Fact-Checking Claims Made During the 2nd 2024 GOP Presidential Debate
Summary from the AllSides News Team
The seven Republicans on stage for the second 2024 GOP presidential primary debate drew the attention of fact-checkers with claims about President Joe Biden, top issues, and their own records.
Florida Education: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was asked about his position and new Florida education standards that say "slaves develop skills in spite of slavery, not because of it." He called that a "hoax that was perpetrated by Kamala Harris," and said "we are not going to be doing that." There's no evidence that the standards have been changed to remove that line.
Ramaswamy's Businesses: Vivek Ramaswamy took heat from other candidates about his businesses' ties to China. One of his firms, Roivant Sciences, opened a biotech company in China in 2018, which was owned by a private equity group tied to the Chinese Communist Party. Ramaswamy stepped down from Roivant in February.
Trump's Border Wall: Chris Christie said Trump only built "52 miles of wall" along the U.S.-Mexico border. That number represents construction under Trump where no barrier or wall existed before. During Trump's tenure, another 373 miles of outdated primary and secondary fencing were also replaced.
Haley's Curtains: Sen. Tim Scott (SC) accused fellow South Carolinian Nikki Haley of spending $50,000 of government money on curtains when she was the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Haley said the Obama administration bought the curtains, and she's correct.
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Among the many claims made at the second Republican presidential primary debate was that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis had banned fracking in his home state when he first came to office in 2018.
"Energy security is national security," former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley told the audience in the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, on Wednesday. "What you don't need is a president who is against energy independence. Ron DeSantis is against fracking, he's against drilling."
Amid cries of "that is not true" from the accused hopeful, the former Trump administration envoy claimed:...
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The candidates argued about fracking, border fencing, curtains and more:
Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley accused Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis of banning fracking and offshore drilling in his state. While DeSantis has supported such bans, he hasn’t actually implemented them.
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Vice President Mike Pence seemed to contradict each other on the amount of border fence constructed during the Trump administration. But Christie’s figure of 52 miles represents new fencing where there was none before, while Pence’s claim of...
From the Right
Republican debate: Fact-checking claims made by candidates in second GOP matchup
GOP presidential hopefuls clashed in the second primary debate on Wednesday in occasionally bitter exchanges on the economy, foreign policy, and immigration.
With front-runner Donald Trump absent from the stage, the Republican rivals aimed most of their fire at each other. Businessman Vivek Ramaswamy absorbed many of the blows.
The candidates occasionally relied on misleading arguments to press their points, while others accurately cited their records.
Here is a fact check of the debate.
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