From Haley’s punches to Scott’s measured approach, 5 key takeaways from first GOP debate

Eight Republican candidates vying for the highest office in the land took to the stage Wednesday night for the party’s first presidential primary debate.

Candidates — including North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, former Vice President Mike Pence, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, and U.S. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina — sparred over a number of issues ranging from China and foreign relations to inflation and the health of the American economy.

Center in the debate and perhaps most active was Ramaswamy, who spoke confidently about his support of former President Donald Trump, who purposely absent from the debate and is facing myriad criminal charges, and his own refusal to send more funding to the Ukraine. He also took aim at several of his rivals including Christie, Pence and Haley — all of whom fired back, knocking Ramaswamy for his lack of political experience.

Meanwhile, Burgum, Hutchinson and Scott took more of a backseat during the debate, offering few remarks and limited insights.

Here are some key takeaways.

Nikki Haley

Haley came out swinging Wednesday, being the first to call out rivals on stage for helping to contribute to the state of the American economy.

“I don’t care about polls,” said Haley, who currently is trailing a number of contenders, including Ramaswamy. “What I care about the fact is that no one is telling the American people the truth. The truth is that Biden didn’t do this to us; our Republicans did this to us, too, when they passed that $2.2 trillion COVID stimulus bill.

“You have Ron DeSantis, you’ve got Tim Scott, you’ve got Mike Pence — they all voted to raise the debt and Donald Trump added $8 trillion to our debt. And our kids are never gonna forgive us for this.”

Beyond Ramaswamy’s response to questions surrounding the economy, Haley criticized Ramaswamy for comments the businessman made regarding his unwillingness to send more funding to support the war in Ukraine.

“You have no foreign policy experience, and it shows,” she said, spurring a prolonged period of applause from the audience, drowning out Ramaswamy’s response.

On the issue of abortion, and in the wake of an S.C. Supreme Court decision on Wednesday upholding a six-week abortion ban, Haley said passing a federal abortion ban would take a consensus.

“Can’t we all agree that we should encourage adoptions?” Haley said. “Can’t we all agree that doctors and nurses who don’t believe in abortion shouldn’t have to perform them? Can’t we all agree that contraception should be available? And can’t we all agree that we are not going to put a woman in jail or give her the death penalty if she gets an abortion?”

Tim Scott

Scott, who voters view as more likable and far less contentious than Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis, maintained his campaign’s positive approach to the White House Wednesday, steering clear of personal attacks and political backbiting in the absence of rival Trump.

“Here’s what the American people deserve — a debate about the issues that affect their lives,” Scott said. “Going back and forth and being childish is not helpful to the American people to decide the next leader of our country.”

A staple of his campaign, Scott touted the struggles he’s had to overcome in growing up poor with a single mother, but he offered voters little in terms of specific reasons why he’s the best candidate for president.

He maintained that while in the U.S. Senate he’s helped to alleviate current pitfalls in the economy.

“Over the last several years, I’ve had an opportunity to vote against spending package after spending package after spending package,” Scott said. “What we also need to understand is that Joe Biden’s Bidenomics has led to the loss of $10,000 of spending power for the average family.”

Ron DeSantis

DeSantis, who’s polling in second nationally behind Trump, evaded at least two questions on abortion and the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection while touting his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in Florida and his ability to fulfill campaign promises once elected.

“I made promises (in running for governor), and I delivered on all of those promises,” he said. “2024 is make or break. We’re not getting a mulligan, no excuses. I will get the job done and as your president. I will not let you down.”

On the issue of education, DeSantis highlighted how he’s fought to protect the rights of parents when it comes to what their children are learning in school, pointing to how he eliminated instruction oncritical race theory in Florida schools.

DeSantis, unlike other candidates, failed to answer questions from debate moderators, including whether he’d support a federal abortion ban and whether Pence did the right thing in certifying the 2020 election in the face of debunked claims of election fraud.

Mike Pence

Pence spent much of Wednesday’s debate going after Ramaswamy, suggesting that the 38-year-old businessman is utterly unqualified to serve as president.

“I mean, look, Joe Biden has weakened this country at home and abroad,” Pence said. “Now is not the time for on-the-job training. We don’t need to bring in a rookie. We don’t need to bring in people without experience.”

Pence, who suggested on Sunday in an interview with ABC News that he was looking forward to facing Trump on the debate stage, received praise from most of his challengers when they were asked whether he’d done the right thing by disregarding Trump’s request that he not certify the 2020 election.

Trump “asked me to put him over the Constitution and I chose the Constitution, and I always will,” Pence said.

Vivek Ramaswamy

Ramaswamy emerged as perhaps the biggest presence of Wednesday’s debate, appearing to have the most energy while taking bold stances on issues involving climate change, Ukraine and Trump’s multiple indictments.

“First, let me just address a question that is on everybody’s mind at home tonight,” Ramaswamy said. “Who the heck is this skinny guy with a funny last name, and what the heck is he doing in the middle of this debate stage?”

As the only candidate on stage without any political experience, Ramaswamy took multiple attacks from his fellow candidates, though he refused to back down without a divisive rebuttal. He also was the only candidate to outright deny the existence of human-influenced climate change.

“Let us be honest, as Republicans, I’m the only person on the stage who isn’t bought and paid for, so I can say this: the climate change agenda is a hoax.”

The number of attacks directed toward Ramaswamy on Wednesday likely is a reflection on the entrepreneur’s rising profile in the race and a sign he could be a legitimate threat to those who, perhaps, initially thought that his no-name status would lead to a quick exit from the campaign.