Candidates Trade Insults, Accusations in Fourth Republican Primary Debate
Summary from the AllSides News Team
The fourth Republican debate Wednesday night again did not feature the frontrunner but contained no shortage of heated exchanges.
State of the Race: Frontrunner and former President Donald Trump again declined to participate. Trump is polling just shy of 60%, while the four candidates that participated in the debate Wednesday have a total combined polling average of roughly 30%. Earlier this week, North Dakota Governor Doug Bergum dropped out of the race.
Details: Ramaswamy claimed the January 6 Capitol riot was an “inside job” and called Haley “corrupt” and “more fascist than the Biden regime.” Christie called Ramaswamy “the most obnoxious blowhard in America” and accused the other candidates of being afraid to mention Trump. DeSantis criticized Haley’s record, stating she “caves anytime the left comes after [her].” Haley dismissed these criticisms, adding, “in terms of these donors that are supporting me, they’re just jealous, they wish that they were supporting them.”
How the Media Covered It: The debate’s heated moments and name-calling caught the majority of headlines. Ramaswamy’s comments regarding January 6 were a large focus of left-rated coverage, with The Daily Beast (Left bias) stating he “endorsed several popular conspiracy theories in rapid succession” and HuffPost (Left bias) stating he “falsely suggested” the attack was orchestrated by federal agents, deeming the idea a “pervasive conspiracy theory on the far right.” Right-rated outlets focused especially on Christie’s “blowhard” comment directed at Ramaswamy. A Washington Times (Lean Right bias) article also deemed those present at the debate “second-tier candidates.”
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Left
Vivek Ramaswamy Falsely Claims Jan. 6 Attack Was 'An Inside Job'Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy falsely suggested Wednesday that the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol by hundreds of Donald Trump supporters was somehow orchestrated by federal agents, echoing a pervasive conspiracy theory on the far right.
“Why am I the only person on this stage at least who can say that Jan. 6 now does look like it was an inside job?” Ramaswamy asked at the GOP presidential debate in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
The claim from the conspiracy-curious candidate drew no pushback from the debate moderators or his fellow presidential...
From the Center
Christie slams Ramaswamy: ‘Most obnoxious blowhard in America’Chris Christie got into a fiery exchange with Vivek Ramaswamy during Wednesday night’s fourth GOP debate, calling out the entrepreneur and fellow White House contender for repeatedly interrupting and blasting him for his attacks against fellow candidate Nikki Haley.
“This is the fourth debate that you would be voted in the first 20 minutes as the most obnoxious blowhard in America. So shut up for a little while,” Christie said during the event, hosted by The Hill’s sister news organization NewsNation.
The former New Jersey governor had offered a summary...
From the Right
Republicans quickly dogpile on Nikki Haley in fourth debateRepublican presidential aspirants onstage wasted no time dogpiling on Nikki Haley soon after the fourth debate commenced.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis came out swinging against Nikki Haley, claiming she isn’t a strong fighter for Republicans.
“You’ve got to be willing to stand strong and you’ve got to be willing to beat these people,” DeSantis began.
“You have other candidates up here like Nikki Haley. She caves anytime the left comes after [her].”
DeSantis cited legislation in Florida about transgenderism that he described as restricting the “gender mutilation of minors” and...
AllSides Picks
May 17th, 2024
May 15th, 2024
May 16th, 2024