SIMI VALLEY, Calif. (AP) — Donald Trump’s rivals attacked him repeatedly during the second presidential debate on Wednesday, tearing him apart. the previous president for skipping the event because they were looking to dent their leading early in the Republican primaries.
“He should be on this stage tonight,” said Florida Governor Ron. DeSantisthat is trying to establish itself as the main alternative to Trump despite the recent fights to get out of the rest of the back. “They must defend their record, where they added 7.8 trillion dollars to the debt. “That set the stage for the inflation we have now.”
Seven Republican candidates faced off at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California for an event hosted by Fox Business Network. Trump was in Michigangiving a prime-time speech that continued until the start of the debate, attempting capitalize about him Auto Workers Union strike and try to appeal to rank-and-file union members in a key state that could help decide the general election.
The debate comes at a critical moment in the Republican campaign, with less than four months until the Iowa caucuses formally launch the presidential nominating process. Trump has continued to dominate the field, even as he faces a number of vulnerabilities, including four criminal charges that raise the possibility of spending decades in prison.
Those on stage criticized Trump for not showing up. DeSantis said just a few minutes into that President Joe Biden was “completely absent in action from the leadership. And do you know who else is missing in action? “Donald Trump is missing in action.”
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who has built his campaign around criticism of Trump, said the former president “is hiding behind the walls of his golf clubs and won’t show up here to answer questions like the rest of us.” “We are here to do.” answer.”
Trump, meanwhile, made only a passing mention of the debate during his speech, drawing boos when he said, “We’re competing with candidates for office” and mocking them for not drawing crowds as large as his. The former president’s competitors are running out of time to reduce his lead, increasing a sense of urgency among some to confront him more directly before an audience of millions.
It may be a difficult task. Even hours before the event began in Simi Valley, about 40 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles, the first group of supporters of either campaign to arrive waved Trump flags and put up a banner that read “Trump, Our Last Hope.” for the United States and the world. ”
That underscored the former president’s continuing influence in a debate he will not attend. Trump also skipped the first debate last month in Milwaukee, where participants criticized each other and mostly avoided attacking Trump. That was not the case this time.
“Donald, I know you’re watching. “You can’t help it,” Christie said. “You are avoiding these things. And let me tell you what’s going to happen. If you keep doing that, no one here will call you Donald Trump again. We’ll call you Donald Duck.”
Former Vice President Mike Pence called Trump “my former running mate.”
nikki haleyformer governor of South Carolina and United Nations ambassador, attracted larger crowds and new interest after their first debate, and spoke at length about the Biden administration’s failure to secure the US-Mexico border during the second.
After going on the offensive during the first debate, the businessman Vivek Ramaswamy He took a softer stance early in the second, talking about his upbringing while the candidates talked about the UAW strike.
“My father watched the layoffs at GE during Jack Welch’s tenure at the GE plant in Evendale, Ohio. My mom had to work overtime in nursing homes in southwest Ohio to make ends meet and pay our home loan. So I understand that difficulties are not an option. But victimhood is a choice.”
But he was harshly criticized by the South Carolina senator. Tim Scottcausing an exchange in which the two talked over each other and became difficult to understand.
DeSantis also criticized Ramaswamy and also Pence, suggesting that he had not voted in many previous elections. Governor of North Dakota. David Burgum He stayed away from Ramaswamy but intervened repeatedly to answer questions he was not asked to get more screen time early in the debate.
Another Trump critic, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, failed to qualify after the first debate. He also addressed the Detroit suburbs and said: “Donald Trump is here in Detroit tonight because he wants to avoid a debate.”
Wednesday’s siege was symbolic given that Reagan has long been a Republican icon whose key words and moments still shape Republican politics today. But in addition to feuding with Reagan library leaders, Trump has reshaped the party away from Reagan.
Biden was on the Northern California coast to raise funds. His reelection campaign has held several days of counterprogramming in California, seeking to label Trump and followers of his Make America Great Again movement as too extreme. The state’s Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, is a public face of Biden’s reelection campaign and called the debate little more than entertainment for political junkies, given Trump’s considerable lead in the primary.
“This is a sideshow, by any objective measure,” Newsom told The Associated Press. “You have a guy who is the de facto starter.”
The debate, Newsom added, is “JV, XFL stuff.”
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Weissert reported from Washington.