.

Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), Trump’s closest primary rival, took a moment to blast Trump for adding to the national debt, which hit $33 trillion for the first time in U.S. history this month.

“The people in Washington are shutting down the American dream with their reckless behavior. They borrowed, they printed, they spent, and now you’re paying more for everything. They are the reason for that. They have shut down our national sovereignty by allowing our border to be wide open,” said DeSantis. “So please spare me the crocodile tears for these people. They need to change what’s going on. And where’s Joe Biden? He’s completely missing in action from leadership. And you know who else is missing in action? Donald Trump is missing in action. He should be on this stage tonight.”

Trump, however, is the undisputed lead of the primary, where he sits more than 40 percentage points over DeSantis and others in most national polls. A RealClearPolitics poll average shows Trump at 56.6% while DeSantis is at 14.4%, a more than 42 percentage point advantage.

Chaos as candidates kept talking over each other

Over the two hours, the candidates constantly interrupted one another and the moderators, leading to a chaotic debate that was, at times, hard to listen to. Long-shot candidate Gov. Doug Burgum (R-ND) constantly attempted to interrupt, prompting the moderators to warn him to stop or they would turn off his microphone.

The candidates were repeatedly told that as they kept talking over one another, no one could understand what they were saying.

In one notable example toward the end of the debate, Haley and Scott got into a heated exchange over whether Scott deserved to be “promoted” to president of the United States. “Look, I appreciate Tim. We’ve known each other a long time, but he’s been there 12 years, and he hasn’t done any of that,” Haley said in response to Scott listing his achievements while in office.

Scott interrupted and referenced the 2017 “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the biggest of all the tax cuts in the history—” before Haley also interrupted and said, “He’s increased the national debt. He voted for the spending. He has made sure that the borders are open.”

DeSantis attempted to jump into the fray, saying, “Here’s the thing that I just find interesting. Let me respond.” But Scott asked the governor, “Ron, let me finish first.”

Later, Haley and Scott argued over curtains. The senator claimed Haley spent $50,000 on curtains. “You got bad information,” Haley shot back. “First of all, I fought the gas tax in South Carolina multiple times against the establishment.” As they continued talking over one another, Haley finally said, “Do your homework, Tim, because Obama bought those curtains.”

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

“Did you send them back?” Scott quipped back.

GOP strategists were not impressed with the exchange. “Fighting over curtains? Really? That is embarrassing,” said veteran strategist Frank Luntz. “We’re about to have a government shutdown and they’re wasting time over curtains. Ridiculous.”