GOP presidential race heats up in second debate

Seven presidential candidates faced off Wednesday night at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California, discussing hot-button issues including relations with China, border security, and the ongoing autoworker strike. Candidates agreed on policy goals such as strengthening border security, building up American manufacturing, ending the fentanyl crisis, and returning federal power to the states.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is the highest-polling candidate behind former President Donald Trump and pushed heavily for ending U.S. dependence on China and securing the U.S. southern border. Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy advocated to end birthright citizenship for children of illegal immigrants and pushed for a faith-based approach to mental health support. Ramaswamy took hits from participants who pointed out his past Chinese-based business dealings and his use of the Chinese-owned entertainment app TikTok. When questioned on the long-term effects of slavery, Sen. Tim Scott—the only black GOP presidential candidate—adamantly affirmed America is not a racist nation. The debate ended with moderators asking participants to hypothetically vote one candidate in attendance “off the island,” which the participants refused to do.

Where was Trump? The former president and current front-runner in the race visited autoworkers at a nonunion plant in Detroit instead of attending the debate. DeSantis shamed Trump for skipping the event, telling the public, “He owes it to you to defend his record.” Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie also slammed Trump’s absence. In Detroit, Trump told autoworkers the Biden administration’s globalism is hurting them. He said he supports United Auto Workers members who are currently on strike. He also advocated for fossil-fuel cars and made several jokes about his recent indictments.

Dig deeper: Read WORLD’s report in The Stew on the first GOP debate.