Republican debate live: most candidates would support Trump as nominee as they spar over abortion and climate – live

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Tonight’s debate is not just being watched on televisions across the US: the venue itself, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has attracted an august audience of political heavyweights, surrogates, reporters, observers, strategists, advisers, pollsters … and Nigel Farage.

Earlier, in his role as a host on GB News – sort of a British equivalent to Fox News, the host of tonight’s debate – the former leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party (Ukip) and the Brexit Party offered a few thoughts.

One, with video of an interview with a Trump ally in the US House: “Congressman Byron Donalds is very impressive. One to watch.”

Another, in video of a conversation with a Trump adviser, Jason Miller: “Donald Trump sometimes will take your advice and other other times I’ve no doubt he’ll tell you your fortune, because that’s the way he is with people.”

Up to a point, Farage would know.

Our Andrew Anthony has some thoughts on Farage, and particularly the rumbling scandal over where he was allowed to have a bank account, which led to the resignation of the chief executive of NatWest:

Asked why he did not raise his hand when asked to do so if he will support Donald Trump as the party’s hypothetical nominee – even if he is convicted – former Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson said the Republican Party needed to take a look in the mirror.

“I did not raise my hand because there’s an important issue we as a party have to face,” Hutchinson said.

He continued:

Well over a year ago, I said that Donald Trump was morally disqualified from being president again as a result of what happened on January 6. More people are understanding the importance of that, including conservative legal scholars who says he may be disqualified under the 14th amendment from being president again, as a result of the insurrection. This is something that could disqualify him under our rules, and under the constitution. And so obviously, I’m not going to support somebody who’s been convicted of a serious felony, or who has (been disqualified) under our constitution, and that’s consistent with our RNC rules, and I hope everybody would agree with that.

Tim Scott turned a question about January 6 into an attack on the Department of Justice, claiming that the agency was being weaponized under attorney general Merrick Garland.

“We need lady justice to wear a blindfold,” he said, citing a figure that only 17% of Americans have confidence in the department. His comments come as House Republicans and others have made strategic attacks on the Justice Department as it continues to investigate January 6, Donald Trump and Hunter Biden.

Here’s the moment the Republican candidates were asked to raise their hands if they would support Donald Trump as the party’s nominee, even if he was convicted in one of the trials he is facing:

Donald Trump has told Tucker Carlson that he is concerned his opponents will try to kill him in a rambling interview packed with conspiracy theories from whether Jeffrey Epstein was murdered to accusations that federal agencies are limiting the amount of water in washing machines.

Carlson asked Trump whether he was concerned that “the left”, after impeaching and then indicting him, would try and kill him.

“They’re savage animals. They are people that are sick, really sick,” said Trump. “You have great people that are Democrats. Most of the people in our country are fantastic. And I’m representing everybody … But I’ve seen what they do.”

Trump took aim at his former attorney general Bill Barr. Carlson suggested to Trump that Barr had covered up the murder of the billionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in a New York jail.

The former president didn’t bite, saying he thought Epstein had probably killed himself but he took the opportunity to take a shot at Barr, accusing him of failing to properly investigate Trump’s false allegations that he 2020 election was rigged.

“Barr became so petrified, so frightened of being impeached,” he said. “They play a much rougher game, the left, the lunatics, and they were going to impeach Bill Barr and he was petrified.”

That said, the Republican party has made participating in this debate conditional on the candidates supporting the party’s eventual nominee.

That may be why Chris Christie raised his hand when asked if he would support Donald Trump, even if he is convicted. Asa Hutchinson did not raise his hand, tacitly violating that deal.

One of the more surprising candidates to raise their hands was Chris Christie, who from the start of the campaign has been a Donald Trump critic.

But, when asked to elaborate on why he would still support Trump, Christie made clear he was not happy to do it. “Someone’s got to stop normalizing this conduct, okay. Whether or not you believe that the criminal charges are right or wrong, the conduct is beneath the office of president of the United States.”

Almost all GOP candidates would support Trump as nominee, even if convicted

After a commercial break, the debate continued with the moderator Bret Baier asking the candidates to raise their hands if they would support Donald Trump as the party’s presidential nominee, even if he is convicted in one of the criminal cases he is facing.

All candidates raised their hands, with the exception of the former Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson.

The debate then turned to crime – an animating issue for American voters, but one that mayors and city councilmembers, not presidents and members of Congress, are best positioned to address.

Nonetheless, the Republican candidates weighed in on what they would do to tamp down on crime, which rose from historic lows nationwide after Covid-19 broke out in 2020.

Mike Pence took on the politics of crime question with the usual Republican line. He said Democrats were focused on defunding police instead of making major cities safer. “Democrats and liberal prosecutors continue to work out their fanciful agendas,” he said, and “what we need is strong commitment to law enforcement”. He then used the question as a reason to talk about tax cuts passed by the Trump administration.

Vivek Ramaswamy focused on worsening mental health, calling to bring back mental health institutions, and then parroted a new rightwing focus on attacking psychiatric medications. “It’s not just drugging up people in those psychiatric institutions with Zoloft and Serequil,” he said, adding “The reason we have that mental health epidemic is people are so hungry for purpose and meaning.” He said as president he would offer a “tonal reset”.

Ron DeSantis pointed to his record as Florida governor, saying crime was at a record low in the state, and then attacking progressive prosecutors for making communities elsewhere more dangerous. “One of the biggest reasons is because you have George Soros funding these radical leftwing district attorneys that get into office and they say they’re not going to prosecute crimes they disagree with. The inmates are running the asylum!”

GOP candidates split on federal abortion ban

Prompted for their thoughts on abortion, the Republican candidates differed over whether states should decide to restrict the procedure, or if they would push for a federal ban.

“What is going tor work in New York is never going to work in North Dakota and vice versa,” said Doug Burgum, who as governor of North Dakota signed a strict abortion ban.

The former UN ambassador Nikki Haley took a similar tack. “When it comes to a federal ban, let’s be honest with the American people ... let’s find consensus. Can’t we all agree we should ban late term abortions? … Let’s treat this like the respectful issue that it is.”

Ron DeSantis was vague, telling the story of “a lady in Florida named Penny. She survived multiple abortion attempts. She was left discarded in a pan. Fortunately, her grandmother saved her and brought her to a different hospital.”

“I’m gonna stand on the side of life. Look, I understand Wisconsin is going to do it different than Texas. I understand Iowa and New Hampshire are going to do different, but I will support the cause of life as governor and as president,” DeSantis said.

Mike Pence is one of the few candidates who from the start of his campaign called for a national ban, and repeated that tonight. “I’ve been a champion for life in Congress, a champion for life as governor and as vice-president,” he said. “It’s not a state’s only issue, it’s a moral issue to accomplish.”

Christie lays into Ramaswamy, saying he 'sounds like ChatGPT'

The former New Jersey governor Chris Christie is known for his sharp tongue, and on the debate stage he turned it loose on Vivek Ramaswamy.

He compared the first-time candidate, who is performing decently in the polls, to the former Democratic president Barack Obama – and not in a good way:

Responding to a video-recorded question from a young voter, the Republican candidates were asked to raise their hand if they believed humans were causing climate change.

It looked to be an awkward moment for the politicians, who belong to a party where many outright deny the scientific consensus that humans have caused the Earth’s temperature to increase. Then, the Florida governor, Ron DeSantis, came to the rescue, as you can see in the clip below:

Ramaswamy: 'drill, frack, burn coal and embrace nuclear'

Fox News’s two debate moderators, Martha MacCallum and Bret Baier, kicked off with questions about how the Republican candidates will improve the economy, which provoked a spat between the former vice-president Mike Pence and Vivek Ramaswamy, an entrepreneur who has never held elected office.

“You’ve got people on this stage that won’t even talk about issues like social security and Medicare,” Pence said, then singled out Ramaswamy. “Vivek, you recently said, a president can’t do everything. Well, I’ve got news for you, Vivek, I’ve been in the hallway, I’ve been in the West Wing and the president of the United States has to confront every crisis facing America.”

“This isn’t that complicated guys. Unlock American energy, drill, frack, burn coal and embrace nuclear,” Ramaswamy responded, as he embarked on a recitation of his economic policies. “I’m not sure I exactly understood Mike Pence’s comment … but for me, it’s pretty simple. That’s something that US president can do,” he said.

But the spat was not over. Pence went after Ramaswamy again: “Joe Biden has weakened this country at home and abroad. Now is not the time for on the job training. We don’t need to bring in a rookie.”

Alice Herman

Ahead of the debate, Democratic leaders used the event as an opportunity to remind voters of the Republican Party’s rightward shift since Donald Trump’s time in the White House.

At a press conference this afternoon, Democratic National Committee chair Jaime Harrison described the Republican primary as “a race to the bottom,” and as the candidates descended on Milwaukee, a plane circled downtown, trailing a sign reading “GOP 2024: A race for the extreme Maga base.”

“We’re really hoping to use this as an opportunity to highlight the Maga extremism we’re gonna see on the debate stage tonight,” Joe Oslund, a spokesperson for the Wisconsin Democratic Party, told the Guardian.

A fundraiser for the state party that launched today garnered more than $20,000 by 8.30pm ET.

Given Wisconsin’s status as a key battleground state, the RNC chose Milwaukee as the site of the first debate and will return for its nominating convention next July.

In 2016, Trump won the state by more than 22,000 votes and in 2020, Joe Biden defeated him by a similarly narrow margin. In an appeal for donations, the Wisconsin Democratic party chair, Ben Wikler, described the state as “the home of the political nailbiter.”

At the Republican debate, the first question of the night was about Rich Men North of Richmond. If you are wondering who they are, the Guardian’s Matthew Cantor has the answer:

In Rich Men North of Richmond, Oliver Anthony, a bushy-bearded former North Carolina factory worker, sings passionately about working hard for “bullshit pay”.

Armed with just a guitar and his powerful voice, he identifies the source of the problem: “rich men north of Richmond” – federal politicians – who “want to have total control”. The song laments homelessness – “folks in the street ain’t got nothin’ to eat” – and a national suicide crisis: “Young men are putting themselves six feet in the ground / ’Cause all this damn country does is keep on kicking them down.”

So far, so resonant: the song has collected more than 12m views on YouTube alone, and on Tuesday afternoon, it sat at No 3 on Spotify’s Top 50 – USA list.

But things start to feel a little less empathetic when Anthony starts complaining about “the obese milking welfare”, reasoning that “if you’re 5-foot-3 and you’re 300 pounds / Taxes ought not to pay for your bags of fudge rounds”. We can all agree that politicians have caused many of America’s problems; it’s harder to argue that our country is being destroyed by short, overweight chocolate enthusiasts. He also rails against taxation, which he says means “your dollar ain’t shit”.

Trump interview with Tucker Carlson starts airing five minutes before GOP debate

The former Fox News host Tucker Carlson launched his interview with Donald Trump five minutes before the first Republican primary debate was to begin in Milwaukee in an attempt to sabotage both the former president’s rivals in the 2024 election and their host, Carlson’s former employer, Fox News.

Carlson opened the 46 minute interview with a question about why Trump wasn’t at the Milwaukee debate.

“You see the polls that have come out and I’m leading by 50 and 60 points and some of them are at one and zero and two. And I’m saying do I sit there for an hour or two hours or whatever it’s going to be and get harassed by people who shouldn’t even be running for president?” he said.

“I just felt it would be more appropriate not to do the debate.”

It was perhaps remarkable that the conversation was taking place at all. Just five months ago it was revealed that Carlson said of Trump in a text message: “I hate him passionately.”

“We are very, very close to being able to ignore Trump most nights,” The then Fox News anchor said in a message to a colleague in early January 2021 as the former president continued a futile battle to remain in office. “I truly can’t wait.”

But the two men set aside their differences to jointly take on their respective enemies – Fox and the rest of the Republican primary field.

First Republican debate begins

The first debate of the 2024 Republican presidential primary has kicked off in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Follow along here as we cover it live.