The candidates went after Biden — and Trump — at the second GOP debate. This is how it unfolded live

As the debate neared its end, moderator Dana Perino asked the candidates to write down which of their on-stage competitors should be voted off the 2024 GOP island.

But they didn’t bite. “With all due respect, I think that that’s disrespectful,” DeSantis said in response to the “Survivor”-style question.

Christie said Trump should be booted given his decision to skip the debate, and he accused him of dividing the country.

Ramaswamy slipped in the last word, praising Trump’s legacy but saying he was the better candidate to push forward an “America first” agenda.

And with that, the second Republican primary debate was over.

Ramaswamy is leveling criticism toward Ukraine in answer to a question about continuing U.S. support for the country.

“Just because Putin is an evil dictator does not mean Ukraine is good,” Ramaswamy says.

He also says China, not Russia, is the United States’ real enemy, and argues that the hard U.S. line toward Russia “is driving Russia further into China’s arms.”

DeSantis is rejecting the idea that Republicans have been losing elections because of their opposition to abortion, and he says his reelection as Florida governor last year is proof he’s right.

Democrats have leaned into the debate over abortion rights since a conservative majority on the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year. Voters have repeatedly supported abortion rights, and Democrats and even Trump have said it’s a big reason for the party’s better-than-expected performance in the midterms and in other elections since then.

DeSantis signed into law a ban on abortions at six weeks of pregnancy, before some women know they’re pregnant. He signed the ban after winning reelection.

Asked about the possibility that swing state Arizona will have an abortion question on its ballot next year, making it tougher for Republicans to win there, DeSantis dismissed the idea. He also called out Trump, who said it was a “terrible mistake” for DeSantis to sign the ban.

DeSantis said Republicans must go on the offensive and hit Democrats for their “extremism” on the issue.

Scott floated some ambitiously lofty job goals at the GOP debate, suggesting his policies could create 10 million jobs in a year and drive growth at 5%.

That would be an unusually large and unlikely set of hiring. More than 7 million jobs were created in 2021 under President Joe Biden, as the economy recovered from the pandemic. But deficit spending and inflation accompanied those gains — both points of attack by the Republican candidate.

Scott said he could create 3.5 million jobs “if we unleashed all our energy resources.” That would be impressive as oil and gas extraction account for just 118,700 jobs right now, according to the Labor Department.

Secondly, Scott said he could create jobs by bringing back factory jobs. Manufacturing work has rebounded under Biden to nearly 13 million jobs, the most since 2008. But few economists see manufacturing work as returning to its 1979 peak of more than 19 million jobs.

They’ve long had an intertwined political history, and even shared political consultants, but Haley and Scott’s differences took center stage on Wednesday.

The two South Carolinians sparred on stage after being asked why one should be elected president over the other.

Scott touted his work on 2017 tax cuts legislation, said he’d “love to have an opportunity to have this country pass a balanced budget amendment” and promoted his plans to “bring jobs back to America.”

“I appreciate Tim, we’ve known each other a long time,” Haley said, “but he’s been there 12 years and he hasn’t done any of that.”

Scott shot back, pointing out that Haley - who has called for an end to the federal gas tax as part of her campaign - “actually asked for a gas tax increase in South Carolina.”

“We’ve waited, and nothing has happened,” Haley said, turning back to her critique of Scott’s time in the Senate. It was Haley as governor in 2012 who appointed Scott to the seat in the first place.

Warning about the threats she perceived are posed by China is key to Haley’s stump, and it’s on full display in the debate.

Several times, Haley has pivoted her part in the conversation by noting that some U.S. supplies of amoxicillin come from China. Several times, she has pointed to Ramaswamy’s ties to the country, from business deals to his presence on TikTok, a wholly owned subsidiary of Chinese technology firm ByteDance Ltd.

Haley also went after Trump’s China policy, saying that she feels the former president was too focused on the U.S.-China trade relationship and did too little about possible threats from the country.

Mexico has been a critical partner on border enforcement with the Trump and Biden administrations, but Haley defends sending special operations to deal with Mexican drug cartels, a common position among those on the debate stage.

It’s a nonstarter for Mexico’s leaders.

Mexico has deployed thousands of troops to its southern border to stop U.S.-bound migrants.

In January, it agreed to take back people from Cuban, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela if they enter the United States illegally, a major concession to deal with populations that are difficult to deport.

Ramaswamy called being transgender a “mental health disorder” and “confusion” in response to a question about parental notification about their children’s gender identities. That’s in direct contrast to guidance from the American Psychiatric Association, which says diverse gender expressions “are not indications of a mental disorder.”

To make his point, Ramaswamy noted that he recently met two young women who later regretted their gender-affirming surgeries.

While it’s possible, regret after a gender transition is rare. In a review of 27 studies involving almost 8,000 teens and adults who had transgender surgeries, mostly in Europe, the U.S and Canada, 1% on average expressed regret.

For a moment, it was Haley vs. Ramaswamy, round two.

As they did in last month’s debut debate, Haley and Ramaswamy had a split-screen sparring back-and-forth in which Haley went after the political newcomer for inexperience and, she alleged, dangerous ideas.

Asked about his recent conversation with a TikTok influencer, Ramaswamy defended his use of the platform.

“I’m the new guy here, and so I know I have to earn your trust,” Ramaswamy said. “I’m here to tell you, no, I don’t know at all. I will listen.” Interjecting by calling TikTok “dangerous,” Haley went on to address Ramaswamy directly — and personally.

“Every time I hear you, I feel a little bit dumber for what you say,” Haley said. “We can’t trust you.”

Ramaswamy responded by saying that “I think we would be better served as a Republican Party if we’re not sitting here hurling personal insults,” before the moderators moved on to another topic.

The debate is getting chaotic at times, with candidates shouting over one another and the moderators scolding them for not waiting their turns.

At one point, moderator Dana Perino warned Burgum, who was trying to interrupt the questioning, that they would have to cut off his microphone if he didn’t stop interjecting. “I don’t want to do that,” she said, pleadingly “I don’t.”

Moderators also told candidates multiple times that the cross-talking meant they would get fewer questions.

The topic of education also led to the issue of teaching about racism in public schools. Under DeSantis, Florida approved a controversial curriculum that suggests some enslaved people learned useful skills while they were in bondage.

Scott, the only Black candidate on stage Wednesday night, reiterated his criticism of the curriculum under DeSantis by saying, “There is not a redeeming quality in slavery.”

He also suggested that the United States had turned the page on its history.

“We are the greatest nation on earth because we faced our demons in the mirror,” Scott said. He added that, “America is not a racist country.”

A question about education took two uncomfortable and unexpected turns at Wednesday night’s presidential debate.

Saying that America’s public schools are “run by the teachers unions in this country,” Christie said U.S. schools would continue to struggle because, in his view, the Biden administration is too close to the unions.

“When you have the president that 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,” Christie said.

In a later question, Pence chimed in, saying that he had been “sleeping with a teacher for 38 years” — but noting that his wife, Karen, is not a union member.

Candidates have devoted significant time to discussing the border but said nothing significantly new. Their policy prescriptions were largely in line with each other and with Trump, who made it a signature issue.

Pence, ignoring a question about what he would do to protect immigrants who came to the country as young children, spoke about a Trump-era policy to make asylum-seekers wait in Mexico for U.S. court hearings and cracking down on asylum. Ramaswamy spoke about repealing a constitutional right to birthright citizenship, a position that Trump has entertained.

Candidates spoke as if the influx of asylum-seekers began under Biden’s watch, but it began years earlier. By 2017, the United States became the world’s most popular destination for asylum-seekers, a position it has held ever since, according to the U.N. refugee agency.

Migration has unquestionably grown sharply under Biden. Border arrests topped 2.2 million at the Mexican border in the 2022 fiscal year, which runs from October to September, the highest on record and more than twice the peak year of 852,000 under Trump in 2019. Arrests topped 400,000 during Obama’s last full year in office.

People arriving in families with children under 18 are again behind surging numbers, reaching 93,108 arrests in August, surpassing the previous high of 84,486 under Trump’s watch in May 2019.

The debate’s more than halfway done, but there has been no mention so far of the big political issue that is threatening a government shutdown as soon as this weekend — funding for Ukraine against the Russian invasion.

Much discussion in the candidates’ first debate on Ukraine funding.

He’s the only GOP presidential candidate on TikTok, but Ramaswamy is talking about teens staying away from “addictive social media.”

In a question about security, Ramaswamy pivoted to a discussion of border security, talking about teens turning to social media like Snapchat to procure pharmaceuticals.

“If you’re 16 years old or under, you should not be using an addictive social media product, period,” he said.

Ramaswamy, who at 38 is the youngest candidate on stage, has referred to TikTok as “digital fentanyl” but earlier this month joined the platform, with his campaign saying he was angling to appeal to younger voters.

The platform has been met with bipartisan criticism that it is a potential spy mechanism for China.

Ramaswamy’s argument about sealing the border with a wall to stop fentanyl from coming in ignores the fact that the vast majority of fentanyl goes through official land crossings, much of it by U.S. citizens. A wall will do nothing to stop that.

Fentanyl seizures occurred predominantly at official land crossings, where commuters and visitors smuggle drugs on their bodies or in their vehicles. From September through August, 11.4 tons of the 12.8 tons of fentanyl seized at the border Mexico were discovered at land crossings, while the remaining 1.4 tons were in between border crossings, where people enter the country illegally.

At a hearing July 12, James Mandryck, a Customs and Border Protection deputy assistant commissioner, said 73% of fentanyl seizures at the border since the previous October were smuggling attempts carried out by U.S. citizens, with the rest being done by Mexican citizens.

Christie has a new name for Trump — Donald Duck.

A former ally who broke with Trump over his election denial, Christie awarded the moniker to the absent Republican front-runner for skipping the debate.

Speaking into the camera, Christie said, “I know you’re watching” because “you can’t help yourself.” And he accused Trump of being absent because “you’re afraid of being on this stage and defending your record.”

“No one up here is going to call you Donald Trump anymore. We’re going to call you Donald Duck.”

Pence is using his time onstage to remind viewers he’s a White House alumnus.

Twice asked a question about working to protect immigrants from deportation if they came with their parents as young children, Pence ignored it and emphasized his resume instead.

The former vice president recalled how during the Trump administration, he had negotiated the policy to make asylum seekers wait in Mexico for court hearings in the U.S.

“This is no time for on the job training,” Pence said. “I’m going to be ready on Day 1.”

Scott briefly shed his Mr. Nice Guy reputation to flame Ramaswamy for being “in business with the Chinese Communist Party.”

The attack line, a reference to Ramaswamy’s former career as an entrepreneur, fulfilled a promise from Scott’s campaign that the South Carolina senator would be more aggressive after being overshadowed in the first debate.

Ramaswamy responded angrily, leading to a long stretch of crosstalk that the moderators struggled to rein in.

“When you all speak at the same time, no can understand you,” said Univision anchor Ilia Calderón.

DeSantis says the United States needs a “totally new approach to China.”

Part of what he calls for Biden is already doing. That includes strengthening U.S. hard power in the Indo-Pacific. DeSantis does call for “decoupling” the U.S. economy from China.

Biden is trying to wean the U.S. supply chain off China but denies seeking to decouple the two economies.

GOP presidential candidates started their second debate by mostly agreeing that the U.S. economic future should be powered by gasoline.

In lockstep, they all demonized the Biden administration’s support for electric vehicles. It’s a shift that is meant to limit the damages of climate change, but presidential candidates say it would hurt the U.S. auto sector and enrich China. The unanimity reflected the challenge candidates face to stand out on policy issues.

“Joe Biden’s Green New Deal agenda is good for Beijing and bad for Detroit,” Pence said.

Burgum said unionized autoworkers are striking because their employers “need two-thirds less workers to build an electric car.”

Ramaswamy went to his refrain that he would “unlock American energy, drill, frack, burn coal, embrace nuclear energy.”

Burgum is looking for more talking time — and he’s not being shy about it.

The North Dakota governor interjected a couple of times in the first 20 minutes of Wednesday night’s debate, talking over moderators and his fellow hopefuls, in one response interjecting, “Nobody answered the question” after others were asked about child care.

“We will get you some questions,” said moderator Dana Perino. “But you will have to let us move on.”

There have already been several moments where the moderators struggled to get candidates to stop talking among themselves and focus on the question at hand.

After taking criticism for going soft on Trump, DeSantis took a swing at him early in the debate.

“And you know who is missing in action? Donald Trump is missing in action,” DeSantis said, blasting the former president for skipping the debate.

The criticism came shortly after a similar attack from Christie, who said Trump “hides behind the walls of his golf clubs” instead of answering questions.

Scott didn’t have much talking time during the first GOP debate, but he started to make up for that as soon as Wednesday night’s gathering got underway.

The first question went to Scott, who caught criticism for saying “you strike, you’re fired” about the United Auto Workers dispute. Scott quipped that Biden “should not be on the picket line, he should be on the southern border,” turning the rest of his answer to concerns about border security.

Scott also was asked to respond after Pence said Biden “belongs on the unemployment line,” saying he disagreed with Scott.

“There’s no doubt that Joe Biden needs to be fired,” Scott said. “That’s why I’m running for president.”

The debate started with questions about the United Auto Workers strike, but the Republicans kept the focus squarely on Biden.

“Joe Biden should not be on the picket line. He should be on the southern border,” said Scott, who got the first question.

Next up was Ramaswamy, who said the workers should “go picket in front of the White House in Washington, D.C.,” because “that’s really where the protest needs to be.”

Pence took a swing at it next. “Joe Biden doesn’t belong on the picket line. He belongs on the unemployment line.”

Trump skipped the Fox Business-Univision debate but appeared briefly in its introduction - or at least his mug shot did.

The debate at the Reagan library started with a montage of the former president followed by clips of the seven candidates who are appearing on stage.

Trump’s mug shot — from one of the criminal cases against him, filed in Georgia — flashed on screen as a voiceover questioned: Would Reagan even recognize the country today?

Read more about Trump’s mug shot here.

As his rivals got ready to debate Wednesday night, Trump was railing against electric cars in a speech in Michigan.

Trump, speaking at a non-union manufacturing plant outside out of Detroit, briefly referenced the proceedings about to begin in California.

“We’re competing with the job candidates,” he said of his rivals. “They’re all job candidates, they want to be in the — they’ll do anything. Secretary of something. They even say VP, does anybody see any VP in the group? I don’t think so.”

The second Republican presidential debate is underway in California.

It’s being moderated by Fox Business Network host Stuart Varney and Fox News Channel host Dana Perino, as well as Univision anchor Ilia Calderón.

The event is airing on Fox News Channel and Fox Business, as well as on the network’s website and other streaming and digital platforms. There’s also a Spanish-language feed airing on Univision.

Seven candidates will be on stage for the second Republican primary debate, but Biden is keeping his focus on the one who isn’t there — Trump.

It’s a logical choice when the former president is the runaway favorite for his party’s 2024 nomination.

“Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans are determined to destroy this democracy,” Biden said Tuesday night at a California fundraiser.

Biden plans to deliver his fourth in a series of presidential addresses about the state of democracy during a visit to Arizona on Thursday.

Wednesday’s debate is likely to be a less raucous affair than the first GOP debate in Milwaukee — at least as far as the audience is concerned.

In August, candidates debated in the Fiserv Forum, home to the Milwaukee Bucks basketball team, before a live audience of thousands that was allowed to cheer and boo what was being said. (Christie was the target of some of the loudest booing, for his criticism of Trump).

Things got so lively that moderator Bret Baier had to ask the crowd to keep it down.

Tonight’s debate is at a far smaller venue. Air Force One Pavilion holds a maximum of 1,600 people, and a video posted online by the Reagan Foundation shows the seating area is even smaller. Those in attendance will be seated below the nose of Reagan’s retired Air Force One.

The first debate was dominated by Ramaswamy, who swung at everyone else on stage and was targeted in return. Will he seek the spotlight in the same way?

Haley had a comparatively strong showing last time. Does she become a target?

The pressure remains on DeSantis, who has sunk substantially in polls from his high point earlier this year. Will he be more aggressive?

The biggest question is whether anyone on the stage will be playing to win. So far the campaign has been all about jostling for second place while Trump hogs the spotlight. Will any of the candidates target the front-runner, or will they keep hanging back and hoping for a political miracle?

As Republicans take the stage, the Democratic National Committee is running counterprogramming around the debate site aiming to make its case that the GOP hopefuls are wrong for the White House.

DNC officials say they’re flying an aerial banner until the 9 p.m. start time above Ronald Reagan’s presidential library with the message “GOP 2024: A Race For The Extreme MAGA Base” — referring to a slogan used by Trump in his campaigns.

Party officials say there’s also a mobile billboard making a route around the debate site throughout the event. A video playing on a digital screen features a “2024 MAGA Cheat Sheet” on each of the hopefuls, with each Republican candidate’s photo and several bullet points on what the DNC calls their “extreme MAGA agendas,” like opposition to abortion and proposed changes to Social Security and Medicare.

Many viewers who can’t watch Wednesday’s debate on TV will tune in on Rumble, the Republican National Committee’s exclusive online livestreaming partner.

The alternative video sharing platform has gained popularity with some conservatives for its hands-off approach to content moderation. But it also has been criticized for allowing — and at times promoting — far-right extremism, bigotry, election disinformation and conspiracy theories.

Ahead of the first GOP debate last month, the live feed for the GOP’s official pre-show on Rumble was overridden with racial slurs and bigoted comments. The episode was then hidden from public view. The RNC said it was taken down to direct users to the debate livestream and avoid confusing viewers with multiple videos.

Asked about the criticism against the platform, the RNC said it condemns “hate, bigotry and violence” but does not manage content or pages outside of its own.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom says Wednesday night’s Republican presidential debate without Trump is little more than entertainment for political junkies given Trump’s commanding lead in the Republican primary.

“This is a sideshow, by any objective measure,” Newsom told the Associated Press. “You’ve got a guy who’s the de facto incumbent.” Trump indeed leads all other GOP contenders by at least 30 points in most national polls.

The debate, Newsom said, is “JV, XFL stuff.”

DeSantis will be center stage again when candidates meet Wednesday for the second Republican presidential debate. He’ll be flanked by Ramaswamy and Haley.

The candidate placement on stage is based on candidate order in polls that meet standards set by the Republican National Committee, with higher performing candidates being closer to center stage.

Scott had hoped for a better position than the last debate and asked the RNC to change its rules so he would be closer to center. But the South Carolina senator is essentially in the same spot he was for last month’s debate. He will stand to Ramaswamy’s left.

The biggest loser in the reshuffling is Pence, who will stand at the far end of the stage. It’s a demotion for the former vice president, who stood next to DeSantis in August, and a sign of how he has struggled in the race.

As his Republican rivals make final preparations for their second primary debate, the contest’s front-runner is on his way to Michigan to speak to current and retired autoworkers in the midst of a strike.

“Heading to Michigan now. I LOVE, & WILL SAVE, THE AUTOWORKERS. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” Trump wrote on his social media site.

A smattering of protesters and supporters demonstrated outside the venue before Trump arrived. One group of supporters carried Trump flags and marched to the beat of marching band drums.

Anti-Trump protesters accused the former president of backing anti-union policies and chanted, “Racist! Go home!”

In case Trump wasn’t already top of mind for tonight’s debate participants, the former president’s supporters have set up huge Trump signs at the entrance to the Reagan library’s long driveway.

They include a bus-sized blue “TRUMP 2024” banner, several smaller red Trump “SAVE AMERICA” flags and a large white sign that reads “TRUMP, Our Last HOPE For AMERICA & THE WORLD.” They are positioned at the beginning of Simi Valley’s Presidential Drive, which is the only way in and out of the Reagan library.

As of 4:30 p.m. ET, none of the other campaigns had signs posted.

He won’t be on the Simi Valley debate stage Wednesday night, but former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson — or an AI version of him, anyway — is looking to be part of the conversation.

Hutchinson’s campaign has rolled out askasa.us, where they say voters will be able to ask specific questions of the candidate. Hutchinson’s campaign says the interface has been programmed with his past public remarks, speeches and interviews to respond with his perspective on a variety of issues.

Hutchinson qualified for last month’s candidate debate debut but missed the markers set by the Republican National Committee for the matchup at Ronald Reagan’s presidential library.

While Republicans prepare for tonight’s debate, the Democratic president that they’re hoping to replace will be raising money for his reelection campaign on the West Coast.

Joe Biden has a pair of fundraisers in San Francisco on Wednesday, a day after holding another one in Atherton.

“I’m optimistic that people in America know what’s at stake and they’re going to step up,” he told donors on Tuesday. Biden also said “I’m looking forward to the race.”

Biden’s visit to California is the second stop on his trip. He first visited Michigan, where he joined striking auto workers on the picket line, and he plans to head to Arizona, where he’s scheduled to give a speech on democracy.

The first Republican presidential debate devoted about 10 minutes to the U.S.-Mexico border, and the influx of asylum-seekers has only jumped since then.

Numbers are surging, with migrants now being housed at Chicago airports after police station lobbies filled with families in sleeping bags and nearly 6,000 migrants crossed the border in tiny Eagle Pass, Texas, in two days. Local officials from New York to San Diego sounded increasingly desperate cries for federal aid, as the Biden administration said it was making nearly 500,000 Venezuelans already in the United States eligible for temporary work permits.

Discussion of immigration in the first debate largely focused on building more border wall and, to varying degrees, supporting deployment of U.S. troops to Mexico to combat fentanyl trafficking.

When seven presidential hopefuls gather at Ronald Reagan’s presidential library for the second Republican debate, expect to hear homages to the “Great Communicator.”

The 40th president remains a hugely popular influence in today’s Republican Party, and the candidates for the 2024 nomination frequently reference him in their speeches.

Former Vice President Mike Pence most often cites Reagan, noting his own pride in advising the Trump administration’s Supreme Court nominees “that sent Roe. v. Wade to the ash heap of history where it belongs.”

The former president is scheduled to deliver prime-time remarks to union members in Michigan shortly before the second debate begins without him in California.

He will be giving a speech at 8 p.m. Eastern at Drake Enterprises, a non-unionized auto parts supplier in Clinton Township. He’ll speak before a crowd of several hundred current and former United Auto Workers members, as well as members of plumbers and pipefitters unions.

His visit comes a day after President Joe Biden became the first sitting president in U.S. history to walk a picket line as he joined UAW members in Detroit. The union has expanded its strike against Detroit automakers by walking out of spare-parts warehouses in 20 states across the country.

Trump will be seeking to position himself as an ally of blue-collar workers by promising to raise wages and protect jobs if elected to a second term. But union leaders say Trump’s record tells a different story. They cite unfavorable rulings from the nation’s top labor board and the U.S. Supreme Court, as well as unfulfilled promises of automotive jobs.

Television executives say Wednesday will mark the first time a Republican primary debate is broadcast in Spanish, with Univision airing it along with Fox Business.

The Spanish-language network has called this “an opportunity for Hispanic voters to hear directly from the candidates on issues that are important to them.”

Univision was not chosen for the GOP primary debates in 2015 after Republican National Committee officials said there were questions about whether the network was treating the party fairly. Later that year, former President Donald Trump kicked the network’s famous news anchor Jorge Ramos out of a news conference after being questioned about his immigration plan. In 2020, Trump’s reelection campaign called the network a “leftist propaganda machine and a mouth piece for the Democratic party.”

Trump notably will be missing from Wednesday night’s debate.

AP’s Adriana Gomez Licon explains what to know about the seven candidates hitting the stage tonight.

The two-hour debate starts at 9 p.m. ET on Wednesday at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California.

Here’s all of the information on how to watch.

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson will miss Wednesday’s debate after failing to meet the criteria to participate. But he says he’s not going anywhere.

In a statement after the candidate field was released Monday night, Hutchinson said he measures his success by the voter response he gets in early voting states like Iowa and New Hampshire. He says his goal is to boost his polling numbers to 4% in one of those states before Thanksgiving.

“If that goal is met, then I remain competitive and in contention,” he wrote.

In lieu of the second debate, he is going to be in Detroit — the same city Trump is traveling to. He plans to hold a press conference to highlight what he says are the former president’s “false promises to blue collar and union workers in Michigan and across America.”