Highlights from the first Republican primary debate:
- Businessman Vivek Ramaswamy — who called the climate change agenda a “hoax” — took the most heat, especially from former Vice President Mike Pence, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who called him “a guy who sounds like ChatGPT.”
- Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was seen as a likely target but managed to largely remain out of the fray. He sustained little criticism from his fellow candidates.
- Here are some other key takeaways from the debate.
- Former President Donald Trump, easily the front-runner in this primary race, skipped the debate — he instead taped an interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson. He was surprisingly ignored during the first 45 minutes, then was largely handled in a single question about his indictments.
- Eight candidates participated in the first Republican presidential primary debate: North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, Christie, DeSantis, Haley, Pence and Ramaswamy.