Analysis | Invade Mexico and Five Other Insights From the GOP Debate (2023)

All but two of the eight Republican presidential candidates raised their hands during last night's debate to pledge to support the former president.Donald Trump“according to the choice of your party”even if he is convicted of crimes. former governorsChris ChristieEmAsa Hutchinsonno.

The former president faces four charges, including allegations that he illegally tried to annulPresident BidenTrump's victory, a months-long campaign that culminated in hundreds of his supporters looting the Capitol and interrupting the peaceful transition of power.

That's just one of the big moments in the Fox News-hosted debate that Trump skipped:a demolition derby of a debatethis will convince more than zero people who think voters learn most from in-depth interviews with individual candidates.

Here are five more.

You, co-moderator Martha MacCallum, could you ask DeSantis:support for deploying US Special Forcesacross the southern border to eliminate cartels that produce fentanyl, a synthetic opioid considered the leading killer of Americans ages 18 to 49.

"Yes," he answered confidently. “And I will do it on the first day.”

“Would I use force? Would I treat them like foreign terrorist organizations? You're right, I would," he continued.

This is an act of war without Mexico's consentagainst America's southern neighbor and largest trading partner, on whose cooperation the United States depends to stop illegal immigration.

In an interview withfox newsSean Hannity, DeSantis made it clear he wasn't mistaken:

“When I talk about using the military to crack down on drug cartels, because they are killing tens of thousands of our citizens, we have every right to do so.I will do this. I don't just go to the office and say 'forget it'," he said.

haley hadthe first direct criticism of Trump that night: “Donald Trump added $8 trillion to our debt!”

But the most persistent attacks have come – predictably – from Christie, who has delivered several rants against the former president.

“Someone needs to stop normalizing this behavior. OK? Whether or not you believe the criminal charges are right or wrong, the conduct is beneath the office of President of the United States," said the former New Jersey governor, drawing boos from the audience.

“That's great in this country,” he said. “Mockery is allowed, but it does not change the truth. It doesn't change the truth."

Ramaswamy, who we will talk about later in this column, introduced the debatehis most tribal defense of Trump- in response to Christie.

“Se as pessoas em casa quiserem ver um grupo de pessoas atacando cegamente Donald Trump sem um pingo de visão para este país, elas podem mudar o canal para MSNBC agora mesmo. Mas não estou concorrendo à presidência da MSNBC”, disse Ramaswamy. “Estou concorrendo à presidência dos Estados Unidos.”

Or audition for a job in the Trump administration. But there it was: criticism of Trump narrowed down to pundits from cable network The Other Side.

We let the Republican primaries decide who had a good or bad night. But on several occasions, the nominee, once considered Trump's biggest rival, has tried to dodge – or even derail – an issue.

It all started with a “raise your hand” question: Do you believe human activities cause climate change?

DeSantis interjected, “Look, we're not college kids. Let's have the debate." He kept his hand down, but didn't answer the question directly.

What would you say to supporters who say a national abortion ban is a political loser?

DeSantis lashed out at Democrats but did not respond to the question.

After six weeks, would you sign a national abortion ban like you signed in Florida?

Wisconsin will do this differently than Texas. I understand that Iowa and New Hampshire will do things differently. But I will support the cause of life as governor and as president," he said.

No direct response to the six-week ban.

Ramaswamy, who sounded like a double-speed right-wing TED Talk, was criticized almost as much as Biden – Christie derided him as “the same kind of amateur” as the former president.Barack Obamaand said "it looks like GPT Chat".

On Wednesday, he was the only one to say he would cut aid to Ukraine, said he would forgive Trump and unsuccessfully asked for a penny to do so, called climate change a "hoax", clashed with Christie and haley, andgenerally seemed to be seeking the spotlight.

If it worked, we leave it to the primary voters of the Republican Party.

“The alleged death of the important leader of the Wagner Russo Group has not only cast serious doubt on the future of the mercenaries, but alsoit also strengthened President Vladimir Putin's hand after Wagner's brief rebellion in June left him looking weak and paralyzed.”,Reporting by Robyn Dixon, Catherine Belton, Mary Ilyushina and Francesca Ebel.

“The US has decided to extend the one-year exemptionenabling South Korean and Taiwanese chip makers to continue bringing advanced semiconductor technology and related equipment to China”,Nikkeis'Rintaro Tobita relatou.

"To look forpublished wednesdayshows that teacher shortages are getting worse in several states and that this was not a pandemic anomaly. Instead of,appears to be part of a worrying trend: teachers are leaving the classroom more quickly and the number of applicants is not large enough to replace them.”,Moriah Balingit fundido.

"The passenger listincluded Evgeny Prigozhin, the head of Russia's Wagner mercenary group, which led a short but dramatic uprising against the Kremlin this year.It has not been confirmed whether Prigozhin was on the plane.”,Report by Andrew Jeong, Bryan Pietsch and Adela Suliman.

“Annual inflation has already dropped from over 9% in 2022 to around 3%, raising hopes that the US will avoid a recession. But even if the outlook is better than many economists expected,[Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell] and other Fed policy makers are not ready to conclude that prices will continue to cool.”,Policy', Reported Guia Victoria.

“The prevalence of the decade-old symbol of unity and equality is probably part of the reason for Friday.fatal shooting of a California businessman, allegedly for displaying a Pride flag in his store,was met with an overwhelming shock, as well as an outpouring of condolence from LGBTQ advocates, politicians and celebrities across the country.”news from nbc', reported Matt Lavietes.

“The Biden administration is expected to announce the first ten prescription drugs selected for Medicare price talks early next week.Ahead of an event at the White House on Tuesday to commemorate the milestone, four people involved in the plans told POLITICO:PolicyReport by David Lim and Adam Cancryn.

“The Biden administration policy that has allowed thousands of people from Latin America and the Caribbean to temporarily live and work in the US isit went to court on Thursday when a group of Republican states challenged its legality.”news from nbc', reported Daniella Silva..

“The lucrative new tax breaks and other incentives for advanced manufacturing that President Biden signed into law appear to be reshaping foreign direct investment in the US economy, concluded a White House analysis.with a much larger share of spending on new and expanded firms shifting to the manufacturing sector”,ofNew York Times', relates Jim Tankersley.

“Businessman Vivek Ramaswamy is not the favorite for the Republican nomination,but he emerged as a consistent target of attacks from more senior politicians during the first Republican debate on Wednesday night.”,Report by Nick Mourtoupalas, Hanna Zakharenko and Hannah Dormido.

“After delving into conspiracy theories about the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol,Some supporters of former President Donald Trump are concerned that Trump is holding a rally outside the Fulton County Jail in Georgia ahead of his own arrest.expected surrendernointerference in state electionsit's an FBI setup”,news from nbc', relata Ryan J. Reilly.

Biden is located on Lake Tahoe. There's nothing on your public agenda.

Thanks for reading. See you tomorrow.