Top Republicans clash on abortion, spending and Trump

1. The first Republican Party debate is under way in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, running from 21:00 EDT (01:00 GMT) until 23:00 EDT
2. The eight candidates are using the debate to try and reel in Donald Trump's commanding lead in the polls as they race to become the Republican presidential nominee
3. We've seen clashes on abortion, crime - and whether Trump has lost the moral authority to be president
4. But Trump is skipping the debate with his rivals - and timed an interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson to air five minutes before

Winners, losers, and the looming shadow of Donald Trump

Brandon Livesay

Live reporter

Eight candidates have made their case to be the Republican presidential candidate for 2024.

It was not a calm and civil debate, there were fiery clashes across multiple topics.

Over the coming days, we're likely to see the candidates tout their own performances in the debate, and continue to spar on the key issues including the economy, crime, immigration and the border.

We're also likely to hear more from the party's front-runner - Donald Trump - who was not in attendance.

Instead, he appeared in an interview with Tucker Carlson on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Trump's shadow loomed over the debate, but perhaps not as large as many thought it would.

You can read more analysis on the winners and losers of the debate here.

Thanks for joining us.

Asa Hutchinson's team doubles down on Trump criticisms

Despite his position at one end of the row of candidates on stage, former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson’s campaign feels strong about his performance.

“I think this is what America is looking for,” Tim Coonan, Iowa chair of Asa for America, told the BBC after the debate.

“This is the biggest audience he's been in front of… I think he made a case for himself. Today was an introduction to a lot of people who may have heard of him but never seen him.”

Coonan isn’t worried the governor stood by his previous comments about former President Donald Trump not being fit for office again, despite Trump’s large lead in the polls.

“Governor Hutchinson is also a former federal prosecutor and a lifetime attorney, and his read is that Donald Trump cannot be the candidate because he is in violation of the 14th amendment. He's disqualified. And so I think for him, it's a black and white issue.”

Who were the losers of the night?

Anthony Zurcher

BBC North America correspondent in Wisconsin

Getty

Ron DeSantis:

He was on the side-lines for all the key moments of the debate. Vivek Ramaswamy ran circles around him. Other candidates, like Pence and Haley, elbowed him out of the way on issues like abortion and US aid to Ukraine. He seemed on uneven footing when the topic turned to Donald Trump and his recent indictments.

This was not the stabilising performance DeSantis needed. The man who was once billed as the future of the Republican Party was simply a non-factor.

Asa Hutchinson and Doug Burgum:

Former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson was the last candidate to qualify for the Milwaukee debate. North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum elbowed his way onto the stage with a gimmick - offering enough people $20 gift cards if they donated $1 to his campaign.

Both candidates desperately needed to show that they deserved to be on the stage, and both candidates were mostly afterthoughts.

Hutchinson's criticisms of Trump seemed weak sauce compared to Christie's more pointed attacks. And Burgum's awe-shucks small-state conservatism never really stood out.

The qualification standards become more rigorous for next month's primary debate in California, and neither candidate did enough on Wednesday night to build the kind of support they will need to make another appearances on the debate stage likely.

You can read more about the winners and losers of the debate here.

Who were the winners tonight?

Anthony Zurcher

BBC North America correspondent in Wisconsin

Getty Images

Vivek Ramaswamy and Nikki Haley clashed on foreign policy tonight

Vivek Ramaswamy:

The man who never ran for public office - and didn't even vote for a president from 2004 to 2020 - simply dominated this Republican debate.

"I'm the only person on the stage who isn't bought and paid for," he said during a discussion of climate change - prompting cries of outrage from his rivals.

Nikki Haley:

She stood out by offering sharp criticism early of both Donald Trump and the Republican Party as a whole.

Haley showed sharp elbows. She mixed it up with Ramaswamy on continued US aid to Ukraine, which she supports. And she clashed with Mike Pence on abortion, calling his demands for a national abortion ban as unrealistic and politically damaging.

Mike Pence:

The veteran politician, who has served as a congressman, a governor and a vice-president, has a bit of fight left in him.

He offered a passionate, religion-based call for nationwide abortion limits. And while that likely won't play well in next year's general election, it could help him win over evangelical Republicans who can tilt the balance in states like Iowa and South Carolina, which have an outsized role in deciding the party nominee.

You can read more about the winners and losers here.

Kamala Harris: no one on stage 'won' tonight

Vice President Kamala Harris has issued a statement about tonight's Republican debate, arguing that none of the candidates on stage "won".

"Instead, the American people heard how much they stand to lose from an extremist agenda," the statement added.

"One by one, each extremist Republican candidate laid out a vision for an America that is less fair, less free and less safe".

Specifically, Harris said that the Republican candidates would "benefit special interests and the ultra-wealthy", gut social security, step away "fundamental right and basic freedoms" and reverse Joe Biden's economic policies.

"These extremists focus on unnecessary debates meant to divide our nation in hopes that the American public will not notice that they have no affirmative agenda," the statement said.

Ramaswamy's team say he won the debate

Sam Cabral

Reporting from Milwaukee

BBC

Staffers with the Vivek Ramaswamy campaign are effusively declaring that he “won” tonight’s debate.

“Seven career politicians came at him with 30-year-old talking points, and he held his own and won hands down,” says the campaign’s senior adviser Chris Grant inside the spin room.

“The reason why he’s such a threat to these establishment guys is because he actually has a vision for the future, he’s not worried about saving his political career.”

Grant said Ramaswamy’s message had struck a chord in Iowa.

“He tells people exactly what he thinks and believes, and it’s refreshing.”

Joe Biden weighs in with a 'that's what she said' tweet

US President Joe Biden tweeted three times during the debate.

In the first tweet - which came early in the event - he said that "climate change is real, by the way".

The message on X, formerly Twitter, came after the Republican candidates weighed in on the climate issue.

Vivek Ramaswamy referred to the "climate change agenda" as a "hoax".

Later on, Biden tweeted again, this time featuring a video of the Nikki Haley on stage remarking that "Donald Trump added $8 billion to our debt".

"What she said," Biden tweeted.

His third and final tweet included a link through which supporters can donate to his campaign.

"You know, my Dad used to say: 'Don’t compare me to the Almighty. Compare me to the alternative,' So, tonight, compare me to the alternative. And then donate," he said.

The biggest boos of the night

Sam Cabral

Reporting from Milwaukee

When moderators brought up “the elephant not in the room”, the crowd grew extremely animated.

To a loud mixture of boos and cheers, Chris Christie and Vivek Ramaswamy tangled over whether or not Donald Trump was being persecuted by his political opponents.

“Booing is allowed, but it doesn’t change the truth” about Trump, Christie said, as the audience jeered at him loudly.

Hutchinson drew increasingly loud boos as he explained his belief that Trump was “disqualified” from the presidency.

Inside the spin room

Sam Cabral

Reporting from Milwaukee

BBC

I'm in the spin room now, where Mike Pence has just dismissed suggestions that he was combative on the stage.

“I was just standing up for the conservative agenda,” he told reporters.

“I saw people on the stage who were just wrong about American leadership, wrong on policy and it was important to call it out.”

He said he “seized every opportunity I could to draw those contrasts”.

Do Democrats really support abortion until birth?

Mike Wendling

US reporter

Ron DeSantis drew applause for brandishing his pro-life credentials.

"What the Democrats are trying to do on this issue is wrong, to allow abortion up to the moment of birth," he said. "We will hold them accountable for their extremism."

But is this a fair depiction?

The idea that Democrats support abortion at any time during a pregnancy stems from a proposed bill.

The Women’s Health Protection Act - which has not become law - includes a provision allowing late-term abortion if the health of the mother is at risk.

Republicans have used that clause to support their claims. But experts say late-term abortion is rare. The bill would not automatically make it legal until the moment of birth - nor do Democratic politicians support such a move.

Key moments from the debate

The two-hour long debate in Milwaukee was fiery, with the candidates clashing on multiple topics. Frontrunner Donald Trump chose to skip the debate, instead talking to former Fox News host Tucker Carlson on X (formerly known as Twitter).

Here are some of the key moments:

• Though Trump was not present, he was brought up plenty. Moderators asked candidates if they would back Trump if he is convicted in any of his legal cases
• Chris Christie received boos from the crowd when he said Trump's actions were beneath the office of the presidency
• Bidenomics was targeted in the first round of questions

• Moderators referenced the Maui wildfires and extreme summer heat, asking candidates how they would tackle climate change
• Candidates answered whether or not they would put in place a federal abortion ban
• To support Ukraine or not? Republican hopefuls shared their stance on sending funding to Ukraine
• Who clashed tonight? One interaction got social media talking and that was the interaction between Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy over foreign policy and Ukraine. She said: "You are choosing a murderer [Putin] over a pro-American country...You have no foreign policy experience and it shows.”

The debate is over but the race is just getting started

The candidates have made their closing statements and the debate is now over.

But stick with us as we dig into more analysis and talk about who the biggest winners and losers of the night were.

'I get the UFO question? Come on'

Christie was asked asked "the UFO question" - eliciting laughs from the candidate and the crowd alike.

"I get the UFO question? Come on," he said.

He pivoted away from the question, however, using the UFOs to highlight "honesty" in the US government and criticism of teachers union.

The question, and Christie's initial response, appear to be a favourite among those watching the debate and commenting on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

Getty Images

US-Mexico border in the spotlight

EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

As many observers predicted, the US-Mexico border has repeatedly come up during the debate. It's an issue that often comes up as a key issue in polls of Republican voters.

DeSantis said he would deploy the US military to the southern border to use force, leaving drug smugglers "stone cold dead".

He also repeated a common refrain of his from the past few months, said he would send US special forces into Mexico to "re-establish the rule of law" at the border.

"As president, would I use force? Would I treat them as foreign terrorist organisations? You're darn right I would," he said.

Scott called on additional money to be spent at the border, both for the hiring of more personnel and for technologies.

Hutchinson, a former head of the Drug Enforcement Agency, called on more economic pressure to be placed on Mexico's government to encourage cooperation.

Pence defended the Trump's administration handling of the border, blaming Biden for unleashing a "wave" of fentanyl and human trafficking.

He also promised to "partner with the Mexican military" to hunt down drug cartels.

How old is too old to be president?

Asked about Biden's age, Pence said that presidents "shouldn't be too old".

"They shouldn't be too young either," he added, a thinly veiled swipe at the 38-year old Ramaswamy.

In response, the younger candidate said that he believes the US needs a "new generation" to "bring all those voters along".

Notably, polls show that a majority of US voters - nearly 70% according to a May poll from ABC and the Washington Post - believe that Biden, 80, is too old for another term.

Just 44% said the same of Donald Trump, 77.

Next up: Education

The candidates have now been asked about education.

DeSantis - who often brings up "woke" education on the campaign trail - turned to his own handling of education in Florida, where he re-opened schools relatively early in the pandemic.

"The decline of education is one of the major reasons why our country is in decline," he said. "We need education in this country, not indoctrination".

Ramaswamy called for a civics test, similar to that given to naturalised citizens. He also called on the Department of Education to be abolished.

"We have to remember that education starts with the family, and the nuclear family is the greatest form of governance of all time," he added.

While Haley said "there's a lot of crazy woke stuff" happening in the US, she suggested that a more important focus should be reading remediation, and the students should also have vocational classes available to them in schools.

"Let's teach our students to build things again," she said.

Haley: Putin 'killed Prigozhin'

In her own remarks about Ukraine, Haley defended aid for Ukraine, characterising the country as the frontline of a struggle with both Russia and China.

She also angrily attacked Vladimir Putin, and said he was a "murderer" that "killed Prigozhin", a reference to Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner Group believed to have died in a plane crash in Russia today.

Read more about the plane crash in which Prigozhin is believed to have died here.

Ukraine a source of inter-party tension

Anthony Zurcher

BBC North America correspondent in Wisconsin

Reuters

The aftermath of an airstrike on Lviv, Ukraine

Ukraine has been a growing source of division within the Republican Party, which has been shifting away from the internationalist foreign policy of the George W Bush years to Donald Trump’s America First nationalism.

That division played itself out dramatically on the debate stage, as Vivek Ramaswamy – who has said the US should end military aid to Ukraine – clashed with his more established Republican opponents.

Former vice-president Mike Pence drew comparisons between US support for Ukraine to American efforts to combat the Soviet Union during the Cold War, even echoing an old Cold War refrain: “We achieve peace through strength”.

Then it was former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley’s turn.

“You have no foreign policy experience and it shows,” she told Ramaswamy.

The reality, however, is that recent polls show that Ramaswamy’s view – that the US is giving too much to Ukraine – is one held by the majority of Republican voters.

The ground is shifting in the party, and candidates like Pence and Haley are going to have to change voters minds if they want the issue to be a winner for their campaigns.

Vivek Ramaswamy outshining Ron DeSantis

Sam Cabral

Reporting from Milwaukee

Getty Images

Ron DeSantis has been less involved than his opponent Vivek Ramaswamy

Ron DeSantis is in the very centre of this stage, with the rest of the field on either side of him.

But for large portions of this debate, he has seemed practically invisible.

To his immediate left, Vivek Ramaswamy has drawn by far the most fire.

Mike Pence and Chris Christie, both standing to DeSantis’ right, have taken him to task over his statements on the economy, crime and Donald Trump.

Nikki Haley, who is standing to the left of DeSantis, is the latest to attack Ramaswamy, savaging his statements on foreign policy in an argument that nearly escalates into a shouting match.

“You have no foreign policy experience and it shows,” Haley says, as the crowd screams its approval and several stand up to applaud.

It is a sign of how much DeSantis has stumbled in this presidential campaign. After being the most viable Trump alternative for several months, he is playing second fiddle to Ramaswamy in this debate.

Trump's interview ends with question about civil war

Donald Trump's interview, which aired at the same time as the debate, has now finished.

Before it wrapped up, Tucker Carlson asked the former president about his priorities if he's re-elected.

“The first thing I would do is seal up the border good and tight except for the people who want to come in legally,” Trump responds.

The interview ends with Carlson asking about the prospect of civil war, which prompts Trump to talk about the Capitol riot of 6 January 2021, emphasising that he told the crowd to “peacefully and patriotically” make their views known.

“So do you think it’s possible that there’s open conflict?” Carlson asks

“I don’t know,” Trump responds. “There’s a level of passion I’ve never seen and there’s a level of hatred I’ve never seen and that’s probably a bad combination.”

And so ends a rather wandering interview - which at times resembled more of a chummy chat.

Trump and Carlson and covered Jeffrey Epstein, environmental policy, China, Trump's debunked election fraud theories and much more.

It was at times baffling and may not have been hugely illuminating, but indications are it's pretty popular - and Trump will no doubt compare raw view figures to the debate's TV ratings.