BONUS Newsletter: The Second GOP Debate on Fox - Donald Duck, Expensive Curtains, and Sleeping with Teachers
The second Republican presidential debate was far more subdued than the first. There were no overhead crane shots, a diva didn’t sing the anthem in a ballgown, and the crowd did not act like they were at a professional wrestling match.
It was more of an old school debate where candidates blatantly avoided answering questions, gave brief prepared speeches and occasionally squabbled with one another.
The moderators managed to bring up far more topics this time with the breakaway star being Univision’s Ilia Calderón. She made Dana Perino and Stuart Varney look like a couple of high school students at their first speech tournament.
Calderón radiated charisma in every direction and her questions were direct and pointed. I openly admit I don’t know much about Univision but it seemed like the RNC purposefully hired one of the network’s best correspondents to appeal to Spanish speaking viewers.
It was also rather telling that Calderón was far more dynamic than the candidates onstage.
A few verbal arrows were shot at the absent frontrunner Donald J. Trump but the spiciest moment between candidates involved an argument over expensive curtains. When the most exciting moment of the debate was a rather dull battle over draperies it was more evidence that this particular crop of candidates has no hope of beating the bombastic egotist and with a cultish fooling for the nomination.
Throughout the evening Vivek Ramaswamy said outrageous things Haley, Scott and Burgum came across as more reasonable politicians. Chris Christie kept attacking Trump and Ron DeSantis tried his best to appear human.
Ramaswamy faced the most overt criticism from his peers. None of the canddiates really rose to the occasion. It felt like watching junior varsity players in a scrimmage rather than a final game for the championship.
The Debate
The evening opened with a short video dedicated to the late Ronald Reagan arguably the most transformative Republican president in recent history. To most Republicans Reagan is a sacrosanct Godlike figure.
Reagan wouldn’t even recognize his beloved party. During his administration he gave amnesty to millions of undocumented immigrants and helped open up and expand trade with China.
He passionately hated the Soviet Union and viewed communism as a threat to democracies all over the world. He would have been absolutely horrified and disgusted by some of the candidate’s flippant remarks about the war in Ukraine.
As the audience sat quietly in the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum the producers cut to video narrated by Brit Hume.
“One of the most beloved leaders in our nation's history. Ronald Reagan, the Gipper, the Great Communicator, America's 40th commander in chief, he railed against big government. The nine most terrifying words in the English language are, ‘I'm from the government and I'm here to help’ and sought peace through strength. ‘Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.’ Forty years after Reagan's landslide reelection, the Republican Party faces critical questions,” said Hume.
The producers then included soundbites from each candidate before returning to Reagan.
“And the country faces even more challenges. Would Reagan even recognize the country in which we now live? Tonight, candidates seeking the Republican nomination converge in California to chart a new path for the Grand Old Party. Now is the time for choosing,” said Hume.
With that line it seemed that even the Fox producers acknowledged that Reagan might be less than thrilled over the state of the Republican Party.
The Questions
Due to limited space I’m only going to feature questions that were directly answered by a candidate or that were exceptional in some way. In many cases the presidential hopefuls just inserted prepared statements regardless of the questions asked.
Everything is terrible - What do you think about the UAW strike?
The moderators started the evening with doom and gloom - ‘everything is terrible’ from the economy, inflation and the catastrophe that is Bidenomics. The intro eventually led to a direct question about the United Auto Workers (UAW) strike.
Vivek Ramaswamy had the most puzzling answer. After claiming his own hardship from growing up in a solidly upper middle class home with a mother who worked as a physician and a father who was both an engineer and an attorney he decided burning more fossil fuels would be the best solution to the current labor dispute.
“I understand that hardship is not a choice, but victimhood is a choice. And we choose to be victorious in the United States of America. You know what? If I was giving advice to those workers, I would say go picket in front of the White House in Washington, D.C. That's really where the protest needs to be. Disastrous economic policies that have driven up prices, that have driven up interest rates and mortgage rates. At the same time, wages remaining stagnant. What we need is to deliver economic growth in this country, unlock American energy, drill, frack, burn coal, embrace nuclear energy, put people back to work by no longer paying them more money to stay at home, stabilize the U.S. dollar itself, and rescind a majority of those unconstitutional federal regulations that are hampering our economy.”
The UAW aren’t striking because of inflation. The big three auto makers have seen a 92% increase in profits from 2013 - 2022 while wages for workers have remained somewhat flat.
Ramaswamy was implying that the oil and gas industry is somehow nationalized and the average American tax payer would directly benefit from increased energy extraction and production. Since oil and natural gas are both commodities traded on the global market the U.S. can only affect the price of both to some extent.
Mike Pence tried to tell a joke, “Joe Biden doesn’t belong on the picket line he belongs on the unemployment line,” said Pence. It landed like a lead balloon. He also basically said he supported “right to work,” which is an anti-union policy.
What are your thoughts on the looming government shutdown?
Chris Christie blamed both parties for the possible shutdown.
DeSantis was the first candidate to directly attack Donald J. Trump.
“And you know who else is missing in action? Donald Trump is missing in action. He should be on this stage tonight. He owes it to you to defend his record where they added $7.8 trillion to the debt that set the stage for the inflation that we have,” said DeSantis.
Ronald Reagan gave millions of immigrants amnesty - What would you do?
The producers showed a brief clip of Reagan speaking about his policy that gave amnesty to three million undocumented immigrants who were already living in the United States at the time.
“For those who have put down roots and who have lived here, even though some time back very they may have entered illegally,” said Reagan.
Chris Christie, the former governor of New Jersey, took the opportunity to directly criticize Trump.
“Tell you this. Donald Trump failed on this as well. He said he was going to build a wall across the whole border. He built 52 miles of wall and said Mexico would pay for it. Guess what? I think if Mexico knew that he was only going to build 52 miles. They might have paid for the 52 miles,” said Christie.
Vivek Ramaswamy had the most radical plan.
“I favor ending birthright citizenship for the kids of illegal immigrants in this country. Now the left will howl about the Constitution in the 14th Amendment. The difference between me and them is I've actually read the 14th Amendment. What it says is that all persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the laws and jurisdiction thereof are citizens. So nobody believes that the kid of a Mexican diplomat in this country enjoys birthright citizenship. Not a judge or legal scholar in this country. Will disagree with me on that. Well, if the kid of a mexican diplomat doesn't enjoy birthright citizenship, then neither does the kid of an illegal migrant who broke the law to come here,” said Ramaswamy.
Ramaswamy is not a lawyer or constitutional expert. Others have tried to challenge birthright citizenship and failed.
How do you feel about China’s connections with South and Central America?
This section was a bit messy as it boiled down to Ramaswamy defending his decision to open a subsidiary in China.
“When every other CEO expanded into the Chinese market. You know what I did with my first company? We opened a subsidiary in China. But you know what I did that was different than every other company. We got the hell out of there,” said Ramaswamy.
Haley managed to shout from offscreen, “Right before you decided to run for president.”
The rest of his statement dissolved into multiple candidates yelling over him.
If DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) is ultimately defeated by the courts would you seek a solution for people who are part of the program?
No candidate answered this question directly.
How would you handle crime?
Chris Christie took the question as an opportunity to directly attack Donald J. Trump.
“And Donald Trump should be here to answer for that, but he's not. And I want to look at that camera right now. Tell you, Donald, I know you're watching. You can't help yourself. I know you're watching. Okay. And you're not here tonight, not because of polls and not because of your indictments. You're not here tonight because you're afraid of being on the stage and defending 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,” said Christie.
How would you solve the problem of mass shootings?
Most candidates that answered this question gave fairly standard canned responses that boiled down to supporting law enforcement. Mike Pence had a puzzling answer.
“Look, I'm someone that believes that justice delayed is justice denied. And as a father of three, is a grandfather of three beautiful little girls under. I am sick and tired of these mass shootings happening in the United States of America. And if I'm president of the United States, I'm going to go to the Congress of the United States, and we're going to pass a federal expedited death penalty for anyone involved in a mass shooting so that they will meet their fate in months, not years,” said Pence.
According to data compiled by the National Institute of Justice a large percentage of mass shooters commit suicide during their attack or are killed by law enforcement.
The New York Times also did an analysis of 433 active shootings that showed the same pattern of mass shooters either dying by their own hand or being killed by a police officer.
How would you stop Fentanyl from coming into the country?
Vivek Ramaswamy indirectly dissed former President Donald J. Trump.
“Building the wall is not enough. They're building cartel financed tunnels underneath that wall. Semi-trucks can drive through them. We have to use our own military to seal the Swiss cheese of a southern border,” said Ramaswamy.
It’s difficult to argue for a larger and longer wall at the southern border while also claiming drug cartels are driving semi-trucks underneath the existing one.
He then advocated for religious based mental health care.
“We have to bring back mental health care in this country, not with pomp and pharmaceuticals, but with faith. Faith approaches that restore purpose and meaning in the next generation of Americans.”
If religion cured mental illness and addiction humanity would have eradicated both hundreds of years ago.
Should Obamacare be replaced? What about the uninsured?
DeSantis answered this one in truly creative way.
“Open up all of our energy. We will be energy dominant in this country that will lower your gas prices. And what we need to do with health care is recognize our health care is putting patients at the back of the bus. We have big Pharma, big insurance and big government, and we need to tackle that and have more power for the people and the doctor patient relationship,” said DeSantis
In a follow up question about why Florida has fewer insurance residents than the national average DeSantis just criticized California.
Nikki Haley pushed for more transparency in the healthcare system. Doug Burgum blamed what he claimed was government mandated software.
No candidate offered an alternative plan to the ACA or proposed any real solutions on how to improve it or expand care.
How would you fix schools? Do you support school choice?
Nikki Haley managed to weave him attacks on two Republican hot button issues critical race theory (CRT) and diversity, equity and inclusion programs (DEI).
“We've got to get parents back included. We've got to quit spending time on this DEI and CRT and instead focus on financial literacy, on digital literacy, and on making sure that our kids know what they need to do to have the jobs of the next generation for our kids,” said Haley.
Most K-12 students would never face either CRT or DEI related curriculum but both acronyms are red meat to the Fox News audience.
Chris Christie went right off the rails.
“And when you have the president, United States sleeping with a member of the teachers union, there is no chance that you can take the stranglehold away from the teachers union every day,” said Christie.
His comment conjured an image of Dr. Jill Biden seducing her husband to align with the union and its evil ways. Democrats have supported organized labor for decades. Joe Biden could be married to an accountant and he’d most likely still be an ardent supporter of the teacher’s union.
Please defend Florida’s Black history curriculum
DeSantis was asked this question directly.
“This new black history curriculum says, quote, Slaves develop skills which in some instances could be applied for their personal benefit. You have said slaves developed skills in spite of slavery, not because of it. But many are still hurt for descendants of slaves. This is personal. What is your message to them?” asked Calderón
The Florida governor immediately got defensive and went on the attack.
“So, first of all, that's a hoax that was perpetrated by Kamala Harris. We are not going to be doing that. Second of all, that was written by descendants of slaves. These are great Black history scholars. So we need to stop playing these games. Here's the deal.”
Calderón then addressed Sen. Tim Scott.
“Are you opposed to the standards? What is your message for Governor DeSantis here?
“There is not there is not a redeeming quality in slavery. He and Kamala should have just taken the one sentence out,” answered Scott.
Vice President Kamala Harris is not responsible for the Florida’s school curriculum.
What are your feelings about parental consent involving children who identify as trans?
Vivek Ramaswamy had the most bigoted answer of the night.
“It is not compassionate to affirm a kid's confusion. That is not compassion. That is cruelty. I met two young women, Chloe and Katie, early in this campaign who are in their twenties now, regret getting double mastectomies and a hysterectomy. One of them will never have children. And the fact that we allowed that to happen in this country is barbaric. So I will ban genital mutilation or chemical castration under the age of 18. And parents have absolutely right to federal law that says prevent parents should have that right. We are going to require states absolutely have to follow that through,” said Ramaswamy.
Ramaswamy’s opinion about this issue goes directly against trained medical professionals. To quote the American Psychological Association:
“Our country’s leading medical and mental health associations support evidence-based clinical care for young transgender people, including the American Medical Association, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Counseling Association, American Public Health Association and APA. Experts say it is imperative that young transgender people have the opportunity to be under the safe and supportive care of a physician. Further, the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, a leading global transgender health association, reaffirmed its support for access to gender-affirming care for young transgender people, and just last month lowered its recommended minimum age for gender transition treatment in teens: 14 for hormones (previously 16) and some surgeries at 15 or 17, about a year earlier than prior guidance.”
What are your plans to deal with the increased violence against LGBTQ people?
No candidate answered this question or even addressed the topic.
Ramaswamy was asked directly why he joined TikTok?
“So the answer is I have a radical idea for the Republican Party. We need to win elections. And part of how we win elections is reaching the next generation of young Americans where they are. So when I get into office, I've been very clear. Kids under the age of 16 should not be using addictive social media. We're only going to ever get to declaring independence from China, which I favor if we actually witness something on this,” said Ramaswamy.
Nikki Haley jumped in.
“This is infuriating because TikTok is one of the most dangerous social media apps that we could have. And what you've got, I honestly, every time I hear you, I feel a little bit dumber for what you say because I can't believe they hear TikTok situation.What they're doing is these 150 million people are on TikTok. That means they can get your contacts, they can get your financial information, they can get your emails,” said Haley.
Then the two candidates talked over each other.
Haley continued.
“Now you want kids to go and get on the social media that's dangerous for all of us. Then you were in business with the Chinese that gave Hunter Biden $5 million. We can’t trust you.”
Do you support Ukraine?
Nearly every candidate onstage answered this question.
DeSantis answered first.
“It's in our interest to end this war. And that's what I will do as president. We are not going to have a blank check. We will not have U.S. troops. And we're going to make the Europeans do what they need to do.”
He was interrupted by Haley “But it's not a territorial dispute. It's never been a territorial dispute.”
Tim Scott showed support for Ukraine.
“It’s in our national vital interest is in degrading the Russian military by degrading the Russian military we actually keep our homeland safer. We keep our troops at home. And we all understand article five of NATO.”
Ramaswamy had a far more radical view.
“The reality is, just because just because Putin is an evil dictator does not mean that Ukraine is good. This is a country that has banned 11 opposition parties.”
Haley interrupted, “A win for Russia is a win for a China. A win for Russia is a win for China, but I forgot you like China that’s why you’re OK with it.”
Chris Christie took another stab at Trump.
“We are not going to solve it by going over and cuddling up to Vladimir Putin. Look, Donald Trump said Vladimir Putin was brilliant and a great leader. This is the person who is murdering people in his own country and now not having enough blood. He's now going to Ukraine to murder innocent civilians and kidnap 20,000 children. And let me tell you, if you think that's where it's going to stop, if we give him any of Ukraine. Next will be Poland. This is a guy who said once said this, a guy in 1991 who said that was the darkest moment world history when the Soviet Union fell. Listen, everybody. He wants to put the old band back together and only America can stop it. And when I'm president, we will.”
Haley wasn’t able to make a longer comment about Ukraine but she showed her support for U.S. involvement multiple times during the debate.
Mexico says it doesn’t want U.S. military involvement in its country. What would you do about the drug cartels?
Nikki Haley is normally the most reasonable candidate during these debates. She went right off the deep end with this answer.
“We're going to go after China because China is the one sending the fentanyl in the first place. And we will end all normal trade relations until China stop sending fentanyl.”
China is one of the largest trading partners with the United States. Shutting down trade would cause disastrous consequences for American manufacturers that rely on Chinese parts and supplies.
Farmers would also be especially hit hard as the Chinese purchase large amounts of soybeans, corn, cotton, beef and pork. Last year U.S. farmers sold $16.4 billion in soybeans to the Chinese.
A total shutdown of all trade with China would make the supply chain problems caused by COVID-19 look like a cakewalk.
What would you do to get prices down?
Vivek Ramaswamy had the craziest answer.
“Put people back to work. We are using taxpayer money to pay people more to stay at home than to go to work. That is wrong,” said Ramaswamy.
This was the second time in the debate that he repeated this line. There is no federal program that pays people not to work. The Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation ended over two years ago in September 2021.
Unemployment payments are based on the income a worker made before they lost their job and are capped at a certain rate depending on the state. A person making minimum wage when they were working is not going to make a higher wage on unemployment. Someone making $100,000 a year will make far less than their salary when they receive unemployment benefits.
Ramaswamy then attacked the Federal Reserve.
“That thing, we have to put the Federal Reserve back in its place. This is an agency that has gone rogue. So in January 2026, when I have the opportunity as our next commander in chief, we will have a new chairman of the Federal Reserve who places priority on dollar stability and then most importantly, send packing 75% of the administrative state, reduce the federal employee headcount by 75%, rescind 50% of unconstitutional federal regulations that are shackling businesses both large and small.”
The president is supposed to allow the Federal Reserve to act independently. The arguments against the central bank’s independence have existed since its inception.
Ramaswamy’s plan to gut what he calls the “administrative state” would most likely result in a near shutdown of many essential services that would directly put the health and well being of Americans at risk.
The moderators asked questions about the national debt, the size of government, student debt loan forgiveness and abortion that were largely left unanswered by any of the candidates.
Haley and Scott duke it out over curtains.
Things got really strange after a question that ultimately led to a battle about curtains.
Scott directed his attack against Haley.
“As the U.N. ambassador, you literally put $50,000 on curtains in a $15 million subsidized location,” said Scott.
Haley responded, “You’ve got bad information. First of all, I fought the gas tax in South Carolina multiple times against the establishment. When they wouldn't pass the gas tax, the establishment, the companies wanted me to do it so much that I said the only way is if you will give me three times the deduction in income tax then I will look at your gas tax.”
Scott kept interrupting her throughout telling viewers to look up Haley on YouTube.
Haley continued.
“Secondly, on the curtains, Obama bought those curtains.” Haley
“Did you send them back in? Did you send them back?” asked Scott.
“It's the State Department,”said Haley.
The two talked over each other again until Haley shot back.
“You’re the one that was in Congress. You get it done. They were there before I even showed up at the residence. You are scraping. You are scraping,” said Haley.
Which candidate needs to drop out? How are you going to beat Trump?
Dana Perino originally asked the candidates to name another candidate they would ask to leave the race. DeSantis said he was offended by the question and his fellow candidates agreed.
The questioned was softened to, “How are you going to beat Trump?”
Christie did not hold back.
“Look, I think I'm the only one on the stage who's been clear about this. I vote Donald Trump off the islands right now. And the reason I voted off the island and any of the people. Every person on this stage has shown the respect for Republican voters to come here to express their views honestly, candidly and directly, and to take your questions honestly. I have respect for every man and woman on this stage because, Vivek, Put your hand down for a second, would you? I still got I still got time, dude. So. So chill out here. Look, this guy has not only divided our party, he's divided families all over this country. He's divided friends all over this country. I've spoken to people and I know everyone else has who have sat at Thanksgiving dinner or at a birthday party and can't have a conversation anymore if they disagree with Donald Trump. He needs to be off the island. I need to be taken out of this process.”
For a full fact check of the entire debate I don’t have room on Substack to go through it all but FactCheck.org goes into everything in depth.
Full Fact Check
FactChecking the Second GOP Primary Debate - FactCheck.org