Candidates Trade Insults, Accusations in Fourth Republican Primary Debate

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.”