DeSantis is nothing if not an Iran hawk. Comes down hard on the need to respond to Iran.
Christie’s point about Trump’s absence was both correct and, alas, underscored the meaninglessness of this entire affair. It was a weirdly deflating point for him to make, because while true it doesn’t provide a rationale for his candidacy.
Cheap shot for Haley to blame DeSantis for a proposal by a FL state legislator that DeSantis essentially forced off the road.
Chris Christie scores a very solid point, knocking the other three on stage for treating Trump “like Voldemort, he who must not be named.” But Christie is arguing against the political reality, that Republican-leaning voters overwhelmingly like Donald Trump.
Christie: “I’m usually not someone who gets missed.” For all his flaws, well-documented as they are, and for as pointless and counterproductive as his candidacy is, I love Christie as a debater.
Nikki Haley, on banning anonymous social media accounts, is again lying about her past statements, claiming she never called for what she called for, when she actually said, in the context of her Day One actions, “Every person on social media should be verified by their name. It’s a national security threat.” If she doesn’t believe the things she says, she should stop saying them.
“THIS SECTION IS OVER!” – the cry of a frustrated moderator.
I don’t love how DeSantis pronounced “pew-biulus”
Fifteen minutes in, we hear the first brief comments from Chris Christie. Haley jokingly thanks all the “fellas” for the attention, which is a demonstration that she’s risen in the polls enough to be worth criticizing. I wasn’t expecting a de facto Ramaswamy-DeSantis alliance, but both of them want to portray her as the candidate of big government and the end of anonymity in Internet commenting.
“The only person more fascist than the government is Nikki Haley” – Ramaswamy is just going so maximalist in his attacks that it takes the force from them. Hyperbole just makes him sound like a kid playing around trying on dad’s clothes to feel “adult.”
The hits on Haley are having an effect, however.