Reagan Library 9/27 GOP Debate
Moderators: Stuart Varney, Dana Perino,
Candidates:
Florida Governor Ron Desantis
South Carolina Senator Tim Scott
Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley
Former Vice President Mike Pence
Businessman Vivek Ramaswamy
Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie
North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum
Varney: Should a president fire striking auto workers?
Scott: Listed Biden’s failures
Ramaswamy: I empathize with the workers. Hardship is not a choice. Victimhood is a choice.
Pence: Bidenomics has failed. wages have not kept up with inflation. Make union membership optional.
Haley: Eliminate the gas and diesel tax. Make small businesses permanent.
Burgum: Biden interfered with the capital makers. We’re subsidizing electric vehicles. Batteries from China.
Government shutdown:
Christie: Trump spent 7 trillion. Biden spent 5 trillion and counting.
Desantis: Biden & Trump are MIA.
Getting childcare spending reined in:
Scott: We must cut taxes to give people more of their own money.
Burgum interrupted, Perino cut him off.
Immigration:
Christie: Biden doesn’t enforce the law.
Ramaswamy: Children of illegals are not automatically citizens even if born on American soil.
Scott: Ramaswamy has ties to CCP.
DACA:
Pence: I reduced illegal immigration by 90%.
LGBTQ issues:
Ramaswamy: Children with gender confusion suffer mental illness
Burgum: It’s a states issue, not a federal issue. As a businessman, I worked with all stakeholders to make the schools top notch.
Pence: Federal ban on minors transitioning without parental permission
Google and China:
Desantis: These companies are monopolies. We have subcontracted out many of our needs to the CCP.
Christie: Job retraining. We can’t be afraid of innovation. Get the government out of the way of innovators.
TikTok:
Ramaswamy: Winning election requires reaching young people where they are.
Haley: Tiktok is dangerous. Every time I hear you (Ramaswamy) I feel a little bit dumber. We can’t trust you (Ramaswamy).
Ramaswamy invoked Reagan’s 11th Commandment.
Aide to Ukraine:
Desantis: It’s in our interest to end this war. Our own country is being invaded. Defend the American people. The people in DC don’t care about fentanyl deaths or
Scott: 90% of the money to Ukraine is a loan. Degrading the Russian military is in America’s national interest.
Ramaswamy: Just because Ukraine is evil doesn’t mean Ukraine is good.
Haley: A win for Russia is a win for China.
Christie: It’s all connected. China, Iran and North Korea are helping Russia. Bush, Obama, Trump and Biden all talked with Putin. They were all wrong. If we give Putin any of Ukraine, he will take Poland.
Protect farmers from China:
Burgum: Biden approach is appeasement. If we give Ukraine to Russia, we then give Taiwan to China.
How do we deal with Mexican cartels:
Haley: Mexico is not being a good partner because we lost 75,000 Americans. Special Ops. Go after China. We will end all normal trade relations with China until the fentanyl stops coming in. Trump was wrong to focus on trade with China rather than Chinese spying and drug trafficking.
What makes you prepared without executive experience?
Scott: On Armed Services Committee, Banking Committee, Finance Committee. I write the legislation that tackles these problems. We need the right intelligence partners.
Pence: I have the tested experience and the commitment to the conservative agenda. Populism is unmoored to conservative principles.
Gas prices without immediate drilling:
Ramaswamy: Get through the courts
Varney: That will take forever.
Ramaswamy: Fire Fed chairman and 75% of administrative state.
Pence: Open up federal lands. Reclaim energy independence.
Haley: Energy security is national security. Desantis is against fracking. He banned fracking and offshore drilling. He took green subsidies.
Desantis: Those accusations are false.
Student loan forgiveness:
Desantis: Colleges have to decide whether to expand gender studies or on what matters. I’d be the first president since 1988 who served in a war.
Why you over Haley, who appointed you?
Scott: I support a balanced budget amendment. Reducing debt requires growing economy. Energy sector. Revive factories. I wrote the tax cuts and jobs act that lowered corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%. Lowest black unemployment ever.
Haley: Scott has been there 12 years and not gotten it done.
Desantis: I am the only one who got in the big fights and delivered victories for the people of Florida. The Florida Democrat Party lays in ruins.
Ramaswamy: 0 based budgeting. That’s how businesses are run.
Burgum: The energy plans others talk about, we have already done in North Dakota. We are fighting the Biden administration on 20 fronts.
Why would you be able to string government:
Burgum: We shrunk government in North Dakota. Every government job has 10-20% of mind-numbing, soul-sucking work. People should be generating taxes, not paid by taxes.
How can you win over independent pro-choice voters?
Desantis: I did it in Florida. Pro-lifers are not why we lost in 2022. Trump was part of the problem. Hold Democrats accountable for supporting abortion until birth.
Christie: I did it in New Jersey. Other states don’t have leaders. I led. 14 times in 8 years, I vetoes Planned Parenthood funding. I believe in life but I believe in states rights. We need to be pro-life for an entire life, not just until a baby is born.
How will you reach out to Latinos?
Pence: We will build bridges to every community. I presided over the lowest unemployment ever for Latinos.
Scott: I have the only female Hispanic Chief of Staff in the Senate. Nikki raised the gas tax.
Haley: I fought against the gas tax.I agreed to it in exchange for triple reduction in the income tax.
Who gets voted off the Island?
Desantis: We are all worthy of being here.
How do we defeat Trump?
Desantis: Polls don’t elect presidents. Voters do. The GOP keeps losing. I won big in Florida.
Christie: I vote Donald Trump off the island right now. Everyone else showed up here. Trump divided our party, families and friends.
Ramaswamy: Trump was an excellent president but the America First agenda does not belong to any one man. It belongs to the people. MAGA is unapologetic support of American exceptionalism.
Quick thoughts:
The moderators did a good job. They kept the questions substantive and the debate moving along.
Desantis showed more optimism than in previous appearances. He showed a hopeful side while reminding everyone about his successful record.
Scott showed some fire. He may be tough enough for the job after all. He was willing to hit hard while maintaining a sunny disposition.
Pence is a serious adult, but he didn’t have any distinguishing moments in this debate. He is right to cite his experience, but did not have a breakout moment.
Christie branched out from attacking Trump to attacking George W. Bush as well.
Burgum deserves more airtime but he kept trying to speak out of turn. He offered substance, but his frustration was palpable. He may end up being Jim Gilmore but with good hair.
Ramaswamy is glib. He talks in a slick manner with polished talking points, but I still see more flash than substance. His worst moments are when he insists on surrendering Ukraine to Russia.
Haley is smart, tough and strong. On foreign policy, she is a serious adult who is right. She again tore apart isolationist sentiments.