SIMI VALLEY, Calif. — It’s show time: seven Republican candidates are taking the stage for the second presidential primary debate here at the Ronald Reagan Library.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum are in attendance. Former President Donald Trump isn’t here.
But we are. Annenberg Media is doing live multiplatform coverage of the debate. Check out ATVN coverage here, ARN coverage here and our social media feeds.
Ethan Huang and Johnny Neville contributed to this report.
From the photo spray: The contenders in front of their podiums
8:07 p.m. The DeSantis campaign on college issues
Ken Cuccinelli, founder of a super PAC in support of DeSantis, told Annenberg Media that DeSantis won’t pay for student debt forgiveness to “bribe” younger generations for their vote.
“He doesn’t plan on getting it by bribing them like Joe Biden attempted going into the midterms,” he said.
Cuccinelli, the former attorney general of Virginia and also a former senior official in the Trump administration, said DeSantis has never tried to bribe voters with government dollars, which makes him “somewhat unique among chief executives.”
In the spin room, Cunccinelli also praised the governor’s commitment to higher education.
“He has done what some conservatives didn’t think was possible in reining in higher education, and that is something that as long as the Department of Education exists at the federal level, he can do there too,” he said. “So, both to clean out the indoctrination and turn it back to education, and also to stop putting money into loans, subsidizing a do-nothing degree.”
On affirmative action, he said “there is no pandering there.”
“This is a straight judging people by the content of their character not the color of their skin issue, for him,” Cuccinelli said. He added that DeSantis consistently pushes the approach of treating each individual with respect, and “that doesn’t matter what color you are or what gender you are.”
8:00 p.m. The post-game
At least 100 reporters packed the spin room where surrogates made their case for their preferred candidate, and attacked the others.
“There are no major takeaways,” said Gov. Gavin Newsom, a proxy for the Biden campaign. “No one will remember this night” after the weekend.
Newsom said he thinks Ramaswamy is “pretty sick” for his comments on transgender youth. “To equate sexual identity as mental illness, that’s stuff we literally heard in the Dark Ages. That was a shameful, shameful comment,” he said.
But, Ramaswamy, who pundits believed had a good night, seemed in good spirits.
“If we want to reunite our country, we have to reunite the Republican party first,” said Ramaswamy. “I think it’s going to take a leader from that different generation. And we saw an anaphylactic response to what happens when somebody comes in as a millennial to this race.”
7:56 p.m. “Survivor” U.S.A.
“Which one of you on the stage tonight should be voted off the island,” moderator Dana Perino asked candidates, instructing them to write their answer on a whiteboard.
DeSantis pushed back, calling the question disrespectful. Christie called out Trump.
“I’d vote Donald Trump off the island right now, everyone on this stage has expressed respect for Republican voters,” Christie said.
7:46 p.m. Christie defines pro-life
With only 15 minutes remaining, the moderators shifted to the abortion debate. Christie cited other issues, including the fentanyl crisis, as part of being pro-life.
“If you want to be pro-life, you have to be pro-life for the entire life,” Christie said.
7:38 p.m. A quick hit on student loans
DeSantis said he would make colleges pay for student loans so it would make universities reconsider where their funding goes, singling out Gender Studies departments.
“They’re going to focus on the things that really matter, they’re going to make different choices, they’re going to try to graduate people in four years,” he said.
He quickly pivoted the question to reference an earlier point on 9/11, reminiscing on his time in the military.
7:14 p.m. The Tik-Tok talk
Moderators questioned Ramaswamy on the fact that despite his criticisms of the platform, he joined TikTok after meeting influencer Jake Paul. Ramaswamy previously called TikTok “digital fentanyl” from China.
Ramaswamy defended his social media use, citing a campaign tactic.
“Part of winning elections is reaching the next generation of young Americans where they are,” Ramaswamy said.
7:06 p.m. Ramaswamy on transgender rights
School boards all over the country are debating parental notification policies. California Attorney General Rob Bonta recently said the policies create a “forced outing” of transgender students.
“Parents have the right to know,” Ramaswamy said. “Transgenderism, especially in young kids, is a mental health disorder.”
“You empower parents, and our schools will straighten up and reflect our values,” Pence added.
6:59 p.m. What’s Haley’s school of thought?
Haley’s solution to low math and reading test scores, she said, is to let the states decide what education looks like.
Coined “school choice,” this policy shifts the power away from the federal government. She also pledged more financial and digital literacy and that she wants schools to spend less time on “DEI and CRT,” referring to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and critical race theory.
6:46 p.m. DeSantis takes direct questions
DeSantis just got a lot of air time. He defended the unemployment rate in Florida, saying it is the lowest in the nation and the GDP is the highest. He also bragged that CNBC rates his state the top economy in the U.S.
Earlier, he tied the immigration debate to the fentanyl crisis.
“Those Mexican drug cartels will be treated like those foreign terrorists,” DeSantis said. “This border is going to be a day one issue for me as president.”
6:14 p.m. First mention of Donald Trump
It only took a few minutes before the candidates went after the former president in sharper terms than the first debate last month.
“Donald Trump hides behind the walls of his golf clubs and won’t show up here to answer questions like all the rest of us are up here to answer,” Christie said.
DeSantis also called out Trump’s absence, stating that he owes it to Americans to defend his record where he added $7.8 trillion to the national debt. “That set the stage for the inflation,” DeSantis said.
6:00 p.m. - The debate has started. Candidates get one minute to answer, and 30 seconds to respond if they are singled-out. Guess how many times they will go over time?
5:51 p.m. - Candidates are lining up on stage.
Standing center stage is DeSantis since he has the strongest standing in polls.
5:30 p.m — California Gov. Gavin Newsom appears in the spin room.
With the close of the Hollywood writers strike, Newsom told reporters in the spin room it’s “incredibly important that they’re back to work.” In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, ahead of the debate, the Democratic governor called out key issues such as free speech, gun safety and healthcare.
Welcome to the freedom state, @GOP.
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) September 27, 2023
We believe in these crazy things here called:
- Free speech
- Gun safety
- Healthcare
- Social Security
- Climate change
oh... and... democracy.
See you tonight.
4:30 p.m. — USC is on the scene
USC sophomore Gemma Holscher told Annenberg Media as she headed into the debate hall that watching the debate is like viewing live news. She had some advice for USC students. “Stay informed,” Holscher said. There also are Trojan Republicans volunteering on site.
Riley Gould, president of USC College Republicans, and Meghan Anand, vice president, are assigned to administrative duties tonight such as parking, press credentials and working with media. But, they also hope to “get some one-on-one talking time with some of the candidates and various members of the campaigns,” Anand said.
Anand and Gould are also excited for the opportunity to make connections with other young Republicans. “As a young person in politics, we’re definitely the anomaly,” Anand said. “There’s not many Republicans our age out there that are really vocal about their beliefs”.
“If you take a stand on this side, you kind of have to know what’s going on,” Gould added.
3 p.m. — Annenberg Media has arrived at the Ronald Reagan Library in Simi Valley
There are more than 700 people in attendance, including some Trojans.