Republicans Face Off In First GOP Presidential Debate: Live Updates

Trump has started blasting some of his opponents on his Truth Social platform after tonight’s debate. He called Christie “horrible,” saying the former governor was “booed at a level never seen before" at such an event.

The former president went on to reject claims that he asked Pence, his former vice president, to step in to help him remain in power after he lost the 2020 election.

“I never asked Mike Pence to put me above the Constitution,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Who would say such a thing? A FAKE STORY!”

Burgum painted himself as a working-class man at heart who will “get this economy sprinting.”

Hutchinson said “the solution is not four more years of Donald Trump” but rather a leader who “brings out the best” in Americans, like former President Ronald Reagan did.

Scott said he is proof the American dream is alive. He finished by slipping in a dig on transgender people: “If God made you a man, you play sports — against men.”

Christie said he is the only one on stage to beat a Democratic incumbent in a reelection bid, stating, “I’m the one who can win this race if given a chance.”

Haley recalled what it was like seeing a loved one deployed before vowing to bring down inflation and better support law enforcement.

Pence said Biden has “weakened America at home and abroad,” bringing up the Afghanistan withdrawal. He added: “But different times call for different leadership, and the Republican Party owes the people a choice.”

Ramaswamy said Americans have forgotten how they are alike, “bound by a common set of ideals.” Those apparently include: “God is real,” “there are two genders,” “fossil fuels are a requirement for human prosperity” and “reverse racism is racism.”

DeSantis said he is “a blue-collar kid” who understands “the importance of the American dream” and the military, where he served as a lawyer. “2024 is make or break. We’re not getting a mulligan — not excuses.”

After one hour and 41 minutes, Haley broke a shocking drought at the first Republican presidential debate when she dropped the first use of the word “woke.”

“There’s a lot of crazy woke things happening in schools,” Haley said.

DeSantis, who declared a “war on woke” and managed to use the word seven times in 26 seconds in one speech, did not use the word "woke" at all.

The near-total absence of a word that has been a mainstay on the campaign trail for many of the candidates comes as Republican voters become less interested in the anti-woke message.

A question about whether presidents have to pass a mental and physical test to run for the Oval Office quickly went off the rails.

Both Pence and Ramaswamy said they opposed such a test. Pence answered first with a joke, saying that “everybody in D.C. should” have to pass such a test before clarifying his position. He then appeared to take a swipe at Ramaswamy as too young and inexperienced.

DeSantis started off the education portion of the debate, touting his record in Florida to limit discussion of race and gender identity in classrooms. His aggressive effort to limit the rights of LGBTQ+ people in the state has been lambasted by civil rights groups, as well as other Republicans.

“We have to make sure that what our schools are doing is focusing on solid academics,” Christie said. “We cannot be graduating students who have no foundation in what it means to be an American.”

On immigration law, Christie put forward a position as far right as anything Trump pursued as president: deporting all unauthorized immigrants in the country.

Making no distinction between the millions of unauthorized migrants living in the country, Christie said, “We have to have them detained, we have to make sure they are not rewarded for breaking the law.” (Many migrants who cross the U.S.-Mexico border without authorization are pursuing their legal right to apply for asylum.)

After a tangent about China, McCallum pressed for clarity: “Would you send those people back?”

“Of course, you’d have to,” Christie responded.

Ramaswamy voiced strong opposition to the U.S. continuing to send funding and military assets to help Ukraine fight off Russia, going so far as to say such assets should be turned on the southern U.S. border to prevent migrants from entering the country.

Pence retorted that “giving away” Ukraine to Russian President Vladimir Putin meant “it’s not going to be too long before he rolls across a NATO border.”

“He is a dictator and a murderer,” Pence said.

Ramaswamy replied that "the real threat we face today is communist China."

Ramaswamy declared his unwavering support for the former president, saying, “President Trump was the best president of the 20th century.” He then turned to Christie to say the former New Jersey governor's campaign is just about trashing Trump, sparking cheers from the crowd.

“You’ve never done anything to advance the interests of the United States government except to advance yourself as a candidate here tonight,” Christie responded.

He added: “I will not support a president who disrespects the Constitution.” The crowd booed.

We’ve entered a much-anticipated portion of the debate: Asking the candidates about Trump and his many indictments.

Trump hasn't really been mentioned much so far at all, but there are already sparks flying between the candidates over how much to disavow him.