DEBATE LIVE BLOG: Seven Republicans Face Off at Second 2024 Presidential Forum

Aidan McLaughlinSep 27th, 2023, 8:43 pm
 

Republican Debate

Seven candidates are facing off at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California on Wednesday night at a debate hosted by Fox Business and Univision.

Like the first debate last month, this event will not feature former President Donald Trump, the overwhelming frontrunner for the nomination. Instead, seven of his competitors, all huddled together distantly in the polls, will make the case for why they should be the Republican nominee to face President Joe Biden in the 2024 presidential race.

The candidates on the stage Wednesday night will include: Ron DeSantis, the Florida governor who has struggled in the polls since launching what many assumed would be a formidable challenge to Trump; Vivek Ramaswamy, the entrepreneur turned Trump booster who has seen his star rise in tandem with his slavish devotion to the man he is supposed to be running against; Nikki Haley, the former governor of South Carolina and Ambassador to the United Nations who performed well at the first debate; former Vice President Mike Pence; former New Jersey governor and Trump tormentor Chris Christie; South Carolina senator and all-around nice guy Tim Scott; and North Dakota governor/longest long-shot on the stage Doug Burgum.

The debate will be moderated by Fox Business anchor Stuart Varney, Fox News anchor Dana Perino and Univision anchor Ilia Calderón. It will air on Fox News, Fox Business and Univision.

Stay on this page for Mediaite’s live blog — featuring commentary, the biggest moments of the night, and media news from the iconic library in Simi Valley. To watch the debate live, click here for a livestream.

LIVE BLOG:

8:50 p.m.: Fox News host Laura Ingraham has already made up her mind: moments before the debate even starts she declared “No one on this stage is a Cicero,” says the Republican Party wants populists like Trump, DeSantis and Ramaswamy — not their opponents — because they have a message of “optimism.”

8:51 p.m.: Biden aired an ad moments before the debate:

9:04 p.m.: Varney had a little flub during his opener, which Matt Gaetz gleefully seized on:

9:15 p.m.: Both Christie and DeSantis hammered Trump for ducking the debate — to applause from the audience. Christie included a shot at Trump for adding $7 trillion to the U.S. debt.

9:25 p.m.:

9:25 p.m.: Barbaro giving this debate bad marks already

9:30 p.m.: The moderators have lost control. Vivek got stuffed in a locker by Pence and Scott. His response:

9:34 p.m.: A much needed commercial break.

9:36 p.m.: While we’re on a break, it’s time to check Twitt — err, X. Sure enough, iDeSantis2024 is going viral again for a weird smile thing.

9:39 p.m.: Reality check:

9:39 p.m.: Christie has his big moment. Looking directly into the camera, he tells Trump he knows he’s watching and labels him “Donald DUCK” for skipping the debate. The crowd boos.

9:50 p.m.: Good moment for Dana Perino, who reiterated her question about Obamacare after Pence confronted DeSantis with a rant on how the Parkland shooter should be put to death.

10:00 p.m.: I hope you’re sitting down: Trump is NOT watching the debate, according to a reporter who says he’s with him.

10:04 p.m.: An ACLU official giving the questions high marks. The answers … less so.

10:05 p.m.: Christie takes what will surely be seen as a controversial shot at Biden and the woman he’s “sleeping” with.

10:10 p.m.: Mike Pence, in response to Christie, says he also sleeps with a teacher (his wife).

10:15 p.m.: Nikki Haley shut down Vivek Ramaswamy over his embrace of TikTok:

10:30 p.m.: A TikTok ad just aired on Fox News moments after the candidates hammered the Chinese app.

10:30 p.m.: Nikki Haley and Tim Scott just went at it again, in a nasty brawl that descended into an argument about… curtains. The moderators butted in to send the debate to a commercial break. Haley and Scott continued arguing off camera.

Here’s the backstory courtesy of Tara Palmeri:

11:00 p.m.: Odd ending to the debate. Dana Perino had a good final question. In effect: Trump is going to win unless you start dropping out. “Who would you vote off the island?” She asked them to write their answers down on a notepad. All the candidates refused, pretending the question to be beneath them. Christie was the only to answer, and said Trump. He then shouted down Vivek for trying to interrupt him.

And that’s it folks.

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Aidan McLaughlin - Editor in Chief

Aidan McLaughlin is the Editor in Chief of Mediaite. Send tips via email: aidan@mediaite.com. Ask for Signal. Follow him on Twitter: @aidnmclaughlin