Highlights from the fourth GOP presidential debate

The fireworks were back as four Republican candidates vying to emerge as the party’s top alternative to Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential primary met Wednesday night for their fourth debate.

Amid the smallest debate field so far and facing mounting pressure with Iowa’s caucuses less than six weeks away, the candidates were able to showcase their policy beliefs and explore major differences. There were also a series of memorable personal shots.

What their clash in Alabama, hosted by NewsNation, made plain is that all of the candidates onstage believe they must first be seen as the GOP’s lone alternative to the former president before making a more focused case against him.

Here are some of the key takeaways from the debate:

Attacks against Haley: The clearest sign of former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley's rise in the race? Her opponents made her the center of attention during much of the first hour of the debate.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis waited all of 30 seconds into his first answer before he took aim at Haley, pulling her into a dispute over which bathrooms transgender people should be able to use. And in his first response, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy continued where he left off at the third debate, targeting Haley for her time serving on the board of Boeing, a company that has a major manufacturing facility in the state she once governed.

At several points, DeSantis and Ramaswamy teamed up to pile on criticisms, zeroing in on the support she has received of late from some donors like LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, a Democratic donor who sent $250,000 to a super PAC supporting her, and the interest coming her way from the likes of BlackRock CEO Larry Fink.

Haley, who also recently received the backing of the conservative group Americans for Prosperity, said she welcomed help wherever it may come from but wouldn’t let it dictate her policies. And she said her competitors would take the money too if it was offered.

"He who should not be named": After watching his three rivals squabble for the debate’s first 17 minutes, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie tried to reframe the debate with a reminder: Trump is currently vastly outpacing all of them in the polls.

Christie suggested that other candidates are avoiding taking on Trump directly because they don’t want to hobble their own chances of becoming his vice presidential nominee, or their 2028 presidential prospects.

Perhaps most telling about the state of the GOP primary race was the reaction to Christie’s comments. Questions asked of his rivals in the debate’s opening moments had elicited fierce, and sometimes personal, back-and-forth exchanges. Christie’s comments, though, were met by his rivals with silence.

Christie gets his groove back: For months, Christie has struggled to recreate the magic of the 2016 presidential primary debate season, when he skewered Florida Sen. Marco Rubio over repeating a debate one-liner. Though Christie didn’t make it far in that primary, Rubio struggled to overcome the perception that he was robotic.

In Tuscaloosa, the former New Jersey governor tried to portray his opponents as immature, annoying and not ready for the job. It may not help him win the nomination, but he isn’t making it easier for the rest of the field — particularly DeSantis and Ramaswamy — either.

Christie attempted to paint DeSantis as unwilling to answer basic questions. When DeSantis was asked if as president he would send US troops to Gaza to rescue American hostages held by Hamas, Christie jumped in.

“When you’re president of the United States, you’re not gonna have a choice whether to answer that question or not,” he said.

Later in the debate, DeSantis was asked if he thought Trump was fit for office. He responded, saying that “Father Time is undefeated.” Christie doubled down.

Keep reading the takeaways from the debate here.

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie on Thursday said he defended former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley against Republican hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy during Wednesday night's debate out of "basic decency."

"I disagree with Nikki on a lot of things. I don't think she's strong enough to take on Donald Trump. I think she's absolutely avoiding doing it," he said. "So I have plenty of problems with Nikki, but her basic intelligence isn't one of them."

Christie called Ramaswamy "a misogynist" for the rhetoric the entrepreneur aimed Haley.

Christie said while he doesn't believe Haley should be president of the United States, she does deserve credit for the accomplishments in her career.

The former New Jersey governor also said Ramaswamy was "like a drunk driver on the debate stage. He doesn't belong there."

Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy defended his stance against providing additional aid to Ukraine in a tense Fox News interview on Thursday that devolved into name-calling and tempers flaring.

Ramaswamy appeared on “Fox & Friends” on Thursday morning from a restaurant in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, the site of Wednesday night’s fourth Republican primary debate, where Ramaswamy reiterated his ideological disagreements with former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and touted his vision for a successful campaign.

After Fox host Lawrence Jones wrapped the interview, Fox's Brian Kilmeade interjected and asked if Ramaswamy could rejoin so he could follow up with his own questions. Once he did, Kilmeade grilled Ramaswamy on his Ukraine stance and the consequences of his position. 

“Are you comfortable with Russia taking as much of Ukraine as they want? Are you comfortable pulling all our aid out?” he asked.

“I think we have to be play hardball there and making a hard deal that requires any reneging on that deal to have major consequences,” Ramaswamy said.

When pressed on how he would implement “major consequences” as president, noting the US has already imposed severe sanctions on Russia, Ramaswamy said he would implement a “maximum pressure campaign” without detailing what that entails. 

“I think it is not in our interest to strengthen the Russia-China alliance, and I think our policy right now is driving Russia further into China's arms," he said.

When asked if he was “comfortable with giving up Eastern Europe” to Russia, suggesting other nations near Russia like Moldova and Georgia could be in jeopardy without NATO protection, Ramaswamy again ignored the question and instead criticized the US funding of Ukraine’s war effort and lack of oversight over how that funding is used. 

“We have no idea how Ukraine has spent $200 billion of our money, we’re forking over more taxpayer money so some Ukrainian kleptocrat can buy a bigger house,” Ramaswamy said.

Kilmeade then labeled Ramaswamy “so naïve” for his deferential position toward Russia, which he said would allow the US to “give up Ukraine.” Ramaswamy pushed back on the comment while reiterating his attacks on the media for what he perceives as biased coverage in favor of former South Carolina Gov. Haley.

“If I called Nikki Haley naive, you guys would be having a conniption, let's be honest about that. But you want to call me naïve, I actually understand what the heck I'm talking about here,” Ramaswamy said. “Nixon did this in ’72, we can actually split up the Russia-China alliance.” 

We tracked how long each candidate spoke at the fourth Republican primary presidential debate in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on Wednesday night.

Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis clocked in the most time at the mic, with both candidates speaking more than 20 minutes.

See who spoke the most — and the least:

Iowa will kick off the 2024 Republican presidential nominating process early next year with its caucuses on January 15.

It’s a tradition that has turned the Hawkeye State into the focal point of many GOP campaigns and positioned its voters to have a crucial role in determining the party’s nominee.

Iowa’s role as the first state in the presidential nominating process dates to the 1970s. In 1972, it was the first state to hold its Democratic caucus — and it moved to the front of the Republican line four years later in 1976.

The lead-up to the Iowa caucuses has historically been seen as a test of campaigns’ organizational strength. And its winner typically leaves Iowa with a jolt of momentum in the national polls as the race then shifts to New Hampshire for the Granite State’s primary (which will be held on January 23).

Iowa is one of the few remaining states to eschew primaries in favor of choosing parties’ nominees in caucuses — election-night gatherings at which voters discuss the candidates and cast their ballots in person.

Caucuses, unlike primaries, are run by political parties, and are held in venues such as fire stations, churches and schools.

In Democratic caucuses in Iowa, caucus goers separate into groups to indicate their candidate preferences and the support of at least 15% of attendees is necessary for the candidate to be considered viable and be awarded delegates. However, in Republican caucuses, attendees cast paper ballots, which are then counted in person. Delegates are awarded based on the results.

As far as the national momentum-building role of the Iowa caucuses, those election night results are conclusive. But the official process continues: Delegates selected on election night in the months ahead attend county, district and state conventions, where they are narrowed and delegates for the national convention are chosen.

The Iowa caucuses are important, but not necessarily decisive. In 2016, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz finished first, narrowly ahead of then-businessman Donald Trump and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio. Trump would seize the GOP’s nomination in the weeks and months that followed.

Read more about the Iowa caucuses.

So will it make any difference?

The immediate aftermath of a debate is actually not a good time to judge it. What matters is how voters process the action in the coming days, which clips go viral on social media and whether any candidate can use it as a springboard to grow. 

But some things are clear:

The Alabama debate had more substance than the three showdowns that preceded it and focused on issues that matter to a lot of conservative voters.

The heat of the exchanges showed that all candidates realize that a crucial moment is upon them with the caucuses just over a month away.

Former South Carolina Gov Nikki Haley didn’t stumble but she didn’t dominate the evening as she did the last couple of debates and had was a huge target for her rivals. But her trajectory is upwards in the polls and there’s no reason to think she slowed herself down. 

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis came looking for a fight and got it, with Haley and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie especially. He tried to reclaim the mantle of the can do candidate who’d get far more accomplished than ex-President Donald Trump in the Oval Office. But the more you see some candidates, the more they look scripted. Twice for instance, in a few moments in an answer about former President Donald Trump’s age, DeSantis said “Father time is undefeated.”

Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy drove home his bid for the conspiracy wing of the GOP and appeared to revel in his role as the most obnoxious candidate on stage. As Trump’s big defender, he seems to be angling for voters who are already accounted for. But he might be a pick for the next GOP cabinet, a conservative media show or a future presidential race.

A decade ago, Christie carved out a brand as a call-a-spade-a-spade tough-talking-bruiser willing to say things that no one else would. But Trump came along and stole his schtick. After the GOP raced passed him in its plunge to the extreme right, Christie now sounds like the most sensible, civil, establishment elder in the race. Those however are qualities that don’t have much appeal in the modern GOP.

Christie got one thing right though, when he lambasted his colleagues for giving Trump a pass a day after the absent ex-president refused to rule out ruling as a dictator.

“They are afraid to offend. You have to be willing to offend with the truth,” Christie said.

The great riddle of how to bring down Trump – a distant front-runner in the GOP race remains unsolved after the Alabama debate.

And time is fast running out.

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley told Megyn Kelly she expected to be the target of attacks from fellow candidates on the debate stage in Tuscaloosa, and even appreciated it, saying it means she's winning.

“It was fine,” Haley said. “We knew that they were all going to start to kind of hit, but I appreciate that. That means we're winning.”

“They're fighting to go up, but we're continuing our momentum. We're gonna continue to do well. We're second in Iowa, second in New Hampshire, second in South Carolina. We got one more guy to catch up to, and that's what we're working on,” Haley said on Sirius XM’s “The Megyn Kelly Show” spin room special.

Kelly questioned if Haley’s argument that GOP rivals are “jealous” of her support from wealthy donors is one that will resonate with the current Republican electorate. 

Haley said it’s “sour grapes” for DeSantis, claiming she’s earned the backing of donors who previously supported him and specifically singled him out for criticizing the influential network associated with Charles Koch after she earned their national endorsement.

“The Americans for Prosperity: That's the most conservative grassroots network in the country, and he was hitting it saying that they weren't great a couple of days ago. Well, he fought just as hard to get that. He took that endorsement from them,” Haley said. 

DeSantis earned AFP’s endorsement in Florida during his 2022 reelection campaign, which was noted in the official memo that went out last week. 

Haley rolled her eyes at the thought that companies like BlackRock and those that “invest in left-wing causes” would have influence over her policy decisions just because they support her. 

“They know I'm completely against all the woke ideology, all the woke culture. I've been on record saying that. I will continue to say that companies need to focus on making money and they need to stay out of politics, period,” Haley said. 

The Republican presidential candidates are all vying to take on President Joe Biden in November 2024. But first, they’re competing in the GOP primaries and caucuses, which begin in January, to emerge as the party’s nominee.

The first event of the Republican primary calendar, the Iowa caucuses, will provide an initial moment of truth for former President Donald Trump’s bid and could help Republicans tired of Trump decide which of his challengers to rally behind.

The new Democratic presidential primary calendar upends decades of tradition in which Iowa and New Hampshire were the first two states to hold nominating contests and moves up South Carolina, Nevada, Georgia and Michigan. President Joe Biden has argued the new nominating order would better reflect the diversity of the nation and the Democratic Party.

Here's a look at key dates in the primary race coming up in the first few months of the year:

January:

February:

March:

Access the full 2024 election calendar.

According to a group of Republican voters from Iowa, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley won Wednesday night's fourth GOP presidential debate of the 2024 cycle.

Six out of eight voters told CNN that they believed Haley was victorious in the debate, while one said Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was the winner. Another said former President Donald Trump — who did not attend Wednesday's debate — won. And none of the voters claimed entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy or former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie as the victor.

Voters mobilized around Haley's ability to respond to attacks from her fellow candidates on the debate stage.

"The debates started with them coming after her. I think she handled it really well," one voter told CNN's Gary Tuchman of Haley. CNN has held a panel with this group of eight voters for each of the four GOP debates. This is the second time Haley has won in this panel of voters.

"She had to dodge a lot of bullets tonight," one voter said of the former US ambassador to the United Nations under Trump. "She stood up to each one of them.

"I think people shoot arrows at the people that are winning. I think she's winning," another said of Haley.

"I think that every that hit she took, she had a response back," another voter added.

"Everyone was after her tonight in the debate. I think she handled that with grace and charisma and was the most level-headed," a fifth voter said.

And the sixth who said she won agreed, saying "she weathered the storm."

The person who gave the win to DeSantis for Wednesday's debate said his experience and "record of winning" is what earned him the title. And the voter who chose Trump said he did so because the former president did not attend the "chaotic" and "orchestrated" debate.