Some of the 2024 GOP primary field’s biggest underdogs fought for brief moments of attention at the first presidential debate of the cycle on Wednesday evening.
Former President Donald Trump sat out the event, leaving eight of his top GOP primary competitors to take swings at one another in attempts to create breakout moments. Few onstage were able to dominate the discussion with the limited time available.
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Former Vice President Mike Pence, who had been in the middle of the pack in terms of fundraising and polling, racked up the most speaking time of the night, speaking for 12 minutes and 37 seconds. He was also the subject of dispute among the candidates when asked about his decision to break with Trump on January 6. Biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, a prime target of the evening who has seen a steady rise in polling in recent months, followed closely behind with 11 minutes and 47 seconds of speaking time.
Left fighting for scraps were former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who had the least speaking time of any candidate with 7 minutes and 33 seconds, Gov. Doug Burgum (R-ND) with exactly 8 minutes, and Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), who spoke for 8 minutes and 15 seconds. The three were bested only somewhat by former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley's 8 minutes and 41 seconds.
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie spoke for 11 minutes and 22 seconds, more than Gov. Ron DeSantis’s (R-FL) 10 minutes and 22 seconds.
Christie occasionally jumped into Ramaswamy and Pence’s continued sparring throughout the night, though he failed to actually take out any of his competitors. One of his biggest hits of the night was against Ramaswamy, whom he described as “a guy who sounds like ChatGPT” after the latter described climate change as a hoax.
“I’ve had enough already tonight of a guy who sounds like ChatGPT standing up there,” Christie said. “The last person at one of these debates, Bret, who stood in the middle of the stage and said, ‘What’s a skinny guy with an odd last name doing up here?’ was Barack Obama, and I’m afraid we’re dealing with the same type of amateur.”
Haley and DeSantis were also in the mix from time to time at the two-hour event, with the former South Carolina governor pushing back on Ramaswamy’s position on U.S. support for Israel and how other candidates were approaching abortion. DeSantis, meanwhile, took aim at Trump and Pence’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, defended his handling of crime in Florida, and sparred with Ramaswamy on education. He also made a dig at Hunter Biden.
All of that, and much more, left little time for Scott, Burgum, and Hutchinson to secure breakthrough moments. Scott largely flew under the radar at the debate, reiterating his well-known positions on China, illegal immigration, and abortion. He was so non-confrontational that he even tried to mediate as the debate devolved into a heated shouting match.
“What the American people deserve is a debate about the issues that affect their lives,” Scott said to some applause. “Going back and forth and being childish is not helpful to the American people to decide on the next leader of our country.”
For Burgum and Hutchinson, not becoming spectators proved to be a challenge.
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Burgum joined Ramaswamy in vowing to abolish the Department of Education as president, though he went further by promising to assign block grants to states for education funding and take on the teachers unions. The North Dakota governor, who was briefly unsure if he’d participate in the debate after suffering an Achilles injury on Tuesday, said that the "vast majority [of teachers] care about those kids" and deserve greater freedom to act on behalf of students and families.
Hutchinson received the majority of his attention for his bloodshot eyes and being one of only two candidates who declined to raise their hands when asked if they’d support Trump as the GOP nominee if he were convicted of a felony. Christie was the other candidate who kept his hand down.