Eight contenders for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination have taken the stage in Milwaukee for their first primary debate, as the shadow of Donald Trump is looming large over the event.

For the candidates at the debate, the challenge is to grab some of the spotlight on the crowded stage and chip away support from Trump—and show that they are truly in the running for the nomination.

The former president is providing his own counterprogramming—a pre-recorded interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson airing on X, formerly known as Twitter.

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Here's what the candidates said in their closing statements

In his closing statement, Gov. Doug Burgum said he understands America is hurting because "Biden's inflation is choking us." 

"Our economy is being crushed by Biden's energy policies, which are raising the costs of every product you buy," Burgum said. "One thing that I will do as president, I will secure the border. I will get this economy sprinting, not crawling like it is right now." 

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said the country needs new leadership and a president who will bring out the best in America.

“The solution is not four more years of Joseph Biden. The solution is not four more years of Donald Trump,” he said to some boos from the crowd at the mention of the former president. ”The solution is new leadership that can bring bold ideas to America and to bring out the best of America.”

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‘Send Troops to the Border’ May Be the New ‘Build The Wall’

By Michelle Hackman, WSJ

Nearly every candidate who was asked endorsed the idea of sending military troops to the southern border to protect against fentanyl. While the show of strength could underscore the seriousness of the problem, law enforcement officials have repeatedly found that nearly all the fentanyl coming into the U.S. from Mexico is smuggled in trucks and cars at legal entry points.

Ron DeSantis and Vivek Ramaswamy both brought the topic up unprompted during an unrelated discussion of Ukraine, saying they would redirect military resources for Ukraine to our the southern U.S. border.

Asked if he would send troops across the border to conduct military operations against drug cartels inside Mexico, DeSantis said he would send troops across the border “on day one.”

Many legal and military experts believe deploying troops to perform military operations at the southern border would violate a 19th century law barring troops from carrying out military operations on domestic soil. Mexico has also loudly protested suggestions that American troops are needed to fight drug cartels, with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador saying recently that Mexico would consider such an operation an invasion by a foreign country.

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Fact check: Tim Scott's claim on the state of the US economy

From CNN’s Tara Subramaniam

With the economy as one of the main topics on the forefront of voters' minds, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott aimed to make a case for Republican policies, misleadingly suggesting they left the US economy in record shape before Biden took office.  

“There is no doubt that during the Trump administration, when we were dealing with the COVID virus, we spent more money,” Scott said. “But here’s what happened at the end of our time in the majority: we had low unemployment, record low unemployment, 3.5% for the majority of the population, and a 70-year low for women. African Americans, Hispanics, and Asians had an all-time low.”  

Facts First: This is false. Scott’s claims don’t accurately reflect the state of the US economy at the end of the Republican majority in the Senate. And in some cases, his exaggerations echo what Trump himself frequently touted about the economy under his leadership.  

By the time Trump left office and the Republicans lost the Senate majority, US unemployment was not at a record low. The US unemployment rate dropped to a seasonally adjusted rate of 3.5% in September 2019, the country’s lowest in 50 years. While it hovered around that level for five months, Scott’s assertion ignores the coronavirus pandemic-induced economic destruction that followed. In April 2020, the unemployment rate spiked to 14.7% — the highest level since monthly records began in 1948. As of December 2020, the unemployment rate was at 6.7%. 

Nor was the unemployment rate for women at a 70-year low by the end of Trump’s time in office. It reached a 66-year low during certain months of 2019, at 3.4% in April and 3.6% in August, but by December 2020, unemployment for women was at 6.7%. 

The unemployment rates for African Americans, Hispanics, and Asians were also not at all-time lows at the end of 2020, but they did reach record lows during Trump’s tenure as president. 

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Haley says Pence did the "right thing" by certifying the 2020 election 

From CNN's Ebony Davis 

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley said former Vice President Mike Pence “did the right thing” by certifying the 2020 election results on January 6, 2021. 
 

“I do think he did the right thing. We need to give him credit for that,” Haley said.

Weighing in on whether former President Donald Trump should serve another term as president, Haley said it’s up to the American people.

“I trust the American people. Let them vote and let them decide. They will tell you it is time for a new, generational, conservative leader. Three-quarters of Americans don't want a rematch between Trump and (Joe) Biden.”

Criticizing Trump, Haley called her former boss the “most disliked politician in America.”
 

“Trump is the most disliked politician in America. We cannot win a general election that way,” Haley said.

 

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What GOP rivals think of Pence's actions on January 6th

From CNN's Veronica Stracqualursi

Republican presidential candidates on stage at the first debate came to rival Mike Pence' defense when asked whether the former vice president did the right thing on January 6, 2021, when he refused then-President Donald Trump's demand to reject the results of the 2020 election. 

Here's what the candidates said: 

South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott:  “Absolutely, he did the right thing.”

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum: “Mike Pence did the right thing on January 6th.” 

Former Ambassador Nikki Haley: “I do think that Vice President Pence did the right thing. And I do think that we need to give him credit for that.”

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis at first avoided directly answering the question, but he later said: “Mike did his duty, I have no beef with him. Is this what we're going to be focusing on going forward? The rehashing of this?”

Providing the fiercest defense of Pence on stage tonight, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christiesaid: 

“Mike Pence stood for the Constitution. And he deserves, not grudging credit, he deserves our thanks as Americans for putting his oath of office and the Constitution of the United States before personal, political, and unfair pressure. And the argument that we need to have in this party before we can move on to the issues that Ron talked about, is we have to dispense with the person who said we need to suspend the Constitution to put forward his political career. Mike Pence said ‘no’ and he deserves credit for it.”
 

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Fact check: Doug Burgum on the Inflation Reduction Act  

From CNN’s Ella Nilsen
 

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum claimed that Biden’s signature climate bill costs $1.2 trillion dollars and is “just subsidizing China.” 

Facts First: This claim needs context. The clean energy pieces of the Inflation Reduction Act – Democrats' climate bill – passed with an initial price tag of nearly $370 billion. However, since that bill is made up of tax incentives, that price tag could go up depending on how many consumers take advantage of tax credits to buy electric vehicles and put solar panels on their homes, and how many businesses use the subsidies to install new utility-scale wind and solar in the United States.  

Burgum’s figure comes from a Goldman Sachs report, which estimated the IRA could provide $1.2 trillion in clean energy tax incentives by 2032 – about a decade from now.  

On Burgum’s claim that Biden’s clean energy agenda will be a boon to China, the IRA was specifically written to move the manufacturing supply chain for clean energy technology like solar panels and EV batteries away from China and to the United States.  

In the year since it was passed, the IRA has spurred 83 new or expanded manufacturing facilities in the US, and close to 30,000 new clean energy manufacturing jobs, according to a tally from trade group American Clean Power. 

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Pence challenges Ramaswamy's "national identity crisis" claim 

From CNN's Aaron Pellish
 

Former Vice President Mike Pence undermined a core value at the heart of Vivek Ramaswamy’s presidential campaign, dismissing his argument that America is in the middle of a “national identity crisis” and pinning the blame for the country's ills on the failure of government. 

“We are in the middle of a national identity crisis,” Ramaswamy said. “The problem in our country right now, the reason we have the mental health epidemic is that people are so hungry for purpose and meaning at a time when family, faith, patriotism, hard work have all disappeared. What we really need is a tonal reset from the top saying that this is what it means to be an American.”

Pence directly hit back against Ramaswamy, saying America is not in the middle of an identity crisis, criticizing a line often repeated by Ramaswamy at campaign events. 
 

“We don't have an identity crisis, Vivek. We are not looking for a new national identity,” Pence said. “The American people are the most faith-filled freedom-loving idealistic hard-working people the world has ever known. We just need government as good as our people.”

Ramaswamy pushed back on Pence’s optimistic view, referring to former President Ronald Reagan’s famous “Morning in America” speech. 
 

"It is not morning in America,” Ramaswamy said. “We live in a dark moment. We have to confront the fact that we’re in an internal, sort of cold culture civil war. You need to recognize that in order to actually win.” 

Pence again interjected, cutting off Ramaswamy and praising the spirit of the American people. 

“You are equating the American people with the failed government in Washington, DC. We just need government as good as our people again,” Ramaswamy said. 

The tense exchange between Pence and Ramaswamy has been one of a handful of disagreements between the former vice president and the Ohio-based entrepreneur and highlights the tension between Ramaswamy’s engagement with a harsher view of American culture and Pence’s classical conservative faith in the American people. 
 

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DeSantis says Pence "did his duty" certifying 2020 results: "I have no beef with him"

From CNN's Elise Hammond
 

After not directly answering a question about whether former Vice President Mike Pence did the right thing by certifying the results of the 2020 election, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis argued that Republicans should move on from the issue.

Mike did his duty, I have no beef with him," DeSantis said. "Is this what we're going to be focusing on going forward? The rehashing of this?

 

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All but 1 presidential candidate indicated support for Trump as the GOP nominee
even if he's convicted

From CNN's Maureen Chowdhury   
 

 

All but one Republican presidential candidate on the debate stage indicated that they would support former President Donald Trump if he became the party’s nominee — even if he were to be convicted in a court of law. 

“You all signed a pledge to support the eventual Republican nominee. If former president Trump is convicted in a court of law, would you still support him as your party’s choice? Please raise your hand if you would,” moderator Brett Baier asked. 

Vivek Ramaswamy, Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, Tim Scott, Mike Pence, Doug Burgum and Chris Christie all raised their hands. Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson did not.

 

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A tense first hour, and now onto the topic of Trump

We're just about at the halfway mark of the debate - which has covered topics including abortion, crime, climate change and the economy. 

It's been lively - and tense - with the candidates seemingly happy to attack each other while also touting their own achievements in this areas. Pence and Ramaswamy in particular taken aim at each other on multiple occasions. 

At times, the Fox News hosts have also struggled to keep the candidates on topic. Several of them have pivoted during their answers to abruptly discuss other issues. 

We're now hearing questions about Donald Trump - and we've yet to hear much with regards to foreign policy, immigration or solutions at the US-Mexico border.
 

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Ramaswamy has been the target of several jabs already tonight. Here are key things to know about the candidate 

From CNN's Brian Rokus, Eric Bradner, Kit Maher and David Wright

Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy has several headed exchanges on the debate stage already with other GOP candidates. 

Here are some key things to know about the candidate: 

Ramaswamy is a biotech and health care entrepreneur who has written two books, “Nation of Victims: Identity Politics, the Death of Merit, and the Path Back to Excellence” and “Woke, Inc.: Inside Corporate America’s Social Justice Scam.”

“To put America first, we need to rediscover what America is. That’s why I am running for president,” Ramaswamy wrote in a Wall Street Journal editorial earlier this year. “I am launching not only a political campaign but a cultural movement to create a new American Dream—one that is not only about money but about the unapologetic pursuit of excellence.”

“We embrace secular religions like climatism, Covidism and gender ideology to satisfy our need for meaning, yet we can’t answer what it means to be an American,” Ramaswamy wrote in the Journal.

“The Republican Party’s top priority should be to fill this void with an inspiring national identity that dilutes the woke agenda to irrelevance,” he continued.

The editorial also called for securing the border, eliminating affirmative action and repealing civil service protection for federal employees.

In Republican primary polls, Ramaswamy is competitive with seasoned politicians, though still in single figures and far behind Trump. 

The tech entrepreneur posted a video of himself shirtless, practicing tennis, on Monday in a tweet he described as his debate prep. 

He has also made appearances on the sorts of liberal media programs that many Republican contenders skip, such as a podcast with HBO host Bill Maher. A memo by a pro-DeSantis super PAC made public last week advised the Florida governor to attack Ramaswamy, an indication of the 38-year-old’s rise in the race

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Pence, Ramaswamy Clash Over Experience Needed to Be President

By Eliza Collins

Former Vice President Mike Pence and Vivek Ramaswamy, a biotech founder and political outsider, clashed over whether voters are looking for someone with experience.

Ramaswamy, 38 years old, has gained in polls in part by his youthful energy and willingness to push back against establishment ideas.

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