Brandon Livesay
Live reporter

Image source, Getty Images

The Republican presidential candidates flashed broad smiles and waved to the audience at the end of the night, but they certainly weren't grinning during the debate.

It was two-hours of chaos where often the answers were unintelligible because multiple people were trying to yell over the top of each other at the same time.

Attacks got a bit more personal than in the first debate, and we also saw some candidates take a more risks by calling out Donald Trump for not taking part.

Trump has a commanding lead in polls, and one of his rivals will need to do something significant to catch up.

Did that moment happen for anybody tonight? We will need to wait for new polling data to find out.

In the meantime, you can see analysis on the winners and losers of the debate here.

And check out a recap of the main talking points of the debate here.

Our writers for this live coverage were Madeline Halpert, Max Matza and Mike Wendling. We also had analysis from the debate and spin rooms courtesy of Kayla Epstein and Anthony Zurcher.

This page was edited by Marianna Brady and myself.

Thanks for following along.

Mike Wendling
US digital reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Vivek Ramaswamy drew vitriol and eye rolls on stage, but his polarising effect worked better in gathering attention online.

Conservative factions are celebrating his more extreme views, such as ending automatic citizenship for babies born in the United States and his claim that “Transgenderism, especially in kids, is a mental health disorder.”

But his takes – not to mention his elevated hairdo – also drew bast mockery from more moderate quarters. A post from former Republican congressman Adam Kinzinger pretty much summed it up: “Vivek is leaving this debate looking like a complete clown”.

YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul, who apparently met with the candidate and whose name came up in a clash over TikTok and China, took to Twitter/X to defend Ramaswamy.

“Vivek is right. If he or any other President wants to beat Trump or Biden they need the youth. It might be a shock to y’all that most 18-28 year olds don’t use this platform or let alone care about politics.”

Others eagerly pointed out under one of Ramaswamy’s most noteworthy policies - raising the US voting age to 25 - the youth vote would become rather less important.

Kayla Epstein
US reporter

Image source, Kayla Epstein/BBC

California governor Gavin Newsom spoke to reporters at the Republican debate spin room.

But isn't he... a Democrat?

According to Newsom, he was there to represent his party's interests at the high-profile conservative event.

"I was asked by the Biden administration to be here to make the case for the Biden administration," he said.

He believed the winners of tonight's debate were "clearly Joe Biden... and Donald Trump."

Republicans appearing onstage are "just the JV team," Newsom said. "These guys are maybe running for vice president."

The governor has slowly been building his national profile, positioning himself as a champion of the national party platform and California as a model for liberal policies.

Anthony Zurcher
BBC North America correspondent

The seven candidates on the stage all trail Donald Trump by a significant margin in the race for the party's nomination, so his rivals knew they had to do something to change the dynamic of the campaign.

Ron DeSantis came out of the gate early in Wednesday debate with an attack that indicates he may be pivoting from his past efforts to avoid taking the former president head-on.

The problem for DeSantis, of course, is that it’s a lot harder to land blows on a candidate who is more than a thousand miles away. So the governor’s “missing in action” swipe could reveal a hint of frustration at his current predicament.

The Florida governor was steady throughout the debate, once again plugging his Florida record in an implicit contrast with Trump.

Implicit contrasts aren’t doing it for the Florida governor, however. We’ll see if a direct attack has more success.

A month ago, Tim Scott faded into the background, as his sunny, don’t-go-negative strategy kept him from generating any headlines or momentum out of the event, while others like Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy prospered.

This time around, however, he had one of the most personally passionate moments, as he took issue with DeSantis’ past comments about slaves learning valuable skills during their servitude.

"There is not a redeeming quality in slavery," he said. “America is a great country because we have faced our demons in the mirror and made a decision."

Recent reports have indicated that some deep-pocketed Republican donors who initially found Scott appealing were now looking at Haley as a possible Trump alternative.

His debate performance on Wednesday night may give him another chance.

Anthony Zurcher
BBC North America correspondent

The chaotic nature of this debate brought all the candidates down a peg, as the backyard brawl nature of the proceedings chewed up time and may have turned off viewers.

Unlike DeSantis, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has made attacking the former president the defining feature of his presidential campaign. He went at it again on Wednesday, coming up with the “Donald Duck” moniker as a way of mocking the former president’s decision to sit out another Republican debate.

But that swipe landed flat with the debate audience – and even attacks more clever than cartoon references have not seemed to dent Trump’s appeal to Republican voters.

Vivek Ramaswamy came into last month’s debate riding an upswing in the polls. That put a target on the quick-tongued businessman for some of his rivals.

“Honestly every time I hear you, I feel a little bit dumber for what you say,” Nikki Haley told him.

Ramaswamy’s competitors view him as a threat. The personal nature of the attacks also suggest that some of them also just don’t like the political newcomer, full stop.

Last month, he came out of the debate an elevated candidate, boosted by the attention of his rivals. This time around, he seemed a bit more rattled by his opponents, who had more pointed attacks.

At the end of the debate, Dana Perino - one of the Fox Business moderators - asked the seven debate participants to pick a rival who they would chose to "vote off the island".

None of the candidates took the bait, and some of them seemed visibly angry. Their contempt was a fitting way for a tumultuous two hours to conclude, as all of the candidates repeatedly ignored the moderators.

In the end, it may have been the ineffective moderators that debate viewers wanted off the island most.

Examining the Republican shift on unionspublished at 04:47 British Summer Time 28 September 2023

04:47 BST 28 September 2023

Anthony Zurcher
BBC North America correspondent

The Republican Party used to be the pro-business, anti-union party. As South Carolina Senator Tim Scott has pointed out, Ronald Reagan – in whose presidential library this debate took place – fired federal air traffic controllers when they went on strike in 1981.

Republican sensibilities on this matter seem to be changing, however. And like a lot of changes in the Republican Party, it’s because Donald Trump has shifted the party’s base toward working-class voters.

This new sensibility was well illustrated by Vivek Ramaswamy’s response to a question about the striking autoworkers in Michigan, saying he has “a lot of sympathy” for the striking workers who “have gone through a lot of hardship”.

There once was a time when every Republican on a debate stage would have condemned a striking union and sided wholeheartedly with businesses on the other side of a labour dispute.

In the first hour of the debate, Chris Christie goaded the former president, looked at the camera and said: “Donald, I know you are watching.”

He was right.

Trump has just hit back on his Truth Social website: “Chris Christie is talking about the job he did as Governor. He had a 9% approval rating. [New Jersey] wanted to throw the ‘bum’ out.”

To be fair to Christie, Trump exaggerated - the former governor had a still-not-great 19% approval rating when he left office.

The Trump campaign also put out a statement, dismissing the entire field.

“Tonight’s GOP debate was as boring and inconsequential as the first debate,” said Chris LaCivita, a senior campaign advisor.

LaCivita suggested that the Republican Party put an end to further debates.

That won’t happen.

In this race, Trump has a commanding lead in the polls, but we still have a long way to go.

It’s chaos as usual in the post-debate spin room, where candidates and their surrogates flock to play up their performance to the media. Vivek Ramaswamy was mobbed by a large press scrum as he entered the room, before heading over to a TV interview. California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, is back and promoting Joe Biden’s agenda in contrast to Republicans.

Doug Burgum, the North Dakota Governor who fought for airtime amid the melee, is taking the time to tout his record to reporters.

Mike Wendling
US disinformation reporter

Ron DeSantis’s education record has come under scrutiny as he pointed to his efforts to eliminate “critical race theory” from Florida schools.

Some of Florida’s new requirements resulted in a backlash – particularly one that tells middle school teachers to instruct their pupils that African-American slaves “developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit”.

Earlier this year Vice President Kamala Harris said students "will be taught that enslaved people benefited from slavery".

DeSantis has repeatedly called Harris’s characterisation a “hoax” - a term he repeated tonight.

At the same time, he's repeated the idea that enslaved people gained useful skills under the brutal system that was present for hundreds of years in the southern US.

One of his Republican rivals challenged him tonight on that point tonight. Tim Scott, a black senator from South Carolina, said: “There is not a redeeming quality in slavery.”

We have been hearing from Republicans on our BBC voter panel throughout the night. Let's hear what they thought.

Jim Sullivan, Indiana, 53:

Kathleen McClellan, Louisiana, 68:

Luke Gordon, New York, 22:

Kayla Epstein
US reporter

Let's rewind a few minutes to when Nikki Haley and Tim Scott got into a fight about... curtains.

Very expensive curtains.

What started as a heated debate about gas taxes and federal money for the states devolved into an exchange about some very pricey drapery that was used to decorate the UN Ambassador's residence that Haley used during her time in the Trump administration.

To be clear: Haley didn't buy the curtains, according to the New York Times., external

During the Obama administration, the US moved its official UN ambassador's residence, which is also used to host official events.

At some point, the decision was made to decorate the apartment with custom, motorised curtains that cost an eye-popping $52,701.

After President Trump appointed Haley to the UN post, she later moved in. But she caught flack for the price of the curtains amid increased scrutiny over the spending of other Trump cabinet officials.

While it was difficult to parse Haley and Scott's words as they argued back and forth about the curtains, it's fair to say that it remains a controversial decorating decision.

After several passionate closing remarks, the two-hour Republican debate has just come to an end.

We will bring your more analysis shortly on the winners and losers of tonight's event.

Image source, Getty Images

Chris Christie uses his final moments of the debate to say Trump has divided American families.

"I'm the only one on this stage that's been clear about this. I'd vote Donald Trump off the island right now," he says, referring to the Survivor TV programme.

He says the candidates on the stage have "shown respect for Republican voters".

"This guy has not only divided our party, he's divided families all over this country. He's divided friends all over this country," he says.

Vivek Ramaswamy responds that Trump was an "excellent" president, but "the America First agenda does not belong to one man".

"I will respect Donald Trump and his legacy because it's the right thing to do," he says, adding that he will "unite this country".

Moderators have just tried to end the two-hour debate with a bit of humour, asking candidates to write down who they would "vote off the island", in a reference to the reality TV series Survivor (the new season premiered tonight on rival network CBS).

"Are you serious?" the candidates ask.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis says the exercise is "disrespectful" to his fellow Republicans and all of them decline to proceed, instead choosing to answer more questions.

Image source, Getty Images

Republican candidates were just asked about the hot-button issue of abortion access in the US.

Question: How will you win over independent pro-choice voters?

Florida Governor Ron Desantis once again takes aim at Donald Trump, claiming he is "missing in action" despite having "a lot to say" about the topic of abortion.

Trump recently called Florida's six-week abortion ban a "terrible thing" and declined to say whether he would support a 15-week federal ban on abortions. You can read more about his comments and the line Republicans are towing on the issue of abortion here.

"[Trump] should be here explaining his comments to try to say that pro-life protections are somehow a terrible thing," DeSantis says.

Chris Christie also chimes in on the issue, noting that he vetoed Planned Parenthood funding "14 times".

"I kept saying no because I believe in life," he says.

Image source, Getty Images

Mike Pence is asked by the moderator from Univision what he would do to reach out to Latino voters.

He begins by touting the low unemployement rate for Latinos during his administration, and says the American president has to be a "champion" for the American dream.

"I'll be a champion for the American dream for Hispanic Americans and every American, so help me God," he says.

Tim Scott goes on to say he has put his money where his mouth is when it comes to Latino voters.

"If you lead by example, it's the best way to get the job done," he says, adding that he has the only female Hispanic chief of staff in the Senate.

"You say drill baby drilll, but the courts won't let you," the moderator begins, asking how each candidate aims to bring down the cost of energy.

Vivek Ramaswamy says he will cut through the "administrative state" to achieve American energy independence and "put people back to work".

He vows to put the Federal Reserve "back in its place," adding that it is "an agency that has gone rogue". He says he will dismantle many government offices.

Mike Pence vows to "open up federal lands" which includes lands held by that National Park Service, to have an "all of the above strategy".

Ron DeSantis is an enemy of fracking and off-shore drilling, claims Nikki Haley, taking aim at the Florida governor.

"We have to partner with our producers and have their backs," she says, accusing DeSantis of having opposed energy companies.

DeSantis fires back with a prepared line about choosing US oil fields over "Moscow", "the Mullahs" or "Beijing".

Meanwhile North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum is shouting to get attention, saying he demands to speak as the "only governor from an energy state" on the panel.

Image source, Getty Images

We have 20 minutes to go in tonight's two-hour debate and candidates have responded to a range of questions so far.

Like the first Republican debate a few weeks ago, sparks have been flying, with rivals taking shots at one another.

Vivek Ramaswamy has once again proven a target, with Nikki Haley at one point telling the political newcomer: "Every time I hear you, I feel a little bit dumber."

Candidates have been asked questions about rising crime and healthcare costs in the US as well as immigration, mass shootings and education.

The Republicans have found common ground on some issues, including in their opposition to gender-affirming surgery and their support for some level of aid to Ukraine in its war with Russia.

Fentanyl - the deadly opioid about 50 times more powerful than heroin - has come up multiple times throughout this debate.

Nikki Haley says she would send "special operations" into Mexico. "It's how we deal with our terrorists," she says.

But she adds that China is to blame for the chemicals that originate in the country and are turned into the lethal drug elsewhere.

"We will end all normal trade relations with China until China stops selling fentanyl. And then we'll do the special operations and get it from both sides."

Tim Scott says he has previously helped pass laws that "freeze the assets" of the Mexican cartels.

The conversation has turned to the war in Ukraine. Moderators note that the Republican Party is at odds over how much aid to supply.

Question: Is it in the best interest of the US to supply aid to Ukraine, especially when there are no US soldiers in the fight?

Ron Desantis says it's "in our interest to end this war", while adding that he would not give a "blank cheque" either.

"We've got to defend the American people," first and foremost, he says.

Tim Scott says 90% of the resources sent to Ukraine are part of a loan that the US can expect to get paid back by NATO allies.

"By degrading the Russian military, we actually keep our homeland safer, we keep our troops at home," he says.

Mike Pence says ceasing aid to Ukraine is giving the "green light to China to take Taiwan".

Chris Christie adds that the Chinese-Russian alliance is "something we have to fight against".

Referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin, he says: "This is the person who is murdering people in his own country, And now not having enough blood, so he's now going to Ukraine."