GOP debate updates: TV ratings plummet as Haley addresses ‘scum’ spat
Five candidates faced off in the NBC News-hosted event in Miami, Florida
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The third Republican primary debate at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami, Florida, featured a number of contentious exchanges over candidates’ policies and records with even the moderators and RNC chair Ronna McDaniel coming under fire early on.
Five candidates qualified for the showdown, broadcast by NBC News – Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, biotech entrepreneur and woke-bashing author Vivek Ramaswamy, former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.
Former President Donald Trump also qualified but did not attend, instead speaking at a rally in nearby Hialeah, Florida.
There were a number of fiery tussles throughout the evening including when Mr Ramaswamy was booed by the crowd for an attack on Ms Haley’s daughter with the former UN ambassador calling him “scum” in response — many agreed with her assessment.
Despite the fireworks, TV ratings slumped to the lowest yet in the 2024 cycle, with just 7.51 million viewers tuning in, according to NBC News.
The next debate is set for 6 December in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and will be hosted by NewsNation.
Haley brands Ramaswamy ‘scum’ in fiery GOP debate
Among the many spirited exchanges the 2024 Republican presidential candidates engaged in during Wednesday evening’s GOP debate, Nikki Haley calling Vivek Ramaswamy “scum” was one of the most memorable.
During the third Republican debate, moderators asked candidates how they would approach handling security concerns associated with China and TikTok – a topic that candidates had sparred over in previous debates.
When Ms Haley said the app was detrimental, Mr Ramaswamy called out her daughter.
Ariana Baio reports on her full response.
Haley brands Ramaswamy ‘scum’ in fiery GOP debate
Questions about TikTok opened the door for one of the messiest exchanges of the night between Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy
GOP candidates urge Israel escalation and US attacks on Iran
Shortly before the candidates took the stage for the third Republican primary debate in Miami on Wednesday, the Pentagon announced that US fighter jets struck a weapons storage facility in eastern Syria used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and affiliated groups, the latest sign of the tense security situation in the Middle East amid the Israel-Hamas war.
Once the spotlights came on, the GOP candidates called for a further ratcheting up of military operations, urging Israel to annihilate Hamas and the US military to directly attack Iran.
Josh Marcus reports.
‘Finish them’: GOP candidates urge Israel escalation and US attacks on Iran
Candidates differed when it came to Ukraine, however
Top DeSantis donor thinks Trump will win
The biggest donor to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis thinks former President Donald Trump will win the GOP primary.
Robert Bigelow told the Financial Times that Mr Trump “is too strong” and that the ex-president “has the momentum, the inertia, to beat him”.
Mr Bigelow called Mr Trump a “bull” while Mr DeSantis is “dinner”.
GOP mudslinging and the battle for second place: Five takeaways
The third Republican primary debate was an ugly slugfest reminiscent of the earliest Trump debates of 2015 — except the former president wasn’t even there.
A group of five candidates, minus their party’s frontrunner, appeared onstage Wednesday evening in Miami for what was billed as a presidential debate but in the end may have just been an exercise in futility, given the continued dominance of Donald Trump in every available poll of the GOP primary.
What transpired over two hours was a slugfest that served as a reminder of what Mr Trump has done to this party, and raised the question of whether his shadow will loom over Republicans long after he fades from relevance.
Let’s look at the main takeaways from Wednesday’s showdown:
GOP mudslinging and the battle for second place: Five takeaways from debate
Another Trumpless debate poses the question: When does any of this start to matter?
Anger as Ramaswamy seems to call Jewish Ukraine leader Zelensky ‘Nazi’
Businessman and presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy appeared on Wednesday to call Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, who is Jewish, a “Nazi” during the latest GOP presidential debate.
During a line of comments in which the Republican argued Ukraine is anti-democratic and undeserving of US aid, Mr Ramaswamy claimed, “It has celebrated a Nazi in its ranks, the comedian in cargo pants, a man called Zelensky. That is not democratic.”
The entrepreneur may have stumbled over his words and actually been speaking about a separate person as a “Nazi.”
Josh Marcus reports.
Anger as Ramaswamy seems to call Jewish Ukraine leader Zelensky ‘Nazi’ at GOP debate
Entrepreneur’s past Ukraine comments suggest he may be calling separate person a ‘Nazi’
With the candidates heading to the spin room, who won the debate?
Republican presidential candidates descended on Miami for a debate on Wednesday – and the third one without former president Donald Trump sharing the stage.
All of the Republican candidates continue to trail behind the twice-impeached, four-times-indicted former president. Still, some of the sharpest exchanges took place when discussing foreign policy, the Israel-Hamas war, Russia’s incursion into Ukraine and China’s rising influence. Many of the Republican presidential candidates once again attacked Vivek Ramaswamy as the millennial businessman came out swinging.
Eric Garcia picks the winners and losers from the third Republican debate.
Who won the third Republican debate?
Nikki Haley has a breakout night as Republicans pile on Vivek Ramaswamy
Closing statements
Scott: We need a great reawakening and “turn from victimhood to victory, stop kneeling in protest and kneel in prayer”.
Christie: I will open up my heart to every American as president.
Ramaswamy: We are at war with those who don’t like our founding principles and a fringe minority. He then tells the Democrats to end the Biden candidacy which he calls a lie and put up their real candidate suggesting Michelle Obama or Gavin Newsom.
Haley: A strong America doesn’t start wars, a strong America prevents wars. We cannot do that with politicians from the 20th Century, we need politicians from the 21st Century.
DeSantis: I’m doing this for you. I delivered on all my promises for Florida and will do the same for the US as president.
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