(USNewsMag.com) – Former President Donald Trump, 77, was slammed by the seven 2024 Republican presidential candidates during the Sept. 27 Republican primary debate.
Instead of attending the Sept. 27 debate, Trump went to Michigan and met with striking auto workers. In August, Trump announced he would not be attending the debates. As current polling shows him with a commanding lead over the rest of the field, Trump did not want to use his time debating his challengers.
The move prompted remarks about Trump from all seven candidates attending the debate, which included former Vice President Mike Pence, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, former UN ambassador and former governor of South Carolina Nikki Haley, former governor of New Jersey Chris Christie, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, and Vivek Ramaswamy. The debate, moderated by Fox Business and Univision, was held in Simi Valley, California, at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute.
Trump is currently polling at 59 percent, with DeSantis in second place in the polls at 16 percent. After 16 minutes, DeSantis was asked his first question, taking the opportunity to criticize Trump for not attending the debate. DeSantis stated Trump “should be on this stage tonight,” saying Trump should “defend his record.” DeSantis went on to say that Trump was responsible for today’s inflation because he “added $7.8 trillion to the debt.”
According to Christie, Trump was hiding “behind the walls of his golf clubs.” Christie suggested people would call Trump “Donald Duck” if he continued to skip the debates. Christie didn’t stop there with his criticism of the former president. Christie also criticized Trump’s record of immigration control, as the border continues to be a top issue among Republicans.
Before the debate, the Trump campaign issued a statement about DeSantis and how he would attempt to gaslight voters about President Trump’s record” while flailing “around like a bobble head on stage.”
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