Full video: Watch the third GOP presidential primary debate in Miami

[0:03] tonight a critical test in the race for the white house five republicans battling to become their [0:10] party's 2024 presidential nominee the candidates ready to make their case on why they're prepared [0:18] to be commander-in-chief amid two wars on the world stage how they plan to tackle stubborn [0:24] inflation and how they can unite a deeply divided electorate who is best to take on president biden [0:32] and can any of them first beat former president trump who's far ahead in the polls the candidates [0:39] are here florida governor ron de santis former un ambassador nikki haley entrepreneur vivek [0:47] ramaswamy former new jersey governor chris christie and south carolina senator tim scott from nbc news [0:56] the republican presidential debate live from the adrian arts center in miami florida [1:05] good evening everyone welcome to the republican presidential debate i'm lester holt anchor of nbc [1:24] nightly news good evening i'm kristen welker moderator of nbc's meet the press hello i'm [1:30] hugh hewitt host of salem radio's the hugh hewitt show we are now just 68 days from the iowa caucuses [1:36] when republican primary voters will begin to determine their party's nominee for president [1:41] tonight we'll question five candidates seeking that nomination on how they're best prepared to [1:46] be commander-in-chief and of course how best to bring down prices impacting americans across the [1:52] country we have two hours for a serious debate on the issues that matter most to republican voters [1:58] candidates will have one minute and 30 seconds for answers and the opportunity for a closing statement [2:04] follow-up will be at the discretion of all of us at the table the moderators invoking a candidate's [2:10] name or policy does not necessarily mean the mentioned candidate is entitled to a response [2:15] we want to caution all the candidates not to interrupt or speak over your fellow debaters [2:20] if you talk over each other the voters can't hear you and given the critical issues we're facing [2:26] specifically on the world stage we want everyone to hear every word you have to say continued [2:32] interruptions may result in loss of additional questions and to our audience please please hold [2:37] your applause so that the candidates can be heard with that said let's have a good debate all right [2:44] our first question the opening question is one for all of you donald trump is the first ex-president [2:50] in more than a hundred years to run for the white house again and he remains popular among republican [2:56] primary voters as his legal challenges mount governor de santos let me begin with you on this one speak [3:01] to republican voters who are supporting donald trump why should you and not him be the republican nominee [3:08] to face joe biden a year from now this country is in trouble and the elites that have put us here [3:15] they don't care about you they don't care that you're having to grapple with higher grocery prices or have [3:20] higher gas prices they don't care that your family's less secure because of the open border that's [3:25] allowed drugs and even terrorists to come into this country well i care i am not going to sit idly by [3:31] and let this country continue its downward spiral we need leadership and we need it now i'll take the hits [3:38] i'll take the arrows i'll take the slings because ultimately it's not about me it's about you i will fight [3:44] for you i will make sure to lead this country's revival and i will win for you and your family [3:52] actions speak louder than words we don't have time for excuses and it's not something that we're going [3:57] to be able to have all these distractions as a veteran i will get the job done now if you look where [4:02] we are now it's a lot different than we were in 2016 and donald trump's a lot different guy than he was [4:08] in 2016. he owes it to you to be on this stage and explain why he should get another chance he should [4:15] explain why he didn't have mexico pay for the border wall he should explain why he racked up so [4:21] much debt he should explain why he didn't drain the swamp and he said republicans were going to get [4:25] tired of winning well we saw last night i'm sick of republicans losing in florida i showed how it's done [4:33] one year ago here we won a historic victory including a massive landslide right here in miami [4:39] dade county that's how we have to do it so i promise you this as the nominee next november i'll [4:45] get the job done and as president i will deliver time is up let me turn to ambassador haley let me [4:52] turn to ambassador haley why you and not the former president well i think you look at the fact [4:58] we're almost 34 trillion dollars in debt 60 percent of americans are living paycheck to paycheck [5:04] 50 percent of american families can't afford diapers one in six american families can't pay their [5:10] utility bills you have parents who are worried about what's being said or taught to their child [5:15] in the classroom there's no transparency we have anti-semitism all over our college campuses [5:21] and students feel unsafe you've got an open border where terrorists can come through and we've got wars [5:27] happening all over us and there are dangers around us you know everybody wants to talk about president [5:33] trump well i can talk about president trump i can tell you that i think he was the right president at [5:37] the right time i don't think he's the right president now i think that he put us eight trillion dollars [5:43] in debt and our kids are never going to forgive us for that i think the fact that he used to be right on [5:48] ukraine and and foreign issues now he's getting weak in the knees and trying to be friendly again [5:53] i think that we've got to go back to the fact that we can't live in the past we can't live [5:58] in other headlines we've got to start focusing on what's going to make america strong and proud [6:03] and that's what i'm focused on doing let's make sure we pay down our debt i think we need an accountant [6:08] in the white house let's make sure that we have transparency in the classroom as a mom i know what [6:13] that means let's make sure we secure our borders so that our families are safe let's get crime down [6:19] because our families want to know that they can be safe no matter where they go and as the wife of a [6:24] combat veteran i will tell you a military needs to know we have our back and we need to make sure [6:29] that america's ambassador thank you very much let me just uh let me just caution the audience let's [6:39] not go down this road we've asked you to please you know keep restraining yourselves and would be [6:42] helpful so we can hear the candidates because these are important issues and the voters want and need [6:47] to hear them mr ramaswamy let me turn to you uh please make your case why would you uh why should you [6:53] be the nominee and not the former president i think there's something deeper going on in the [6:57] republican party here and i am upset about what happened last night we've become a party of losers [7:03] at the end of the day was a cancer the republican establishment let's speak the truth i mean since [7:09] ronna mcdaniel took over as chairwoman of the rnc in 2017 we have lost 2018 2020 2022 no red wave that [7:17] never came we got trounced last night in 2023 and i think that we have to have accountability in our [7:23] party for that matter ron if you want to come on stage tonight you want to look the gop voters [7:28] in the eye and tell them you resign i will turn over my yield my time to you and frankly look the [7:33] people there cheering for losing in the republican party think about who's moderating this debate this [7:38] should be tucker carlson joe rogan and elon musk we'd have 10 times the viewership asking questions [7:44] that gop primary voters actually care about and bringing more people into our party getting the [7:49] democrats and we've got christian welfare here do you think the democrats would actually hire [7:53] greg gutfeld to host a democratic debate they wouldn't do it and so the fact of the matter is [7:58] i mean christian i'm going to use this time because it's actually about you in the media and the [8:02] corrupt media establishment ask you the trump russia collusion hopes that you pushed on this network [8:07] for years was that real or was that hillary clinton made up disinformation answer the question [8:14] go mr this is accountability because this media rigged the 2016 election they rigged the 2020 [8:25] election with a hunter biden laptop story and they're going to rig this election your time is [8:29] accountability let me turn to governor christie why you audience let's not do this let's not do this [8:38] let's let the candidates speak uh governor christie why you and not former president trump [8:43] well lester look you said it at the beginning of the debate we are dealing with extraordinarily [8:52] important issues facing this country right now we have our greatest ally in the middle east under fire [8:59] from a terrorist group that has committed to wiping them and every jewish person in this world off the [9:06] map we have ukraine with vladimir putin a communist kgb dictator who wants to put the old band back [9:16] together he's starting in ukraine and he's going to move to the baltics and poland after that we have [9:23] inflation in this country that is choking choking every american family that wants to try to rise up [9:30] and give their children a better life and tonight we need to decide which president is going to be [9:38] the one to tackle the big issues who's going to make this country look once again not just inward [9:44] but look outward at the world and say america is the country the indispensable nation that makes this a [9:52] safer world and in a safer world american innovation american hard work has always been the thing that [9:59] has driven our country to greater things i'm going to be the president who will do those big things [10:04] we're not going to be small and i'll say this about donald trump anybody who's going to be spending the [10:09] next year and a half of their life focusing on keeping themselves out of jail in courtrooms [10:13] cannot leave this party or this country it needs to be said plainly governor thank you let me turn to [10:18] senator scott senator scott you've said former president trump can't win make your case to [10:23] republican voters well certainly none of what i would say without any question is that the truth [10:27] of my life destroys the lies of the radical left we need a president and a candidate who will actually [10:36] help our base solidify and attract independent voters into our party the great opportunity party is now [10:44] winning back african american voters and hispanic voters because we are working on a foundation [10:50] based on faith our nation is facing some deep challenges it is the loss of faith in this nation [10:58] that is part of the erosion that we're seeing every single day it's restoring faith restoring our [11:04] christian values that will help this nation once again become the city on the hill when ronald reagan [11:12] talked about the city on the hill he was coming from matthew 5 when president lincoln talked about [11:18] a house divided that was mark our founding documents speak to the importance of a faith foundation you don't [11:26] have to be a christian for america to work for you but america does not work without a faith-filled [11:33] judeo-christian foundation i would be the president helps us restore faith in god faith in each other and [11:41] faith in our future without that focus none of the issues the policies matter we have to get back to [11:49] being a nation that is in fact the city on the hill that believes in each other enough for us to fight [11:58] for that future senator scott thank you we're going to turn now to the challenges facing [12:02] the next commander-in-chief you'll all be fielding questions first from me and the republican jewish [12:08] coalition and then from kristen and hugh so as we continue forward the israel hamas war is barely [12:15] a month old tonight israeli troops are fighting inside gaza city with over 200 hostages who remain [12:22] captive there and civilian casualties mount inside gaza as president of the united states what would you [12:28] be urging israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu to do at this moment governor de santos i would be [12:34] telling bb finish the job once and for all with these butchers hamas they're terrorists they're [12:43] massacring innocent people they would wipe every jew off the globe if they could he cannot live with [12:50] that threat right by his country that hamas should release every hostage and they should unconditionally [12:56] surrender i'm sick of hearing the media i'm sick of hearing other people blame israel just for [13:01] defending itself we will stand with israel in word and indeed in public and in private and i can tell [13:07] you as governor i actually did something about it biden's neglect has been atrocious uh we had [13:12] floridians that were over there after the attack he left them stranded they couldn't get flights out [13:18] so i scrambled resources in florida i sent planes over to israel and i brought back over 700 people [13:25] to safety there could have been more hostages had we not acted and i'll tell you this i met the first [13:31] plane load uh when they came to florida and one of the mothers pointed to a six-year-old daughter [13:36] and she said my daughter had been saying the last two nights mommy i don't want to hear any more bombs [13:41] no more rockets i just want to get back to florida so there's a difference between words and deeds [13:47] we acted and we saved lives thank you ambassador haley what would you do what would you be urging [13:52] prime minister benjamin netanyahu to do would you consider a humanitarian pause for example [13:57] the first thing i said to him when it happened was i said finish them finish them and the reason is i [14:04] worked on this every day when i was at the united nations and we have to remember that they have to [14:10] one eliminate hamas to support israel with whatever they need whenever they need it and three make sure [14:16] we bring our hostages home we need to be very clear-eyed to know there would be no hamas without [14:22] iran there would be no hezbollah without iran there would not be the houthis without iran and there [14:28] wouldn't be the iranian militias in syria and iraq that are trying to hear hit our military men and women [14:34] if it hadn't been for iran and who is funding iran right now china is buying oil from iran russia is [14:40] getting drones and missiles from iran and there is an unholy alliance we need to be clear-eyed the last [14:46] thing we need to do is to tell israel what to do the only thing we should be doing is supporting them [14:52] and eliminating hamas it is not that israel needs america america needs israel they are the tip of the [15:00] spear when it comes to this islamic terrorism and we need to make sure that we have their backs in that [15:05] process all right thank you mr ramaswami mr ramaswami any daylight between you and the [15:11] candidates we just heard in this issue on what you would tell the prime minister in terms of what i [15:15] would tell the prime minister no in fact i would go one step further the founding vision of israel [15:20] was based on the idea that they don't want to depend on anybody else's sympathy or direction in [15:25] defending themselves so what i would tell bb is that israel has the right and the responsibility [15:31] to defend itself i would tell him to smoke those terrorists on his southern border and then i'll [15:37] tell him as president of the united states i'll be smoking the terrorists on our southern border [15:41] that's his responsibility this is our responsibility that's how we move forward but i want to be careful [15:46] to avoid making the mistakes from the neocon establishment of the past corrupt politicians in [15:52] both parties spent trillions killed millions made billions for themselves in places like iraq and [15:57] afghanistan fighting wars that sent thousands of our sons and daughters people my age to die [16:03] in wars that did not advance anyone's interests adding seven trillion dollars to our national debt [16:09] and joe biden sold off our foreign policy joe biden's son hunter biden got a five million [16:13] dollar bribe from ukraine that's why we're sending 200 billion dollars back to that same country [16:18] the fact of the matter is the republican party is not that much better you have the likes of nikki [16:22] haley who stepped down from her time at the u.n bankrupt or in debt is was her family [16:27] then she becomes a military contractor she joins the board of boeing and otherwise and is now a [16:32] multi-millionaire so i think that that's wrong when republicans do it or democrats do it that's [16:36] the choice we face do you want a leader from a different generation is going to put this country [16:40] first or do you want dick cheney in three inch heels all right in which case we've got two of them [16:46] on stage thank you senator uh senator scott yes senator same question to you about you're the president [16:53] you're on the phone in the oval office with the prime minister you tell him what but number one i [16:57] would tell prime minister prime minister netanyahu not only do you have the responsibility and the [17:04] right to wipe hamas off of the map we will support you we will be there with you we'll stand shoulder to [17:12] shoulder there will be no daylight but i would change the station a little bit though and head back [17:17] home to america i would say to president biden diplomacy only is a weak strategy appeasement leads [17:28] to war from president obama to president biden obama sent millions to iran frankly president biden has [17:36] sent billions to iran that is why i've said that there's blood dripping from the hands of president [17:42] obama and president biden i would tell president biden with great clarity if you want to stop the [17:49] 40 plus attacks on military personnel in the middle east you have to strike in iran if you want to make [17:56] a difference you cannot just continue to have strikes in syria on warehouses you actually have to cut off [18:04] the head of the snake and the head of the snake is iran and not simply their proxies in order for us to [18:11] have a powerful response from america we have to be in a position of strength as president united [18:18] states my foreign policy is simple you cannot negotiate with evil you have to destroy it all [18:26] right senator scott thank you governor chrissy i want to get you to weigh in here look lester these [18:32] problems are so big and serious that the first thing i would say to pray to prime minister netanyahu [18:38] is pretty simple america is here no matter what it is you need at any time to preserve the state of [18:45] israel remember that hamas's main goal is to get rid of israel is to get israel absolutely off the map [18:53] now there are three things i think i would say to him when he asked for advice the first i would say is [18:59] that it is absolutely your obligation to protect the territorial integrity of israel secondly to make [19:06] sure you protect the security and the safety of your people every time something happens to [19:11] compromise either one of those things it creates greater unrest in the entire region second you must [19:18] go in and make sure that hamas can never do this again the fact is that israel and their intelligence [19:25] community failed they failed here and they failed the people of the state of israel and so we need to [19:30] work closely and better together to make sure one that they're degraded and two that we know everything [19:35] that's going on inside gaza strip when it's going on so that something like this can happen to kill [19:41] 1400 individuals again and the third thing is to keep your eye on the ball make sure that we continue [19:48] to isolate iran work with the reasonable nations in the middle east the other arab nations who want to [19:54] partner with you and make sure that we continue to isolate iran so their only friends in the world [19:58] are the part of the evil foursome china russia iran and north korea christie thank you very much and [20:05] we're going to continue in this vein right now with a question from matthew brooks the ceo of the [20:09] republican jewish coalition a partner of the republican national committee in this debate here it is given [20:17] attacks by iranian-backed proxy groups on u.s military bases in syria and iraq attacks that have wounded [20:25] approximately two dozen of our u.s servicemen do you support the use of military force by the united [20:32] states against iran governor haley would you please answer that yes i'd first like to say they're [20:38] five inch heels and i don't wear them unless you can run in them the second thing that i will say [20:47] is i wear heels they're not for a fashion statement they're for ammunition what we need to be doing for [20:54] iraq and syria is first of all the idea that our men and women could be targeted and that we've allowed [21:01] almost a hundred hits to happen under biden's watch is unthinkable we need to understand this is iran [21:07] giving the green light telling them what to do and we shouldn't be doing the tit for tat like what joe [21:13] biden has done we need to go and take out their infrastructure that they are using to make those [21:18] strikes with so they can never do it again iran responds to strength you punch them one and you punch [21:25] them hard and they will back off but what we don't need is biden falling all over himself to get back [21:31] in the iran deal him giving six billion dollars to get five hostages home him telling netanyahu now [21:37] that he needs a pause or a ceasefire we don't need him going and sitting there tiptoeing around iran [21:42] because he thinks they're going to do something you don't respond to an enemy and a terrorist with [21:47] fear you respond with strength when you do that that's when the world pays attention and that's when [21:54] iran stops thank you governor de santis if i can continue with you just today the u.s launched [22:00] another one of its limited air strikes against targets in syria this time iranian linked facility [22:06] how far would you go militarily to hold iran accountable well first matt thanks for your [22:12] question and i appreciate what you've done over the last month i know it's been very difficult for [22:15] the community and appreciate you guys rallying together in difficult times i actually served in [22:20] iraq back in the day and we had al qaeda in iraq you had shia militias that were funded by iran that [22:28] were killing hundreds and hundreds of u.s troops and as commander-in-chief i am not going to put our [22:35] troops in harm's way unless you're willing to defend them with everything you have biden has them out there [22:43] they're sitting ducks he's doing glancing blows that's just inviting more attacks from the iranians [22:50] i would say you you harm a hair on the head of an american service member and you are going to [22:57] have hell to pay we are not just going to sit there and let our service members be sitting ducks and [23:02] that's true whether it's the rand or whether it's any country on the world we have to be strong and we [23:08] have to defend the people who defend us all right thank you governor now our second and final question [23:14] from matthew brooks of the republican jewish coalition please watch jewish students across [23:22] the country are threatened and under attack what do you say to jewish students on college campuses [23:28] who feel unsafe given the dramatic rise in anti-semitism and what do you say to university [23:35] presidents and college presidents who have not met the moral clarity moment to forcefully condemn [23:40] hamas terrorism mr ramaswamy would you like to take that one absolutely i think the scourge of [23:46] anti-semitism across this country including at places like my alma maters and places like brooklyn [23:51] bridge in new york it's sad to see but here's what history teaches us anti-semitism is a symptom [23:58] of a deeper cancer in a country in a society that is lost and we are lost several years ago when i [24:04] wrote my first book woke inc i was talking about they were chanting death to america death to white [24:09] people death to christians nobody was waking up back then now it's even bad now they're saying death [24:14] to israel and worse so it is wrong but we have to get to the root cause here now i think it's really [24:20] important that we do this through leadership not censorship leadership means fill that void with [24:26] purpose and meaning dilute this wokeism and anti-semitism to irrelevance these kids they have no idea [24:32] what the heck they're even talking about when they're siding with hamas over israel they are [24:36] fools but i also want to caution here if we go the direction of ron desantis or nikki haley with whom [24:41] i respectfully disagree on this issue pro-censorship telling student groups to disband mark my words [24:48] soon they will say if you question a vaccine and its side effects you're bioterrorist soon they will say [24:53] that if you show up at a school board meeting you're a domestic terrorist soon if they say that j6 [24:57] prisoners should be released you're an insurrectionist terrorist so that's where this road ends [25:02] we don't quash this with censorship because that creates a worse underbelly we quell it through [25:08] leadership by calling it out these university administrators have lost their way and we need [25:13] leadership at the top in the united states of america that restores our founding values and that [25:18] has no place for this kind of anti-semitic hate that's where i stand while respecting our constitution [25:24] senator scott let me get you to weigh in on what you just heard well let me just say to every single [25:31] university president in america federal funding is a privilege not a right number one number two [25:41] to every student who've come to our country on a visa to a college campus your visa is a privilege [25:50] not a right number three any campus that allows for anti-semitism and hate to allow students to [25:59] encourage terrorism mass murder mass murder and genocide you should lose your federal funding today [26:07] period to all the students on visas who are encouraging jewish genocide i would deport you [26:16] from those campuses we have to stand strong with our jewish americans at the end of the day [26:22] we should not have our jewish students in a library being told to hide on our streets in new york a jewish [26:33] citizen has the right to walk on the streets of america with no fear they have the right to go to [26:40] college campuses go to class and not fear we will restore that i started working on anti-semitism on [26:48] college campuses in 2017 because even then there was a rise of anti-semitism on college campuses we must [26:58] force the people off those campuses thank you let me out of our country let me turn to the governor [27:06] de santis here what do you think about what he just said i was the first presidential candidate to say [27:11] if you are here on a student visa as a foreign national you're making common cause with hamas i'm [27:16] canceling your visa and i'm sending you home no questions asked second i have friends here in [27:23] florida who their kids do not feel safe even going to university campus at all outside of the state of [27:31] florida you have jewish students fleeing for their lives at cooper union joe biden should have the [27:37] department of justice on these college campuses and holding the universities accountable for civil rights [27:43] violations when you have you should not have money going to these places i already acted in florida [27:49] we had a group students for justice of palestine they said they are common cause with hamas they said [27:53] we're not just in solidarity this is what we are we deactivated them we're not going to use tate tax [27:58] dollars to fund jihad no way and what is biden doing not only is he not helping the jewish students [28:05] who are being persecuted he is launching an initiative to combat so-called islamophobia no it's [28:12] the anti-semitism that's spiraling out of control that is what we have to confront and as president [28:18] i can tell you this we are not going to stand for this on college campuses any longer all right governor [28:24] thank you let me turn to governor governor christie and considering what he just said you led a state with [28:28] a sizable muslim population last month as you know a six-year-old palestinian american boy [28:35] was killed in illinois by his landlord his mother was also stabbed more than a dozen times [28:40] and what has been charged as a hate crime what do you say to muslim americans who are also feeling [28:45] afraid for their safety right now yes sir i'm the only one on the stage who's actually had experience [28:50] in dealing with this i was appointed by president bush to be the u.s attorney in new jersey on september 10th [28:56] 2001 and when i took over that job after the september 11th attacks i had to deal with a [29:03] situation in our state that was explosive we're the most ethically diverse state in this country [29:10] and so first we heard credible reports about jewish students and synagogues being threatened in our [29:18] state in the aftermath of 9 11. we made sure that we sent federal agents to those synagogues and we [29:25] protected them the same thing should be being done now at the very same time i personally went from [29:31] mosque to mosque in new jersey and met with the leaders of those mosques and with the members [29:39] of the mosques and i said to the law enforcement is on your side to protect you regardless of your [29:45] religion if you are going to comply with the law and we developed fabulous relationships with muslim [29:53] americans all across the state of new jersey and we stopped any hate crimes that were going on [29:59] either against jewish americans in new jersey or muslim americans in new jersey it takes leadership [30:04] lester to know how to do this you must work with both sides both sides need to know it but let us [30:10] never have a false moral equivalence between hamas and hezbollah and the jewish people the jewish [30:16] people stand for right and justice and hamas and hezbollah stand for death chrissy thank you [30:22] ambassador haley what do you say to americans who are simply afraid right now in this in this [30:27] current environment that we're talking about i think it you know you look at the the country and [30:32] the country is all out of sorts i think look at what these kids are dealing with on college campuses [30:37] what makes me so angry is not only do you have the kids barricaded in the library they've said they [30:43] were going to shoot up the kosher dining hall you've got kids dorm rooms who are being set on fire because [30:48] they have something related to israel on their doors no person should ever feel in danger like [30:55] this and this is what i would say about our college presidents is if the kkk were doing this every [31:02] college president would be up in arms this is no different you should treat it exactly the same [31:09] anti-semitism is just as awful as racism and we've got to make sure they're protected and for everybody [31:15] that's protesting on these college campuses in favor of hamas let me remind you something hamas said [31:22] death to israel and death to america they hate and would kill you too and the idea that they're talking [31:28] about genocide for the jewish people that's not the values of america that's not us we're better than that [31:35] we don't need to celebrate terrorists we don't need to celebrate genocide we don't need to celebrate [31:40] violence towards anybody we need to go back and soul search in our country and remember what we are [31:46] about and we are about taking care of people not going and making them live in fear because some [31:52] other terrorist activity says they want to destroy them ambassador thank you kristen lester thank you [31:58] this is another question for the entire field so you will all get a chance to respond but senator [32:03] scott i'd like to start with you the united states has given ukraine financial and military support [32:09] since the war began more than 600 days ago president zelensky told me on sunday if russia [32:15] isn't stopped now quote the price will be higher for the united states and americans would be forced [32:21] to quote send your sons and daughters to defend nato countries senator scott where do you stand on more [32:28] funding for ukraine i certainly have been very supportive of ukraine i believe that ultimately we should [32:34] make sure that the president united states states what is america's national vital interest in ukraine [32:40] it is actually integrating the russian military we've been very effective using our resources and [32:46] our weaponry and the incredibly high price of ukrainian blood to achieve that objective every day we get [32:55] closer to the degradation of the russian military and that's good news but the american people are [33:00] frustrated that they do not have a president who reminds us and tells us where's the accountability [33:06] where are those dollars how are those dollars being spent we need those answers for us to continue to [33:11] see the support for ukraine and at the same time i would say that a package a package that's been offered [33:19] by the president for ukraine and israel that's the wrong approach we need to focus specifically on [33:26] providing israel with the 14 billion dollars that they need so that we show the world that we are 100 [33:34] undeniably standing shoulder to shoulder with israel and then as we turn away from that direct [33:41] support for israel we should go to our southern border and close our southern border with the resources [33:47] necessary i believe that we have sleeper terrorist cells in america thousands of people have come from [33:54] yemen iran syria and iraq if we are going to deal with the national security emergency at our border [34:02] we have to do it now senator scott thank you but just to be very clear if you were president if you [34:07] were in the oval office today would you sign off on more military funding for ukraine or would you [34:13] discontinue it bottom line is we have to first have the level of accountability that allows the american [34:19] people to understand where the resources have gone number one number two after we have that that [34:25] responsibility taking care of an accountability then we have an opportunity to look at the overall [34:30] strategy that helps us to grade the russian military while we use our resources and frankly [34:35] keeping our nato partners safe from the russian military is absolutely essential as you understand [34:43] article 5 would require to support and to defend nato our troops on the ground the fastest way for us to [34:50] eliminate that possibility is for us to destroy to the extent possible the russian military by doing so [34:57] we actually achieve the objective of keeping our military home and that's good thank you senator scott [35:03] mr ramaswamy are you persuaded by president zelensky's urgent new plea where do you stand on more [35:08] funds i'm absolutely unpersuaded and i'm actually enjoying watching the ukraine hawks quietly delicately [35:15] tiptoe back from their position as this thing has unwound into a disaster the first half of this race [35:20] i was the only person standing for it now they're actually quietly coming around to being more cautious [35:25] as they should level with the american people here ukraine is not a paragon of democracy this is a [35:31] country that has banned 11 opposition parties it has consolidated all media into one state tv media arm [35:37] that's not democratic it has threatened not to hold elections this year unless the u.s forks over [35:42] more money that is not democratic it has celebrated a nazi in its ranks the comedian in cargo pants a [35:47] man called zelensky doing it in their own ranks that is not democratic more facts for you that you won't [35:53] hear from the mainstream in either party or the mainstream media the regions of ukraine that are [35:58] occupied by russia right now in the donbass luhans donetsk these are russian-speaking regions [36:04] that have not even been part of ukraine since 2014 that other people probably couldn't name those [36:10] provinces for you those are the hard facts and sort of frame this as some kind of battle between good [36:16] versus evil don't buy it and i'd like the likes of the sharpest of the war hawks on ukraine nikki haley [36:22] to have some accountability and answer do you want to use u.s taxpayer money to fund the banning of [36:28] christians that is actually what's happening they're using the ukrainian orthodox church they have [36:33] banned them the ukrainian parliament just did this last week supported by our dollars and i think [36:38] you owe it to the american people nikki to at least this one time thank you that's time at least [36:44] banning of christians mr ramaswamy thank you out of both sides mr ramaswamy thank you we asked the [36:49] questions ambassador haley what is your take on more funding for ukraine i am telling you putin and [36:58] president she are salivating at the thought that someone like that could become president they would [37:03] love to the fact of the matter is she doesn't answer this is what i will tell you we're driving [37:07] russia into china's hands because you had your time to talk the ambassador has the floor thank you [37:13] the first thing i'll tell you is we all remember what that thug did when he invaded ukraine we all know [37:22] that half a million people have died because of putin and here is a freedom-loving pro-american [37:28] country that is fighting for its survival and its democracy no i don't think we should give them [37:34] cash i think we should give them the equipment the ammunition to win and i'll tell you if biden had [37:38] done it when they first asked for it this war would be over but let's also remember this when you left [37:45] afghanistan in shambles and left them with a ton of weapons and money it's not that we left it's how we [37:51] left when you look at ukraine don't think for a second now everybody wants to move away from ukraine [37:58] they'll want to move away from israel a year from now america can never be so arrogant to think we [38:03] don't need friends after 9-11 we needed a lot of friends now is the time to get partnerships this [38:09] unholy alliance alliance between russia ukraine and china is real there is a reason the taiwanese [38:15] want us to support the ukrainians it's because they know that china is coming after them next [38:20] there is a reason ukrainians want us to support israelis because they know that if iran wins [38:26] russia wins ambassador we have to see the combination of the three ambassador thank you [38:29] governor christy what is your take and how long should americans be expected to help fund the war in [38:37] ukraine kirsten let's remember the last time that we turned our back on a shooting war in europe [38:43] it bought us just a couple of years and then 500 000 americans were killed in europe to defeat [38:49] hitler this is not a choice this is the price we pay for being the leaders of the free world [38:56] and the fact is this alliance is not just with russia and china governor haley knows this iran is in the [39:05] middle of this as well and so is north korea and they are all working to support russia right now and [39:11] the reason they're doing it is because dictators work together people who believe in democracy work [39:18] together we must stand with all of those that are standing up for democracy and freedom in this world [39:23] and by the way let's remind everybody of this in 1992 this country made a promise to ukraine [39:30] we said if you return nuclear missiles that were part of the old soviet union to russia and they invade [39:36] you we will protect you an american promise that's 31 years old is no different than american promise [39:43] that's made tonight on this stage we need to stand by it and those of us who forget history are doomed to [39:50] repeat it and i'd like to respond and the absolute the absolute giving in to dictators which is being [39:58] suggested on this stage just shows the immaturity of the approach i'd like to respond thank you governor [40:04] de santis i'd like you to weigh in on this idea are you concerned that this could become a wider war [40:12] if putin is not stopped now well any suggestion by zelinski or anyone else that we should that we're [40:17] going to eventually have u.s troops there i can tell the american people when i'm president that will [40:20] not happen we are not going to send your sons and daughters to ukraine i am going to send troops to [40:25] our southern border if you look at the threats that we face terrorists have come in through our southern [40:30] border i'm going to shut it down i'm going to have the military and i'm going to deport the people [40:35] who've come particularly under biden who've come from the middle east come from all these places now [40:39] biden wants 105 billion dollars uh 60 most of that's ukraine including some of it going to pay pensions [40:45] for bureaucrats and salaries that is a totally ridiculous use of american tax dollars he says he has [40:51] money for border to try to do and the media repeat that when you look at it what most of the money is [40:57] is money to process more illegal aliens into this country how is that solving the problem that's [41:03] making the problem worse and what does he do for the indo-pacific a pittance that is the top threat [41:09] that we face we need to bring this war to an end we need the europeans to step up and do their fair share [41:16] and we need to get serious about the top threat that this country faces which is the chinese communist [41:22] party so if i thank you governor the ukraine question in fact we are going to go from the hot [41:27] wars in ukraine and gaza and israel to what many people are calling the new cold war with china and [41:33] i remind the audience that it's important for our visitors at home to be able to hear you and [41:37] especially for the people in beijing to hear you many republicans believe that the chinese communist [41:42] party and general secretary xi is an existential threat to the united states the flashpoint is taiwan [41:49] for decades and decades the american military but primarily the united states navy has deterred an [41:55] attack from china to the island state of taiwan but ronald reagan's navy of 600 ships is gone [42:01] now the question to you is and i'll start with you ambassador haley because you were in president [42:05] trump's cabinet his goal was a 355 ship navy that's what he pushed for it got to 300. it's now at 291. [42:14] is that big enough to deter and if necessary defeat an invasion of taiwan china has the [42:20] largest naval fleet in the world they have 350 ships they'll have 400 ships in two years we won't [42:26] even have 350 ships in two decades china has built up their military it's not just land air and sea [42:32] they're doing cyber they're doing artificial intelligence they're doing space america needs [42:37] to modernize our military we need to do everything we can the first thing is you go and you make sure you [42:43] have the back of you backs of ukraine that's why the taiwanese want us to support ukraine because they [42:48] know that sends the biggest message to china the second thing is we go to china and we start being [42:53] tough on them no more sales of our american soil to china and let's take back what they've already [42:59] stolen then you go and you to the universities no more having millions of dollars go to our universities [43:05] then we will go and end all formal trade relations with china until they stop murdering americans [43:11] from fentanyl something ron has yet to say that he's going to do and then we modernize our military [43:17] when we strengthen our military when we modernize it with the focus of cyber artificial intelligence [43:23] in space when we make sure that we have the backs of our friends whether it's in israel [43:28] whether it's in ukraine and we should be arming taiwan make sure they have the equipment they need [43:34] make sure they have the training they need now there's nothing china fears more than knowing that [43:39] america will have taiwan's back let's make sure that we show it by making sure they have the [43:43] equipment they need governor disanus my question is specifically about the navy it's a 291 it's going [43:49] to go down perhaps as low as 280. is it enough and what would you build if you were going to build more [43:54] not enough we have to have the ability to back up a strategy of denial of president xi's ambitions and [44:02] if china is able to be the world's leading superpower that will affect you and your family in ways that [44:07] are going to be very bad they will export authoritarianism all around the world as the [44:10] cost of doing business they will impose things like social credit scores and internet monitoring [44:15] so this is to this generation what the soviet union was to the post-world war ii generation [44:21] i've already released a plan we're going to get to 355 ships at the end of the first term 385 ships at [44:27] the end of the second term but we're going to have a path to 600 ships over the next 20 years i think [44:32] the future of freedom is going to be determined in the indo-pacific we have a strategy not with mil [44:36] not just military but decoupling from the economy and fighting them here at home with their cultural [44:41] you know ambassador haley said somehow i wasn't doing she welcomed them into south carolina gave [44:47] them land near a military base wrote the chinese ambassador a love letter saying what a great friend [44:52] they were that was like their number one way to do economic development in florida i banned china [44:58] from buying land in this state and we kicked out on our universities and we kicked the confucius [45:04] institutes out of our universities we've recognized the threat and we've acted swiftly and decisively [45:10] scott you've been in the congress since 2011 defense spending has fallen over that entire period of [45:16] time where are we going to get the money and what would you build and what kind of ships to deter china [45:22] from attacking taiwan well two major problems with the question number one we do not have currently a [45:28] defense industrial bank to allow us to have the kind of production that we need in order to keep [45:34] america safe frankly if we are not prepared to fight and engage in three continents at the same time [45:40] think about where we are today in the middle east we are in the midst of trying to back our strongest [45:46] ally in eastern europe we've seen our resources and our weaponry help degrade the russian military the [45:52] end of pacific we have real challenges the long-term threat the long-term threat is china immediate [45:59] threat is our southern border in order for us to have the military to fight three different [46:06] continents at the exact same time we are going to have to invest heavily in our military but we're also [46:13] going to have to invest heavily in an industrial base so that we can hit our objectives from a military [46:19] perspective not only with our ships but also with our air with our planes we are so old as a military [46:27] that in order for us to recalibrate we're going to have to invest one of the things i do in my [46:33] made in america strategy is we create more than four million new jobs by having high-tech [46:39] manufacturing come back to america decoupling from china so that we focus our attention on creating [46:45] the industrial revolution that will be necessary for us to achieve the goal of having a military [46:52] that is ready to be lethal and come home safe senator mr ranaswamy i'm looking for specifics [46:58] what would you build where would you build it when would they be in the water how big would the fleet [47:02] get first answer is end the toxic divest to invest program for people who don't know about that [47:08] we're decommissioning ships in the south china sea the foundation of war is economics rebuild our [47:14] defense industrial base at home but here's the dirty little secret our actual defense [47:18] industrial base depends on china for the supply chain for the f-35 jets for the ships that we're [47:24] building think about this why are we stockpiling that if it isn't to actually be strong against [47:29] our enemy china we depend on them for that just like we depend on them for pharmaceuticals just like [47:34] we depend on them for semiconductors so here's why we can't get tough with china it's because we depend [47:40] on them for our modern way of life and we have to declare economic independence from our enemy [47:46] that's the declaration of independence that thomas jefferson at the age of 33 would have signed [47:50] today if you were alive that's the declaration of independence that i will sign as the next president [47:55] i do have to recognize that ronda sanus was correct about acknowledging nikki haley's tough talk when [48:00] she was ambassador to the u.n calling china our great friend bringing the ccp to south carolina [48:06] what he left out though ron and be honest about it there was a lobbying based exemption in that bill [48:10] that allowed chinese nationals to buy land within a 20 mile radius of a military base lobbied for by [48:16] one of your donors so i think we have to call a spade a spade we need politicians who are independent [48:22] of the forces that increase our dependence on china my message to xi jinping is this you are done buying [48:27] land in this country you will not donate to universities in this country u.s businesses won't [48:32] expand into the chinese market until you play by the same set of rules you're kicked out of the [48:35] wto and you actually have to have accountability for the covet 19 pandemic financially which unleashed [48:42] hell on the world we have to hold them accountable do you have a number and a plan i think that we [48:48] need to increase our naval capacity by at least 20 percent over the course of the next several years [48:54] i think we have to at minimum be able to meet our augus agreement standards right now we are at risk of [48:59] not even being able to meet our augus standards with with australia and the uk so what we need to do is [49:05] have a plan that reverses the trajectory of the divest to invest program by 20 percent over the next [49:11] three years governor christie you know my first observation hugh is that nobody answers your [49:16] question and and my second observation is these three in the middle think they're the enemy i know [49:22] china is the enemy and that's what we should be focused on so let's be really clear the nuclear [49:26] submarines in this united states navy is the greatest deterrent to chinese aggression and that [49:33] is the first place i would go to increase american naval power our nuclear submarines are able to move [49:39] stealthily quietly and effectively and if we are going to deter china from invading taiwan the only way [49:46] we're going to do it is to make sure that they don't know whether how many nuclear submarines from the [49:52] united states of america are in the south china sea and in that area and ready to strike on them [49:57] if they decide to move on taiwan and so we as our first priority need to go directly to our nuclear [50:03] sub program hue and we need to increase it drastically that would be priority number one [50:09] ships would come next but to me the ships are secondary choice here the submarines are the single [50:15] most important thing that we could be deterring that we could be using to deter china but the other [50:20] thing we could do to deter china is to let them know that the blood money they're spending for [50:24] russia in ukraine right now will not be effective that we send putin home with his tail between his [50:30] legs and make them understand that the same fate waits for them if they decide to move towards taiwan [50:36] with a more aggressive nuclear sub program we'll be able to make that threat real thank you governor [50:41] we're going to take a brief pause now we'll be back to the republican presidential primary debate please [50:45] stay tuned welcome back to tonight's nbc news republican presidential debate once again here's [51:19] hugh hewitt thank you lester we're going to stay on china and we're going to talk specifically about [51:23] tick tock last week congressman mike gallagher who is chairman of the house bipartisan select [51:29] committee on the chinese communist party published a long essay on tick tock following the flooding [51:34] of pro-hamas propaganda under tick tock accounts across the united states chairman gallagher called it [51:40] shocking he called the app predatory controlled by america's preeminent adversary one used to push [51:46] propaganda and divide america it's spyware he said in means of surveillance governor christie do you [51:52] agree with chairman gallagher and if so would you ban or force the sale of tick tock i agree 100 [51:58] with chairman gallagher and let me say this tick tock is not only spyware it is polluting the minds of [52:07] american young people all throughout this country and they're doing it intentionally and when you [52:13] saw what happened in the last few weeks with all of this anti-semitic horrible stuff that their [52:21] algorithms were pushing out at a gargantuan rate this is china trying to further divide the united [52:29] states of america and this is one of the big failings among many of the trump administration [52:34] he talked tough about tick tock i heard him do it many times but when it came down to it he did [52:41] not ban them when he could have and should have and now since then we've had an additional nearly [52:47] six years of this type of poison being put out throughout the united states even putting aside the [52:54] spying which we know is going on in the theft of american personal data and information so in my [53:02] first week as president we would ban tick tock they want to go ahead and sell it let them go ahead and [53:08] sell it but i'll tell you another reason we would do it facebook's not in china x is not in china [53:16] they're not permitting a free flow of information to the chinese people from our social media companies [53:22] yet we just open the door and let them do what they're doing tick tock should be banned because they [53:27] are poisoning american minds and i would do it week one thank you governor i want to go to governor [53:32] desantis would you ban or force the sale of tick tock regardless of whether or not china allowed [53:38] american apps to operate in china yes i think that china is the top threat we face they've been very [53:44] effective at infiltrating different parts of our society so my policy on china and the chinese [53:49] communist party is very simple we win they lose and in order to do that it's not just military [53:56] it's economic and it's cultural and as the dad of a six five and a three-year-old [54:01] i'm concerned about the data that they're getting from our young people and what they're doing to [54:06] pollute the minds of our young people these kids get these devices and they have a mind of their own [54:12] and i know a lot of parents are looking it's hard to even keep it out china's obviously the most extreme [54:17] but this is happening with other things so we are going to do that and we are going to make sure to [54:22] protect the american people it's a full spectrum approach to be able to fend china off yes military [54:28] deterrence yes economic uh decoupling but also their role in our culture if we don't if we ignore [54:35] that we're not going to be able to win the fight thank you governor ambassador haley speak to the [54:39] parents out there they're probably tick tock apps on half the phones in this uh auditorium no i'm going [54:44] to speak to the fact that two people hit me and you didn't let me respond so let's first talk about [54:48] the fact that they want to talk about the chinese land from 10 years ago yes i brought a fiberglass [54:54] company 10 years ago to south carolina but ron you are the chair of your economic development agency [55:01] that as of last week said florida is the ideal place for chinese businesses not only that you have a [55:10] company that is manufacturer of chinese military planes you have it they are expanding two training [55:17] sites at two of your airports now one which is 12 miles away from a naval base then you have another [55:23] company that's expanding and they were just invaded by the department of homeland security so mine was [55:29] 10 years ago you gave them stuff i didn't give them anything what's your story and i abolished that [55:34] agency that she's talking about enterprise florida we abolished it and of course we banned china from [55:41] buying the website not exactly a great recruiting page if you're banning them from purchasing [55:46] the website last week thank you mr ramaswamy uh we've talked about this you campaign on tick tock [55:54] how do you get tick tock ban if you use it well i i want to laugh at why nikki haley didn't answer [56:00] your question which is about looking at families in the eye in the last debate she made fun of me for [56:04] actually joining tick tock while her own daughter was actually using the app for a long time so you [56:09] might want to take care of your family first leave my daughter out of your voice the next generation [56:14] of americans are using it and that's actually the point you have her supporters crapping her up that's [56:20] fine here's the truth the easy answer is actually to say that we're just going to ban one app we got [56:26] to go further we have to ban any u.s company actually transferring u.s data to the chinese here's a [56:33] story most people don't know airbnb hands over u.s user data to the ccp now that's a u.s owned company [56:42] so this is the problem when you have republicans that temporarily go the way the winds blow and [56:46] now it's popular to talk tough on china when she was un ambassador called them literally her words [56:51] not my our great friend you can't be fair weather fans of the right policy get to the root cause even [56:57] u.s companies in silicon valley are regularly doing it cut the virtue signaling the fact of [57:03] the matter is democrats are on tick tock today the only person one of the few people who is putting [57:07] up content the way the actual algorithms work speaking for pro-israel views or others [57:13] more republicans will join it but stop u.s companies from turning over data to chinese companies [57:20] don't get to respond to personal attacks but you do thank you very much you know when he talks about me [57:25] praising china he doesn't know the fact that the reason china was praised was because i negotiated [57:31] with china and russia the largest set of sanctions against north korea in a generation we are the [57:36] that is literally the reason north korea stopped testing ballistic missiles so i said china did good [57:42] on their part that was a negotiation you could never do what you said nikki those are your words [57:46] not mine and so just own up to it you would never you can change your mind that's allowed but don't [57:50] lie to the people about what you've said or what you've done in south carolina [57:53] my entire career every day i fought china and i did it by making sure no one could get any agency [58:01] heads in u.n i did it by making sure that we called them out on human rights i did it by making sure [58:08] that we held them accountable on everything that they did that's the reason we got out of human [58:13] rights council that's the reason we called them out and i have there's not going to stay i haven't [58:17] it's not really interesting it is your turn afterwards everybody else is hanging on to the [58:23] rules here mr ramassami senator scott thank you we should i appreciate y'all clapping for me already [58:30] this is wonderful i love this without any question what we should do is ban tick tock period now we saw [58:38] under former president trump he tried to ban tick tock twice but was struck down by our federal courts [58:44] if you cannot ban tick tock you should eliminate the chinese presence on the app period we also [58:51] should provide in my parents bill of rights we give parents the opportunity to give their kids [58:57] permission under 14 to be on those apps i think it's incredibly important for us as americans to take [59:04] back control of the information especially of our kids where does it go we should know that one of the [59:11] ways that we get to know that is by having a parental consent but if we can eliminate tick tock that is [59:18] a first step but it's not just tick tock china continues to spy on our kids but they're also buying our [59:26] farmlands we talked about this several times there we have to make sure that we use the tools that are [59:32] in our toolkit to stop china from buying farmland near our bases the third thing we have to do is make [59:39] sure that they stop stealing our intellectual property they're literally stealing our ip to [59:46] compete against us my administration we stopped that day one and we start making sure that we create [59:53] six-figure income for jobs made in america through my strategy kristen hugh thank you so much we're now [1:00:02] going to talk about venezuela where millions have fled political and economic turmoil many venezuelan [1:00:08] immigrants are settling right here in florida former president trump and president biden have taken [1:00:13] different approaches to nicolas maduro's regime with little result former president trump put economic [1:00:19] pressure on venezuela and backed one of maduro's rivals president biden temporarily eased sanctions [1:00:25] to encourage electoral reforms governor desantis do you see the political situation in venezuela [1:00:31] as a threat to the united states and what would your approach be we should never rely on venezuela [1:00:38] for oil like biden has had to go beg i'm going to unleash all of america's energy potential on day one [1:00:46] i'm taking all the biden regulations the green new deal ripping it up and throwing it in the trash can [1:00:52] where it belongs we're going to lower your gas prices we're going to create jobs we're going to lower [1:00:56] energy costs but we're also going to be more energy independent and secure we'll choose midland over [1:01:02] moscow we'll choose the marcellus over the mullahs and we'll choose bakken over beijing that is good [1:01:08] for america's national security biden's green new deal that's good for venezuela it's good for russia [1:01:15] it's good for iran and it's good for china so i would turn the screws on the venezuelan regime i think [1:01:20] it's a corrupt dictatorial regime and we should never go hat in hand begging for oil from them [1:01:27] just to be clear would you reimpose the sanctions yes absolutely ambassador haley what would your [1:01:32] approach be you know i stood on the simon boulevard bridge and watched thousands of venezuelans cross in [1:01:39] for hours in the hot sun holding their babies to get the one meal they might get that day going from [1:01:43] venezuela to colombia they were fleeing socialism and begging for freedom we need to make sure that [1:01:50] we do everything we can to sanction maduro we shouldn't be getting dirty oil and biden just [1:01:55] gave 500 000 venezuelans temporary priority status which is just going to have more of them come [1:02:01] but on the energy side it cracks me up that ron continues to do this he has opposed fracking he's [1:02:06] opposed drilling last time he said it wasn't true and everybody found out that it was true he opposed [1:02:12] it before florida voters even voted on it he was praised by the sierra club and you're trying to make up [1:02:18] for it and act like you weren't you weren't a liberal when it comes to the environment you [1:02:22] were you always have been just own it if that's the case but don't keep saying you're something [1:02:27] that you're not let me respond to that response so uh our whole energy plan you can't get the shale [1:02:34] without fracking we are absolutely going to frack but i disagree with nikki haley i don't think it's a [1:02:39] good idea to drill in the florida everglades and i know most floridians agree with me you banned [1:02:43] fracking thank you very much all right thank you let's turn to one of the biggest issues for voters [1:02:50] that of course is the economy this is a question that will go to all of you an iowa voter recently [1:02:56] told nbc news how am i going to make sure my pantry stock without breaking the bank you've all said the [1:03:02] best way to deal with rising prices is to cut government spending but that would take time to [1:03:07] play out and americans are struggling right now senator scott i'll start with you what would you do the [1:03:12] moment you take office to help americans manage the cost of living so we're talking about short [1:03:17] term here my mother was a single mother who raised me and my brother in a very challenging economic [1:03:23] situation the first thing i can tell you is that when your gas prices are 40 percent higher right now [1:03:29] than they were just a little over two years ago that's not a problem for my mama that was a crisis the [1:03:35] first thing i would do is president united states is i would sign the excel keystone pipeline and start [1:03:40] seeing resources flow secondly i would do is make sure that there's certainty and predictability so [1:03:46] that those folks who have the leases in our country would have the certainty and predictability to go [1:03:51] ahead and become energy independent we should focus not just on being energy independent we should focus on [1:03:59] being energy dominant america is the home to more energy resources than any other country on the planet we [1:04:08] can reduce the price of energy we can reduce the price of food and the price of electricity if we focus [1:04:16] on my build here don't borrow from china plan that is embedded the made in america strategy creates 10 [1:04:25] million new jobs in three different areas one is innovation second is the high-tech manufacturing and the third [1:04:34] world is the energy economy we have an opportunity as americans to actually export the surplus [1:04:42] energy that we create in our nation and disconnect from china and from murderous [1:04:48] dictators and tyrants around your time is up but let me just follow up the idea of pumping gas of [1:04:54] turning on pipelines that doesn't put make gas cheaper that day i'm talking about you become president [1:05:00] what can you do specifically to help people feel better about their situation or be better with [1:05:05] their situation well actually it does to be honest with you the way that the economy works is it works [1:05:09] on the ability to anticipate excess supply versus the demand when that happens confidence drives our [1:05:17] prices down because we know there's going to be a greater surplus when you allow for those who have leases [1:05:22] to actually start drilling to start using those leases for for more energy excavation you put our [1:05:29] economy in the strongest position and as a result of that prices start going down that is the kind of [1:05:35] economy that as president of the united states i would lead this nation to making sure that we first use [1:05:43] the resources in our own country and not going outside of our country in order to achieve our objective [1:05:50] you know proverbs 22 7 reminds us that the borrower is slave to the lender we have become an indentured [1:05:58] servant too often to countries like china by having an energy economy we start allowing this nation to [1:06:06] once again return senator thank you let me let me ask the same question to governor de santis can you give [1:06:12] us some you ticked off a number of things a moment ago but some specific examples of ways that would [1:06:18] put people on a better economic footing right away so i started off working minimum wage jobs i did six [1:06:24] dollars an hour as an electrician's assistant i worked all kinds of things to be able to get [1:06:29] through school and i did that because i believed in america if you work hard and get the most out of [1:06:33] your god-given ability you can get ahead and what's happening now many of you are working hard and you're [1:06:39] falling further and further behind i've met people in iowa new hampshire and all across the country [1:06:44] who've talked about all the burdens that they're facing with the rising prices and i've heard from multiple [1:06:49] people the same story when they go grocery shopping what they now do is they figure out what they have [1:06:55] to take out of the cart once it's ringing up because it rings up so much faster and so much higher at the [1:07:01] cash register that they can't afford the full cart of groceries anymore we have to restore the american [1:07:08] dream in this country what can you do on day one here's what i'm going to do i'm going to take all the [1:07:13] executive orders the regulations everything involving biodynamics i'm going to rip it up i'm going to [1:07:19] throw it in the trash can on day one where it belongs that is going to give the economy breathing [1:07:24] room and i'm also going to rein in the federal reserve they have helped create uh with their [1:07:29] reckless monetary policy what we have faced since the covet 19 pandemic they botched it congress botched [1:07:36] it both parties are to blame fed should focus on stable prices they are not an economic central [1:07:43] planner for the american people governor thank you mr ramaswamy weigh in on this ways that you can [1:07:48] improve people's financial condition in the short term right and as a ceo the economic question is [1:07:53] core to my vision and policy prescription for this country increase the supply of everything it's the [1:07:58] law of supplies and demand increase the supply of energy that brings down the cost of energy grows the [1:08:04] economy drill frack burn coal embrace nuclear increase the supply of labor in this country stop using our [1:08:11] taxpayer money to pay people more to stay at home instead of to go to work increase the supply of [1:08:17] housing people don't talk about this one in the republican party the land use restrictions are [1:08:22] constricting the supply of housing that's making housing more expensive for ordinary americans across [1:08:27] this country so that's the true answer and i think it takes a ceo in the white house who actually [1:08:31] understands this to get this done because americans at home they know the binomics is a lie [1:08:37] prices are going up interest rates and mortgages to buy your home are going up but wages have remained [1:08:43] flat that's the hard diagnosis for our economy and this is about more than just our economy i say this [1:08:48] as a member of my generation i'm 38 years old i'm the youngest person ever to run for u.s president as [1:08:54] a republican the reason my generation has lost our sense of national pride in part is because people [1:09:00] in my generation feel like the american dream isn't available to them and part of the reason why is we [1:09:05] burdened them with four-year college degrees that did not serve their head start on the american dream [1:09:10] people will be more proud of a country if we're all making more money in that country this is how [1:09:16] we revive national pride and our identity and it will take a ceo in the white house with zero based [1:09:22] budgeting by the way to take on the federal debt to get this job done let me turn to governor christie [1:09:26] on that well look lester part of the part of the entire premise of the question and i agree with tim on [1:09:32] this is absolutely energy is the key to this because it drives every one of those other prices [1:09:38] you know now food gets to your grocery store it gets trucked and those truckers have to pay for [1:09:43] fuel for the higher fuel prices and when you go ahead and you tell people we are going to unleash [1:09:50] every bit of american energy every bit of its potential what happens in the futures markets the [1:09:56] prices go down because those people who are believing that the biden program will continue are [1:10:01] the ones who are bidding this up and let me take the other place that's bidding it up in the middle east [1:10:06] and so if you don't believe that making sure that israel and that israel situation that's going on [1:10:12] right now isn't resolved and resolved quickly as president united states and bring stability back [1:10:18] that will also not permit countries like saudi arabia and others to be able to jack their prices as well [1:10:25] in what they say is in response to a crisis when it's really what it's in response to is putting more [1:10:29] money in their pockets when they have an american president who knows that israel must be defended not with [1:10:35] humanitarian pauses and not with suggestions for ceasefire but with letting them know we will [1:10:41] supply them with everything they need that will also bring stability to the market energy is the [1:10:46] key to bringing this down it's what every american family needs when they turn on their lights fill [1:10:51] up their car and go to the grocery store and we need to do that first and foremost that's the short [1:10:56] term answer governor christie thank you ambassador haley let me come at this from a slightly different [1:11:00] direction americans in rural communities are being especially squeezed by inflation right now an iowa [1:11:06] state university study found that last year inflation costs rural households about an extra 5 000 [1:11:14] how would you specifically help rural americans who are suffering right now ambassador well i'm a [1:11:18] product of rural america i grew up in rural south carolina and i can tell you what we're seeing now in [1:11:23] america is the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer we have to go and start beefing up the [1:11:29] middle class and the first thing i would do is i will eliminate the federal gas and diesel tax in [1:11:34] this country we'll cut taxes on the middle class but we have to stop the spending binge that's happening [1:11:40] by republicans and democrats in congress i will make sure one we claw back the 500 billion dollars of [1:11:46] unspent covid dollars that are out there instead of 87 000 irs agents going after middle america we'll go [1:11:52] after the hundreds of billions of dollars of covid fraud that exists one out of every seven dollars [1:11:57] we'll stop the spending we'll stop the borrowing we'll eliminate the earmarks and i'll veto any [1:12:02] spending bill that doesn't go back to pre-covid levels that will cut trillions and allow us to be safe [1:12:09] we also need to be not energy independent energy dominant we are blessed with resources let's do it [1:12:15] but the reason no one should give you a number hue on the amount of ships in the navy is because in a [1:12:21] few years our interest expense is going to be more than our defense budget so no one can give you that [1:12:28] number realistically without first tackling what's happening with the financial situation it would be [1:12:35] a false number to give you that we have got to understand this is a crisis it is a national security [1:12:41] concern if we don't deal with what's going to happen with that interest expense in a few years [1:12:46] we're going to look like japan and we can't let that happen the strong dollar matters ambassador [1:12:51] thank you very much christian americans could see americans could see their social security benefits [1:12:58] drastically cut in the next decade because the program is running out of money former president [1:13:04] trump has said quote under no circumstances should republicans cut entitlements governor christie first to [1:13:09] you you have proposed raising the retirement age for younger americans what would that age be [1:13:14] specifically and would you consider making any other reforms to social security sure and we have [1:13:20] to deal with this problem now look if we raise the retirement age a few years for folks that are in [1:13:24] their 30s and 40s i have a son who's in the audience tonight is 30 years old if he can't adjust [1:13:30] to a few year increase in social security retirement age over the next 40 years i got bigger problems [1:13:36] with him than his social security payments and the fact is we need to be realistic about this there are [1:13:42] only three things that go into determining whether social security can be solvent or not retirement age [1:13:48] eligibility for the program in general and taxes that's it we are already overtaxed in this country [1:13:54] and we should not raise those taxes but an eligibility also i don't know if out there tonight [1:13:59] and if you're watching warren um i don't know if warren buffett is collecting social security but if he is [1:14:05] shame on you you shouldn't be taking the money there are a lot of programs in this country that we all pay for [1:14:10] that we don't get a direct benefit from food stamps is one of them i've never fortunately in my life [1:14:18] ever had me or my family on food stamps but i'm glad it's there so that no one in this country goes to [1:14:24] bed hungry at night if they have availability to that program but i don't get a direct benefit the [1:14:29] fact is on social security remember why it was established it was established as a safety net program [1:14:34] to make sure that no one would grow old in this country in poverty that's what we got to get back to [1:14:39] rich people should not be collecting social security governor can you give me a specific [1:14:43] age 69 70 what would the age be no look that's going to be a power of negotiation with congress [1:14:47] kirsten and hell i'm not going to start negotiating until i get there all right ambassador haley let me [1:14:53] have you weigh in on this because you said in june that you would be open to raising the retirement [1:14:58] age have you determined what that age would be specifically and what other reforms are you looking [1:15:03] at so first of all any candidate that tells you that they're not going to take on entitlements [1:15:07] is not being serious social security will go bankrupt in 10 years medicare will go bankrupt in [1:15:12] eight right now you have ron and trump joining biden and pelosi saying they're not going to change or [1:15:18] do any sort of entitlement reform what we need to do is keep our promises those that have been promised [1:15:24] should keep it but for like my kids in their 20s you go and you say we're going to change the rules [1:15:29] you change the retirement age for them instead of cost of living increases we should go to increases [1:15:34] based on inflation we should limit limit benefits on the wealthy bernie marcus can tell you he hates [1:15:40] getting that check limit the benefits on the wealth wealthy and then expand medicare advantage plans [1:15:45] seniors love that and let's make sure we do that so they can have more competition that's how we'll [1:15:50] deal with entitlement reform and that's how we'll start to pay down this debt and can you give me a [1:15:54] specific age have you determined the age again you have to work with chris what i can tell you is you [1:15:59] can it's going to be those in their 20s just coming into the system and it should reflect more [1:16:03] of life expectancy it doesn't do that now all right mr ramaswamy have you determined if you [1:16:09] would touch entitlements and social security what if any reforms are you looking at so this is really [1:16:13] important right now we're working within the last window i believe we will have to actually fix this [1:16:19] problem while still leaving social security and medicare benefits for current seniors intact i'll tell you [1:16:24] how the other candidates assume like nikki that it can't be done and on her math she's right about it [1:16:29] but her math assumes seven trillion dollars of our 33 trillion dollar national debt going to fight wars [1:16:36] like in places like iraq and afghanistan minus that our national debt would be 26 trillion dollars right [1:16:43] now then you go to zero based budgeting which i've proposed as a ceo it's how i've run businesses [1:16:48] it's how many ceos run businesses don't use last year's budget as the baseline start with [1:16:54] zero as the baseline and then ask what's actually necessary 75 headcount reduction yes that is [1:17:00] severe in the number of federal employees in the washington dc bureaucracy shut down redundant [1:17:06] agencies that should not exist deliver economic growth as a positive tailwind i think we can get [1:17:11] to three four maybe even five percent gdp growth if we really take the regulatory shackles off of our [1:17:18] economy and against that backdrop i believe this is our last best window to be able to take care of [1:17:24] our national debt problem through those severe measures including sacrificing the foreign wars [1:17:29] that many bloodthirsty members of both parties have a hunger for that's the one secret for how we're [1:17:34] going to be able to do this and that requires discipline so we can't have the first conversation [1:17:38] we're having sending foreign aid willy-nilly to countries whose national debt per capita is less [1:17:44] than ours thank you but if we do this correctly i think this is our last window and it'll take a ceo from the next generation to do it thank you very much senator scott way in here what are you looking at to keep social security [1:17:52] the bottom line is a simple one we have to grow our economy and cut our spending let me just say to [1:18:01] my mama and every other mama or grandfather receiving social security as president united states i will [1:18:08] protect your social security the fact is that we're spending today about 1.1 trillion dollars of social [1:18:14] security about 750 billion dollars on medicare about 300 billion dollars on medicaid about 400 [1:18:21] billion all the veterans benefits 1.7 trillion dollars on annual appropriations if we're going to [1:18:25] actually tame this tiger the way you do it is not by picking on seniors who have paid into a program [1:18:33] that deserve their money coming back out to them the way you deal with it is number one you have to [1:18:39] grow your economy my plan made in america creates 10 million new jobs grows our economy at five percent [1:18:45] by doing so you add trillions of dollars of economic activity and billions of dollars to your treasury [1:18:50] number two you have to cut taxes when we cut taxes in 2017 i wrote the tax cuts and jobs act everybody said [1:18:56] well guess what revenue will go down well in 2018 after we wrote in 2017 what happened revenue went up by [1:19:03] three percent and the next year it went up by another three percent so what we know is that the [1:19:08] laffer curve still works but the lower the tax the higher the revenue and finally if we're going to deal [1:19:14] with it we have to take our annual appropriations back to pre-2020 pre-covid levels of spending which [1:19:22] will save us about a half a trillion dollars in the next budget window by doing that we deal with social [1:19:27] security and our mandatory spending thank you senator very quickly would you raise the retirement age would [1:19:33] you be open to raising the retirement age or do you rule that out all you have to do is go to a farm [1:19:39] in iowa and watch the hard work and the dedication yes you and i have a conversation yes the answer is [1:19:46] no but going listen to this so before you go on thank you the fact of the matter is that the more physical [1:19:54] your labor a year or two or three more is actually challenging to the physical body you and i might have [1:20:02] a different perspective but for those farmers they're working nine days thank you senator i [1:20:07] appreciate it governor de santis finally to you would you be open to raising the retirement age and [1:20:12] how would you keep social security sustainable well look as governor of florida i know a few people on [1:20:17] social security and i know it's important my grandmother lived till 91 and social security was [1:20:23] our sole source of income and that's true for a lot of seniors throughout this country so i'd say to [1:20:28] seniors at america promise made promise kept i understand what you're going through with the [1:20:34] rising prices and you need that social security check so we'll make sure to get that done what can [1:20:40] you do to help shore up social security one of the things that's that's causing problems is the [1:20:44] inflation we have to reduce inflation when you have higher inflation the seniors get a cost of living [1:20:50] adjustment which means the program's spending more but it doesn't cover the increase in the actual [1:20:56] inflation rate we also do need to get to at least three percent growth you're never going to be able [1:21:01] to have uh issues be able to solve the budget without that but i would note this congress for [1:21:06] decades took money from social security social security would have more tax revenue than it put out [1:21:12] they would take it and then they'd write an iou to social security congress has a lot of dirty hands [1:21:18] on this i'm going to force congress to stop spending so much money and you know one thing we have to [1:21:24] to talk about the retirement age is just something that's changed in the last four or five years [1:21:27] life expectancy in the united states is declining so governor yes or no would you raise it would you [1:21:33] raise the retirement when when when life expectancy is declining i don't see how you could raise it the [1:21:38] other direction so it's one thing to peg it on life expectancy but we have had a significant decline [1:21:43] in life expectancy in this country and that's just the fact all right governor de santa thank you thank [1:21:47] you candidates and we will be right back after a quick break from miami florida back to tonight's [1:22:17] nbc news republican presidential debate once again here's salem radio's hugh hewitt thank you lester [1:22:23] when nbc news talks to voters when i talk to voters every day they all say that the border is a top [1:22:29] issue it can mean a lot of different things it can mean two million people who crossed illegally last [1:22:34] year it can mean more than 150 arrests of people on the terror watch list it can mean the burden on [1:22:40] states from having migrants move into their states from the southwestern border but i want to talk [1:22:45] about opioids specifically and fentanyl and i'll start with you senator scott tens of thousands of [1:22:50] americans families have suffered a death to fentanyl young people sometimes die taking one pill what can [1:22:56] you do as commander-in-chief on the first day to stop fentanyl and the waterfall of it into this country [1:23:02] the number one in which we should close our southern border for 10 billion dollars we could [1:23:06] close our southern border for an additional five billion dollars we could use the currently available [1:23:12] military technology to surveil our southern border to stop fentanyl from crossing our border i've already [1:23:19] led on legislation that is sanction would sanction the mexican cartels if you remember the path [1:23:26] the precursors come from china then they are manufactured in mexican labs and then the mexican [1:23:32] cartels bring them across our border by sanctioning their accounts and eliminating their cash we [1:23:38] starve them of what they need number one closing our southern border makes it nearly impossible to get in [1:23:43] the military grade technology is a backup making sure that we not only stop 70 000 deaths in the last 12 [1:23:55] months because of fentanyl it also allows us to deal with the human trafficking travesty that is entering in [1:24:02] our country in our country in the same path if we are going to deal effectively with a hundred thousand [1:24:09] overdose deaths in our country and the 70 000 that is directly linked to fentanyl we have to deal with [1:24:16] our ports of entry and deal with our southern border if we do that effectively we have started reducing the [1:24:25] challenge from the outside and then we have to deal with the challenge on the inside which seems to be [1:24:30] connected to a mental health crisis that is spreading throughout our nation governor christie uh senator [1:24:36] scott just mentioned ports of entry 90 of the fentanyl that is seized in the united states is seized at [1:24:41] ports of entry we don't know what's coming in across the open southern border you've been a united [1:24:45] states attorney you've taken on cartels can it really be done quickly what would you do as president [1:24:51] it can be done quickly in in in two ways hue on fentanyl um the first way is exactly as as you [1:24:58] suggest that ports of entry um we have to beef up what our law enforcement has in terms of technology [1:25:04] i would invest in that as president um we need to make sure that law enforcement has every tool at [1:25:09] its disposal to do it secondly on day one i would sign an executive order that would send the national [1:25:14] guard to partner with customs and border patrol both at ports of entry and at the open ports of our [1:25:19] border customs and border patrol agents are overwhelmed there's 200 000 encounters a month [1:25:26] over the last 11 months we simply do not have the man and woman power at the border [1:25:32] to be able to deal with it and so dealing with both law enforcement and and you're right we have [1:25:37] done this we can do this but we got to give them the tools to do it and technology is one of the [1:25:41] biggest tools that we don't have enough of at the ports of entry now we also need to lower demand [1:25:47] hue in this country and the way to lower demand is to start treating people again you know we started [1:25:53] to do this before covid and we haven't done enough of it and for every family out there tonight who [1:25:59] has lost a loved one to fentanyl or to any other type of opioid overdose what you know is all you want [1:26:06] is a chance for them to win their lives back when i'm president united states we're going to call this [1:26:11] what it is it is a disease like heart disease diabetes or any other disease like cancer that can be [1:26:18] treated should be treated we not only have to stop supply but we have to lower demand and save together [1:26:24] governor de santis you have talked about using united states special forces to attack the cartels [1:26:31] where they manufacture the chemicals that come from china how often how many what what does that look [1:26:37] like well first i was speaking to a dad who lost a son to fentanyl overdose son wasn't a drug addict he [1:26:45] had taken some pill that happened to be laced with fentanyl and it was a fatal overdose and when he told me [1:26:50] obviously the pain of losing a child is as bad as it gets but he said what was salt in the wounds [1:26:56] is that these elites in dc don't give a damn about what's going on in this country they don't care that [1:27:02] we have tens of thousands of opioid deaths that the fentanyl is pouring in they are not taking the [1:27:08] type of action we need to we're declaring it a national emergency on day one i'm sending us military [1:27:13] to the border i'm going to stop the invasion cold i am going to deport people who came illegally and i'm [1:27:19] even going to build the border wall and have mexico pay for it like donald trump promised how are you [1:27:23] going to do it yeah mexico is not going to fork over money we're going to impose fees on the [1:27:27] remittances that foreign workers send to foreign countries we'll raise billions of dollars i'll build [1:27:32] the wall but we are going to designate the cartels to be foreign terrorist organizations or something [1:27:36] similar to that and we're going to authorize the use of deadly force we're going to have maritime [1:27:41] operations to interdict precursor chemicals going into mexico but i'll tell you this if someone in the [1:27:46] drug cartels is sneaking fencing all across the border when i'm president that's going to be the [1:27:50] last thing they do we're going to shoot them stone cold dead ambassador haley if ambassador haley if [1:28:01] the united states uses special forces in mexico without prior notice to the mexican allies to our [1:28:07] south what would your colleagues at the united nations think about that i don't care what my [1:28:11] colleagues at the united nations think what i'll tell you is first of all you have to go to the source [1:28:20] we have lost more americans in the vietnam afghan afghanistan and iraq wars combined we lost 75 000 [1:28:28] americans last year go to the source it is the reason why we'll continue to say we will end all normal [1:28:34] trade relations with china until they stop murdering americans you watch how quick that flow stops the [1:28:40] second thing is we'll send special operations in to take out the cartels we need to go to where they're [1:28:46] distributing it where the supply centers are and take them out we'll put 25 000 more border patrol [1:28:52] and ice agents on the ground and let them do their job we will defund sanctuary cities we will go back [1:28:59] to the remain in mexico policy so that everybody stays in mexico and they never get here in the first [1:29:03] place and instead of catching deport we'll go to catch and release i'm sorry instead of catch and [1:29:08] release we'll go to catch and deport that is the way we'll deal with the border those are the things [1:29:13] that we have to do going forward but i do agree with chris one of the first things that we have to [1:29:17] do is really focus on mental health and addiction centers it is something that is needed in our [1:29:24] country terribly because we don't deal with mental health and someone who doesn't get care for mental [1:29:29] health falls into addiction and we owe it to them to treat it like the cancer that it is mr ramaswamy [1:29:35] special forces in mexico shoot them stone cold dead at the border one thing i just want to say and how [1:29:41] we're talking about this issue is you know like ron i've actually met many parents across this country [1:29:46] who have lost their kids to laced pharmaceuticals that have fentanyl in them the only thing i would [1:29:51] ask ron i think you'd be on the same page with me on this let's not even call that an overdose right [1:29:55] that is not an overdose that is poisoning if you put that fentanyl on a big mac we would not call that [1:30:02] an overdose you'd call it what it is it's closer to bioterrorism and i say that because as it uniquely [1:30:09] relates to this crisis that does warrant more aggressive means to deal with it so there's a [1:30:15] new presidential election in mexico in 2024 people may not be aware of that it's going to be someone [1:30:20] other than obrador who has been a disaster in mexico i think he's even mentioned me obliquely in [1:30:24] speeches to say that somebody who would do this shouldn't get anywhere near the white house well [1:30:28] amlo get out of the way there's going to be someone else in charge i hope to build a good [1:30:33] relationship with that next president of mexico we'll use our own military to seal our own southern [1:30:38] border what we need to do is stop using our military to protect somebody else's border halfway [1:30:42] around the world when we're short right here at home get serious about protecting this border and [1:30:47] then the other thing that hasn't been discussed is the northern border i'm the only candidate on the [1:30:50] stage as far as i'm aware who has actually visited the northern border there was enough fentanyl that [1:30:56] was captured just on the northern border last year to kill three million americans so we got to just [1:31:02] skate to where the puck is going not just where the puck is don't just build the wall build both walls [1:31:07] can't just complete the wall use the military to seal the swiss cheese for the tunnels that they're [1:31:12] actually building underneath that wall thank you and actually get this job done thank you [1:31:17] kristen thank you hugh let's talk now about last night's election results abortion rights supporters [1:31:26] saw victories in ohio and virginia following earlier wins in states like kansas and kentucky [1:31:32] governor de santis first to you how do you see the path forward for republicans on this issue [1:31:38] well i stand for a culture of life and i understand that it's important that everyone [1:31:43] gets a shot i'm reminded of a story about a young mother who was struggling in jamaica about 40 years [1:31:49] ago 45 years ago she was counseled to not have a baby because she was poor baby wouldn't have [1:31:55] opportunity and she came close to have an abortion but she decided to have the baby born poor in jamaica [1:32:01] and the reason i know that story is because that baby girl ended up emigrating to the state of florida [1:32:06] uh becoming a lawyer and a judge and i appointed her to the florida supreme court in august of 2022 [1:32:13] we're better off when everybody counts uh we're better off when we can promote a culture of life [1:32:18] at the same time i understand that some of these states are doing it a little bit different texas is [1:32:23] not going to do it the same as new hampshire i was not necessarily going to do it the same as virginia [1:32:28] so you got to work from the bottom up uh you got to do a better job on these referenda i think of all [1:32:33] the stuff that's happened to the pro-life cause they have been caught flat-footed on these referenda [1:32:38] and they have been losing the referenda a lot of the people who are voting for the referenda are [1:32:44] republicans who would vote for a republican candidate so you got to understand how to do that but let's [1:32:48] just be clear the democrats have taken a position they will not identify the point at which there should [1:32:54] be any protection all the way up until birth that is wrong and we cannot stand for that all right [1:32:59] governor desantis thank you ambassador haley let me have you weigh in former president trump has [1:33:03] consistently blamed the abortion issue and how republican candidates have talked about it for [1:33:08] their electoral losses how do you see the path forward i've said it before i think you have to be [1:33:13] honest with the american people this is a personal issue for every woman and every man i am unapologetically [1:33:20] pro-life not because the republican party tells me to be but because my husband michael was adopted and i had [1:33:26] trouble having both of my children so i'm surrounded by blessings having said that when you look post roe [1:33:32] a wrong was made right they took it out of the hands of unelected justices and they put it in the [1:33:36] hands of the people and now we're seeing states vote and what i'll tell you is as much as i'm pro-life [1:33:42] i don't judge anyone for being pro-choice and i don't want them to judge me for being pro-life [1:33:47] so when we're looking at this there are some states that are going more on the pro-life side i welcome that [1:33:52] there are some states that are going more on the pro-choice side i wish that wasn't the case but [1:33:56] the people decided but when it comes to the federal law which is what's being debated here [1:34:01] be honest it's going to take 60 senate votes a majority of the house and a president to sign it [1:34:07] so no we haven't had 60 senate votes in over a hundred years we might have 45 pro-life senators [1:34:14] so no republican president can ban abortions any more than a democrat president can ban these state [1:34:19] laws so let's find consensus let's agree on what how we can ban late-term abortions let's make [1:34:26] sure we encourage adoptions and good quality adoptions let's make sure we make contraception [1:34:31] accessible let's make sure that none of these state laws put a woman in jail or give her the death [1:34:35] penalty for getting an abortion let's focus on how to save as many babies as we can and support as many [1:34:41] moms as we can and stop the judgment we don't need to divide america over this issue anymore thank you [1:34:47] ambassador senator scott i'd like you to weigh in do you how do you see the path forward and what do [1:34:59] you make of what ambassador haley just said do you see this as a consensus issue well i'm 100 pro-life i [1:35:06] have had 100 pro-life voting record i would certainly as president united states have a 15-week national [1:35:14] limit i would not allow states like california illinois or new york to have abortion up until the day of [1:35:21] birth i certainly wouldn't allow not allow for governors former governor uh democratic governor [1:35:27] of virginia who talked about infanticide we need a 15-week federal limit three out of four americans [1:35:37] agree with a 15-week limit 47 out of 50 countries in europe agree with a 15-week limit i would challenge [1:35:45] both nikki and ron to join me at a 15-week limit it is in our nation's best interest and frankly i think [1:35:54] it's unethical unethical and immoral to allow for abortions up until the day of birth we have an [1:36:00] opportunity in this nation to stop that reckless behavior from states like california new york and [1:36:08] illinois i'd go a step further and my parents plan we start by talking about funding block granting [1:36:15] resources to crisis pregnancy centers we should support adoption there are a number of ways that [1:36:21] we can say to the expectant mother that we stand with you we should not only be pro-life before the [1:36:28] child is born we should be pro-life after the child is born just as much senator scott thank you [1:36:33] ambassador haley your name was invoked would you support a 15-week federal limit i would support [1:36:38] anything that would pass because that's what would save more babies and support more moms but do you [1:36:43] have to be honest with the american people and i appreciate that tim keeps calling me out for this [1:36:48] but tim there was a bill last year lindsey graham sponsored it you didn't even co-sponsor the bill and [1:36:54] then when you first were interviewed on this when you ran you wouldn't even say you were for 15 weeks [1:36:59] what i am saying to the american people is just let's see what we can agree on let's bring people [1:37:05] together and decide what we can agree on i will sign anything where we can get 60 senate votes but [1:37:10] don't make the american people think that you're going to push something on them when we don't even [1:37:15] have the votes in the senate it's important that we're honest about that let me go to mr ramaswamy [1:37:19] would you support a 15-week federal ban and what is the path forward on this i just want to say i mean [1:37:24] nikki haley didn't vote being honest and i at least want to give credit to tim scott he's honest about [1:37:27] where he stood and i think you should be honest not making a political calculus but to say if a [1:37:32] bill is served up would you sign it here's my view on this speaking as a man they say men have [1:37:37] trouble speaking on this issue i don't think we need to be that way it was my home state of ohio [1:37:42] i'm upset about this yesterday that passed a constitutional amendment that now effectively [1:37:48] codifies a right to abortion all the way up to the time of birth without parental consent why it's [1:37:53] back to that republican culture of losing the republicans did not have an alternative amendment [1:37:58] or vision on the table i know ohio was born raised and i lived there it's representative of the country [1:38:03] if in the state of ohio we talked about access to contraception adoption and also here's the missing [1:38:09] ingredient in this movement sexual responsibility for men we live in an era of reliable genetic paternity [1:38:18] tests that are 100 percent reliable so we can say men deserve more responsibility so we can tell women [1:38:24] we're all in this together it's not men's rights versus women's rights it's about human rights and i've [1:38:30] come back to that case that clarence thomas spoke of a pregnant woman walking down the street she's [1:38:35] assaulted the unborn child dies in that assault you find me one person in this country who says that [1:38:45] that criminal does not deserve liability for that death you won't find one that says we share the [1:38:51] same instincts on this issue but we require i believe a different generation thank you to actually [1:38:56] lead us forward and unite the country on this thank you honesty thank you mr ramaswami governor christie [1:39:01] as you know federal limits are important to a lot of republicans where do you stand on this issue and [1:39:06] what is the path forward for republicans for 50 years um conservative lawyers have been arguing that [1:39:14] the federal government should have absolutely nothing to do with this issue constitutionally [1:39:18] because it's nowhere in the constitution and then dobbs comes and we finally gain that victory [1:39:24] which was the creation of a constitutional right out of thin air that didn't exist and now we have [1:39:30] people running to say let's short circuit the states from doing what they need to do and let's go [1:39:36] right to some type of federal ban at a certain number of weeks and people on the stage have been all [1:39:41] over the place 20 weeks 15 weeks 12 six look it's the frowns were really smart and this is an issue [1:39:49] that should be decided in each state and i trust the people of this country state by state to make [1:39:56] the call for themselves now it's going to lead to a lot of divergence in oklahoma you can't get an [1:40:00] abortion unless the life of the mother is at risk in my home state of new jersey it goes up to nine [1:40:05] months that you get an abortion i find that morally reprehensible but that is what the people of our [1:40:10] state have voted for and we should not short circuit that process until every state's people have the [1:40:16] right to weigh in on it but here's the bigger issue kirsten the bigger issue is and tim began to touch [1:40:22] on this we're not pro-life for the whole life to be pro-life for the whole life means that the life [1:40:28] of a 16 year old drug addict on the floor of the county lockup is precious and we should get treatment [1:40:33] for her to restore her life the 52 year old who's drug addicted should make sure that any of his [1:40:39] children who he's passed that addiction on to were treated well too pro-life's not just in the womb [1:40:44] kirsten it's for the whole life all right governor thank you candidates thank you we're going to take [1:40:48] a final break and when we come back we'll hear from all of you with your closing statements this is the [1:40:53] mbc news republican presidential debate we'll be back right after this well welcome back everyone with only [1:41:24] two hours for a debate we know there are other major issues that are important to republican [1:41:29] primary voters i'll ask you each to please use your closing statement to focus on any topic you [1:41:34] didn't have time to address and why you and not former president trump would be the party's best [1:41:40] choice to tackle these important issues you each have a minute senator scott we'll start with you one [1:41:45] minute there's a crisis that is growing in our nation and that crisis is cultural and spiritual we need [1:41:53] a renewal a great awakening we should reject the left's valueless faithless fatherless society we should [1:42:02] turn back to faith patriotism and individual responsibility we should stop choosing victimhood [1:42:11] and start choosing victory we should stop kneeling in protest and start kneeling in prayer there are basic [1:42:19] truths truths that built this country if you're able bodied in america you work if you take out a loan [1:42:26] you pay it back if you commit a violent crime you go to jail and if god made you a man you play sports [1:42:34] against men i do not just want to audience please i do not just i do not just want to win the battle [1:42:44] against joe biden i want us together to win the war the war for our christian conservative values that [1:42:51] changed my life senator scott thank you governor christie you have that's why i'm asking you for [1:42:55] your vote thank you for hosting tonight listen it's a gift a gift to be an american and i'm running for [1:43:07] president united states because i'm tired i'm tired of seeing the division i'm tired of seeing the anger [1:43:14] and i could see in the eyes of americans their exhaustion their exhaustion from the petty personal [1:43:20] politics that have taken over this country over the last number of years i'm running for president to be [1:43:26] a president of consequence to do the big things to make sure that america's role in the world stays [1:43:32] number one that we stand up for our friends and allies around the world and we stand up for what [1:43:38] we believe in right here at home and it's not to eliminate our differences our differences has always [1:43:44] been our strength as a country not our weakness but you can't truly say you love america unless you're [1:43:51] ready to open up your heart to every american i'm going to open up my heart to every american as president [1:43:56] and i will make sure that i return honesty integrity to the oval office we deserve and should [1:44:02] accept nothing less governor thank you very much let's go to mr ramaswamy now one minute we've talked [1:44:11] a lot about foreign wars tonight but we're in the middle of a war right here at home it's a war not [1:44:16] between black and white or democrat and republican it's between those of us who believe in our founding [1:44:21] ideals and love this country and a fringe minority who hates the united states of america and i think it's [1:44:26] going to take a commander in chief to lead us to victory in that war who first of all knows that [1:44:32] we're in a war second of all can't be captured by the special interests along the way but third is [1:44:37] from the next generation somebody with fresh legs to lead us to victory i'll shut down the deep state [1:44:43] i'll declare economic independence from china i'll keep us out of world war three and then revive [1:44:48] national pride in this country i also want to close with one message to the democrat party [1:44:54] end this farce that joe biden is going to be your nominee we know he's not even the president [1:44:58] of the united states he's a puppet for the managerial class so have the guts to step up [1:45:03] and be honest about who you're actually going to put up so we can have an honest debate biden should [1:45:07] step aside end his candidacy now so we can see whether it's newsom or michelle obama or whoever [1:45:12] else all right just tell us the truth so we can have an honest debate ambassador haley you have one [1:45:23] minute for your closing thank you the world is on fire we have a war in europe we've got a war in [1:45:31] the middle east we've got china on the march it is very important that we know how to defend our [1:45:38] freedoms and how to defeat terrorism and socialism we have to know the difference between good and evil [1:45:44] we have to know the difference between right and wrong we need to know that a strong america doesn't [1:45:49] start wars a strong america prevents wars and the way we can focus on that is to make sure we go back [1:45:56] to the soul of america and be strong and proud again and we can't do that we can't win the fights [1:46:04] of the 21st century with politicians from the 20th century we have to move forward and we can do this [1:46:12] i know we can do this so join our movement go to nikkihaley.com and we will once again show what [1:46:18] america that's strong and proud looks like god bless ambassador thank you governor de santos you're [1:46:28] closing you have one minute we must reverse our country's decline and that is going to require [1:46:34] leadership i will take the hits i will take the arrows i will take the barbs because it's not about me [1:46:41] it's about you it's not about the past it's about your future we are going to fight for you i am going [1:46:48] to win for you and your family and i'm going to lead this country's revival as a veteran of the iraq war [1:46:54] and in the navy i will always put service above self as president as the father of three young kids [1:47:01] i'm going to ensure that this country is left to the next generation in better shape than we found it [1:47:06] and as the governor of florida i delivered on all my promises and you can trust me to deliver for you [1:47:13] as the president of the united states i am asking for your vote i'll be a nominee that will be able [1:47:18] to win the election i will be a leader you can be proud of and as your president i will not let you [1:47:24] down god bless you governor de santos thank you that is going to conclude our debate uh the next line [1:47:39] says that the audience can hold their applause that didn't work out but anyway for just a few more [1:47:43] seconds i'll ask you to just hold the applause on behalf of my fellow moderators i want to thank the [1:47:48] candidates for their time and for this spirited debate really good deep conversation and we [1:47:53] appreciate you all being here thank you as well to our wonderful host here at the adrian arch [1:47:57] performing arts center on behalf of the republican national committee and all of us at nbc news good [1:48:04] night everyone from miami