The third Republican presidential debate focused on questions over foreign policy crises and the party’s latest election losses, an embarrassment the candidates blamed on former President Donald Trump.
Questions on foreign policy largely dominated the first hour, with the candidates backing aggressive military action by Israel against Hamas — designated a terrorist organization by the US and European Union — saying Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should consider the complete eradication of the militant group.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said he would advise Netanyahu to “finish the job once and for all with these butchers.”
The candidates assailed President Joe Biden’s policies, saying they had emboldened Iran and its proxies in the region.
“There would be no Hamas without Iran. There would be no Hezbollah without Iran,” former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley said.
The five contenders on stage also clashed over continued support for Ukraine, underscoring one of the starkest divides within the party.
DeSantis said the Biden administration’s emergency request for Ukraine aid was excessive and he didn’t support money that would go to members of that country’s government.
“We need to bring this war to an end,” DeSantis said. “We need the Europeans to step up and do their fair share, and we need to get serious about the top threat that this country faces, which is the Chinese Communist Party.”
Haley, who has risen in the polls after strong performances in past debates and on her foreign policy experience, argued for the US to keep supporting Kyiv in its fight to repel Russia’s invasion — but said the focus should be on providing weaponry.
“No, I don’t think we should give them cash. I think we should give them the equipment, the ammunition to win. And I’ll tell you if Biden had done it when they first asked for it, this war would be over,” Haley said.
Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina said he endorsed continuing aid to Kyiv, but only after a system of greater “accountability” and a review of “the overall Russian military.”
But entrepreneuer Vivek Ramaswamy, espousing the GOP’s populist bent, said he was “absolutely unpersuaded” about the need to provide more assistance, calling Ukraine “not democratic” and saying efforts to assist the country from Russia’s invasion had been “a disaster.”
Haley was arguably the winner of the first two debates, performances which have seen her draw new attention from prominent Republican donors and rise in the polls. She delivered another strong showing on Wednesday night.
Citadel founder Ken Griffin, who has praised Haley, said he was putting his hopes on her having a “great night” at the debate. “If she does, I think that could be a galvanizing moment for her campaign,” Griffin said at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum on Thursday in Singapore with the debate underway.
Read more: Griffin Says Haley Faces ‘Galvanizing Moment’ in Campaign
Other candidates showed newfound assertiveness. Ramaswamy sought to make a verbal splash on stage and draw attention to himself within the opening minutes, calling the GOP “a party of losers” in reference to a series of state races on Tuesday where Republicans lost high-profile races.
Ramaswamy singled out the Republican National Committee chair personally for these defeats before saying he thought Tucker Carlson, Joe Rogan and Elon Musk should moderate the next debate.
He called both Haley and DeSantis “Dick Cheney in three inch heels” for what he cast as their neoconservative stances on foreign policy, and tried to attack Haley personally by saying her daughter used ByteDance Ltd.’s TikTok social media app, widely seen as a national security risk.
“You might want to take care of your family first,” Ramaswamy said.
Those remarks prompted an eyeroll from Haley, who called him “scum.”
The candidates also traded barbs over China policy, with many suggesting significant curbs of US trade with the world’s second largest economy.
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie said he would ban TikTok , calling it spyware that elevated “poison” like pro-Hamas propaganda.
DeSantis said he would also support a ban of the app, and called for more military deterrence and a broader decoupling of the US economy from China. The debate over China saw some of the sharpest exchanges on stage.
DeSantis attacked Haley for courting a Chinese business when she served as South Carolina governor, noting he had signed legislation that banned Chinese companies from purchasing land in Florida near government sites and military facilities.
That attack earned criticism from Ramaswamy, who noted that the Florida legislation included a carve-out for lawful workers and others.
Election Setback
The third debate followed another poor election showing for Republicans who lost a number of high-profile races in off-year state-level elections on Tuesday night.
DeSantis offered his sharpest criticism yet of Trump, linking him to the GOP’s latest underwhelming electoral performance.
DeSantis said was “sick of Republicans losing,” and said Trump, who has skipped the GOP debates, owed it to the party to appear on stage and answer for his record.
“He owes it to you to be on this stage and explain why he should get another chance, he should explain why he didn’t have Mexico pay for the border wall, he should explain why he racked up so much debt, he should explain why he didn’t drain the swamp,” DeSantis said.
The fight over abortion played a role in many of those losses, with Republican Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin, who pushed a 15-week abortion ban with some exceptions, seeing Democrats take both chambers of the state legislature. In Ohio, voters approved a ballot measure that would protect reproductive rights in the state.
Most Republican candidates remained steadfast in their support for abortion bans while recognizing the issue has weighed heavily on recent electoral issues.
DeSantis said that while he wanted to promote a “culture of life,” he believed the party’s efforts to secure new abortion bans has been “flatfooted.” He suggested that GOP candidates should try to put Democrats on the defensive by forcing them to quantify their abortion policies.
“Democrats have taken a position they will not identify the point at which there should be any protection, all the way up until birth – that is wrong and we cannot stand for that,” he said.
Haley and Scott both said they opposed abortion, but sparred over their records on the issue. Scott said he would support a 15-week federal ban, while Haley said she wanted to negotiate the issue. She noted Scott had not cosponsored a bill offered by Senate Republicans in 2022 that would have implemented a 15-week restriction.
Ramaswamy said he was upset his home state of Ohio had voted to protect abortion rights, saying it represented a dearth of leadership in the GOP. Christie offered the lone voice of dissent, saying he supported allowing states to set their own limits the procedure.
Economic Agenda
The candidates also proposed significant economic reforms, including a call from DeSantis to “rein in” the Federal Reserve, which he blamed for substantial postpandemic inflation.
“The Fed should focus on stable prices,” he said. “They are not an economic central planner for the American people.”
Haley and Christie said they would propose reforms to Social Security that would strip checks from the wealthiest Americans while raising the retirement age for young workers who still had decades before they qualified for the federal retirement program.
Scott, for his part, said he would protect Social Security by cutting spending elsewhere – echoing the position of Trump, who has opposed entitlement cuts.
--With assistance from Christian Hall, Hadriana Lowenkron and Anna Kaiser.
(Updates to add Griffin comments on Haley)
