Post-debate analysis from spin room; top moments from fiery second GOP debate

We would like to express our gratitude for your active participation in the coverage of Fox News Digital's reporting on the second Republican presidential primary debate.

The second debate took place on Wednesday, Sept. 27, at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum, located in Simi Valley, California.

MISSED THE DEBATE? See all the tense exchanges and memorable moments.

Looking ahead, the third GOP presidential primary debate is slated to occur on Nov. 8 in Miami, Florida. This date coincides with several states conducting off-year elections, adding an extra layer of significance to the event. Candidates gunning for the Republican nomination will confront more challenging eligibility criteria in this upcoming debate.

According to the Republican National Committee (RNC), candidates must achieve a minimum of 3% support in two national polls, or they must secure 3% support in one national poll combined with support from at least two polls originating from the four early-voting states: Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina.

While the RNC has yet to officially disclose its media partners for the third debate, there have been reports of discussions between NBC News and Salem Media about potentially co-hosting this pivotal showdown.

Stay tuned for further updates and information regarding this upcoming political event.

Fox News' Maeghan Dolph contributed to this report.

Former Gov. Nikki Haley and Sen. Tim Scott, the two South Carolinians running for the Republican nomination for president, addressed a tense moment they shared toward the end of the two-hour debate.

Early in the debate when discussing government spending, Haley denounced the potential looming shutdown by saying Congress has only approved a budget on time four times in the past 40 years, which prompted pushback from Scott who has been in the U.S. Senate since 2013.

In the final seven minutes, Scott said he'd like to continue the conversation and began taking shots at Haley's record as South Carolina governor and claimed that she spent $50,000 on curtains while she was an ambassador at the United Nations – a decision that was made by the State Department during the Obama administration.

The heated exchange between the two politicians from the Palmetto State was ultimately cut off by moderator Stuart Varney, but both Haley and Scott addressed the moment during post-debate interviews with Fox News Digital.

Haley said the dig at Congress was "not about Tim Scott," but about the legislative body as a whole.

"You look at the fact that Congress has not done anything about the open borders. They’ve spent like drunken sailors. We’re dealing with all of these issues and they continue to – nothing gets fixed. And that’s the issue," the former governor said. "It’s not about Tim Scott. It’s about all of Congress. And now we’re looking at a government shutdown. They need to do their job. The American people are tired of it."

Scott compared the debate to a football game, saying "when you put your uniform on, you leave your friendships on the side."

"Frankly, when she brought up the issue of spending, someone who asked to increase taxes in South Carolina. Someone who called China not a friend but a great friend. Someone who allowed Confucius Institutes to remain on the college campuses throughout South Carolina and brought in billions of Chinese dollars in businesses, I felt like it was my opportunity and responsibility to speak up," the senator said. "And frankly someone who was willing to fight to get 60 votes on Social Security but won’t fight for 60 votes to limit abortions at 15 weeks nationally, it was time for that contrast."

Fox News contributor Mark Penn analyzed the second Republican debate with a Democrat’s point of view.

The former Bill and Hillary Clinton pollster wrote, “President Joe Biden went to sleep after the second Republican debate on Wednesday night knowing that the big event in Simi Valley, California left the GOP no closer to consolidating around a candidate against Donald Trump. The former president remains the likely nominee. In the two-hour debate, Bidenomics came out mostly unscathed.”

The seven Republican candidates mostly discussed immigration, crime, former President Donald Trump and virtually anything other than economic policy.

“They all talked tough, but not that responsibly, and that is the opening for Democrats. Each of these candidates played to conservatives, isolating themselves from the wider constituencies that elect presidents," Penn determined.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom was in attendance at the second GOP primary debate Wednesday night, which was hosted in the Golden State.

After the event, Newsom joined Fox News Host Sean Hannity in the spin room to share his opinions on the candidates' performances and to talk about his upcoming debate with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, but not before posting to X, formerly Twitter.

"What a clown show," Newsom wrote, seemingly describing the event as a whole.

He wasn't alone in his opinion as many Democrat officials chimed in with criticism.

"To say this place is a clown show under Republican control is doing disservice to actual clowns," Rep. Jim McGovern said, according to an X post by Punchbowl News founder Jake Sherman.

Sharing Sherman's post, McGovern wrote, "Said what I said."

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass also took a shot at the debate, describing it as an example why voters should work to re-elect President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

Fox News contributor Liz Peek offers her take on the biggest winner and the biggest loser(s) from the second Republican debate. Peek writes, “Expectations are everything in life, and they certainly were key to the outcome of the second Republican debate held at the Reagan Library in Simi Valley, California.

The winner of the evening was Gov. Ron DeSantis, for whom expectations were low. The audience was reminded of his achievements and why the Florida governor is running second in the GOP primary polls.

"Helped by low expectations, DeSantis had a good night. He may not bounce in the polls, but he should have stopped the bleeding," Peek wrote.

Offering her take on the evening’s biggest loser, Peek selected the following three candidates:

"With respect, it is time for Mike Pence, Chris Christie (seriously), and Doug Burgum to drop out of the race. Fewer contestants would mean less fighting for airtime and less bickering; that would be a relief."

Fox News Digital's Lynne Jordal Martin contributed to this entry.

Did you miss the second Republican primary debate Wednesday night? Watch the tense exchanges and memorable moments between seven of the GOP candidates running for president at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California.

"My goal at this point was not to take anyone down on stage, I'm not running against any of those people. I'm running for this country," Vivek Ramaswamy told Fox News Digital in the spin room following a fiery second GOP debate.

The debate, held at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in Simi Valley, California, was the perfect place, according to Ramaswamy, who said he wants to channel the popular former president's ethos.

Ramaswamy said he aims "to unite the conservative movement. That's the first step to uniting this country, and I do think it's going to take somebody from a different generation to reach the next generation."

Ramaswamy took hits from all sides in the second GOP debate as candidates criticized his policies, statements and approach to politics.

In one tense moment, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley said she felt dumber after hearing him speak.

"This is infuriating because TikTok is one of the most dangerous social media apps that we could have and what you've got, I honestly, every time I hear you, I feel a little bit dumber for what you say," Haley told Ramaswamy.

South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott recapped the second debate where he took a more assertive approach against his Republican presidential primary rivals.

Scott sparred with fellow 2024 candidate Vivek Ramaswamy in particular, but told Fox Digital in the post-debate spin room that he didn't have anything personally against the young entrepreneur.

"We shook hands at the end," Scott said.

However, Scott also said he had more questions about Ramaswamy's business connections to China.

"At the end of the day, his connection to the Chinese Communist Party is a big deal -- or at least, his relationship when he was in business was a big deal. We need more information about that, I think it would be helpful."

Scott took criticism from many for his performance in the first Republican debate in August, hosted by Fox News in Milwaukee. Some critics said the South Carolina Republican disappeared into the background.

But at the second debate in Simi Valley, California, hosted by FOX Business, Scott sparred with multiple GOP rivals.

After Ramaswamy said he was the only candidate who was not "bought and paid for," he said that his opponents were "good people."

Scott retorted that he couldn't imagine how Ramaswamy could say they were all "bought and paid for" when he was "just in business with Chinese Communist Party."

Former Vice President Mike Pence's attempted laugh lines fell flat and garnered minimal audience reaction during Wednesday evening's GOP debate.

The former vice president then added that Biden's green energy agenda, which calls for greater adoption of electric vehicles, was to blame for current strife in the U.S. auto industry.

Then, later in the debate, during a back-and-forth with former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie regarding education policies, Pence jokingly remarked about how he has been sleeping with a teacher for nearly four decades.

"The public school system is no longer run by the public. It is run by the teachers unions in this country," Christie said. "And when you have the president of the United States sleeping with a member of the teachers union, there is no chance that you can take the stranglehold away from the teachers union every day," he continued in reference to President Biden's wife Jill Biden.

"I want to answer the question as well that you just asked because by way of full disclosure, Chris, you've mentioned the president's situation," Pence responded. "My wife isn't a member of the teachers union, but I got to admit, I have been sleeping with a teacher for 38 years — full disclosure. But education is a state and local function."

Like his line earlier, the one-liner largely fell flat with members of the debate audience.

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley took aim at Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for his energy policies, including his support for an offshore oil drilling ban in his state, during the second Republican debate Wednesday night.

"Energy security is national security. We need a president that understands we have to partner with our producers and make sure that we have their backs. What you don't need is a president who is against energy independence. Ron DeSantis is against fracking, he's against drilling, he's been against — you did it," Haley remarked before DeSantis interjected.

"You banned fracking, you banned offshore drilling — you did it on federal lands and you took green subsidies that you didn't have to take," she continued.

DeSantis appeared to laugh during Haley's remarks before rejecting that he opposed fracking or drilling on federal lands.

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie criticized President Biden's support for teachers unions, arguing it didn't help that the president is "sleeping with" a union member in reference to first lady Jill Biden, a longtime teacher, during the second Republican debate Wednesday night.

"Let's tell the truth, everybody, about what this is," Christie remarked. "The public school system is no longer run by the public. It is run by the teachers unions in this country. [American Federation of Teachers President] Randi Weingarten and her crew are absolutely strangling — they are taking the worst of their members and defending them rather than advocating for our kids."

"And when you have the president of the United States sleeping with a member of the teachers union, there is no chance that you can take the stranglehold away from the teachers union every day. They have an advocate inside the White House every day for the worst of their teachers, not for our students to be the best they can be. A president of the United States has to take on the teacher's union."

Jill Biden, who has been a teacher for decades, has continued working since President Biden took office in 2021. She is an English and writing teacher at Northern Virginia Community College.

Florida gov. Ron DeSantis dismissed polls showing former President Donald Trump as the commanding front-runner in the race for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.

What is your mathematical path, Governor DeSantis, in order to try and beat President Trump, who has a commanding and enduring lead in this race?

"Polls don't elect presidents. Voters elect presidents. And we're going to take the case to the people in these early states. We're going to do it in a state by state direction," he said when asked what his mathematical path was to beating Trump.

"[Ronald] Reagan said this is our time for choosing. We're not getting a mulligan on the 2024 election. Republicans have lost three straight elections in a row. We were supposed to have a red wave with inflation at 9%. It crashed and burned," he said.

"Not in Florida, it didn't. We delivered it in Florida. And so, we've got to choose right, we've got to win, and we need somebody who is going to be able to serve two terms," he added.

The U.S. has spent $113 billion on aid to Ukraine so far, with more likely on the way. President Biden announced an additional $325 million in aid last Thursday, following an appeal to Congress by the war-torn nation's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Biden previously requested $40 billion in August.

Funding for Ukraine has created a rift in the Republican Party, made clear by positions held by candidates on Wednesday's debate stage.

Former Vice President Mike Pence and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley have presented themselves as ardent defenders of Ukraine and further extensions of support in the conflict, while entrepreneur and author Vivek Ramaswamy has slammed the idea of further financial assistance as "disastrous."

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, meanwhile, stressed in August that further aid would be contingent on Ukraine receiving increased support from other European allies.

Fox News' Kyle Schmidbauer contributed to this report.

Fracking is a technique used across the United States to extract natural gas and oil from rock deep in the Earth.

To extract gas and oil, water, chemicals and sands are blasted into rocks at a high pressure, causing them to crack and the oil and gas to be retrieved.

The process of fracking has allowed the United States to be a leader in natural gas and oil production. Even though fracking has allowed the United States to grow economically and has created millions of American jobs, the process is a controversial one.

One reason why fracking has become a topic of controversy is because of the large volumes of water needed to complete the task. The chemicals used are also of concern to many, especially with spills and leaks that could potentially occur. The process of fracking has brought about questions of environmental and human safety potentially at stake.

During the second Republican presidential primary debate, 2024 presidential hopeful Nikki Haley brought up Ron DeSantis’ handling of fracking in Florida, claiming that the governor banned and stands against fracking and off-shore drilling, which DeSantis laughed off, stating her claims were “totally wrong.”

Fox News' Ashlyn Messier contributed to this report.

EXCLUSIVE: Former President Donald Trump, responding to heated criticisms from his primary opponents during the second GOP debate, said it was "much more important" for him to work to "save" autoworkers Wednesday night than to appear at the debate due to his massive lead in the primary polls, while dismissing Chris Christie’s "Donald Duck" nickname for him.

Trump did not attend the second Republican debate in Simi Valley, California—much to the dismay of his GOP primary opponents, who repeatedly brought him up, stressing that he should have been on the stage to defend the record of his administration.

"I thought it was much more important, considering I have a 56-point lead, for me to be dealing with the UAW and the fact that the Biden Administration is going to destroy their jobs over the next two years by going all electric vehicle," Trump told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview Wednesday night.

Trump spoke before a crowd of autoworkers in Clinton Township, Michigan Wednesday night, pleading that, if elected, the future of the automobile will be "Made in America." 

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and Critical Race Theory (CRT) are related but distinct concepts frequently discussed in educational and social contexts. They differ in their focus, scope, and objectives.

DEI takes a broader approach, aiming to cultivate diverse, equitable, and inclusive environments across various settings, including schools, workplaces, and communities. DEI initiatives are designed to enhance diversity by increasing the representation of individuals from various backgrounds, encompassing aspects such as race, gender, sexual orientation, and more. These initiatives also strive to ensure equity by addressing systemic disparities and promote inclusion by fostering environments where everyone feels valued and respected.

Importantly, DEI encompasses various facets of diversity, extending beyond race to include efforts that promote equity and inclusion for individuals from all backgrounds and marginalized groups.

CRT, on the other hand, constitutes a specific theoretical framework focused primarily on examining the presence of systemic racism and racial inequalities within legal systems and institutions. Its core mission is to challenge structures and institutions which are assumed to be systemically racist, especially within the legal system. CRT scrutinizes how laws, policies, and societal norms may perpetuate racial disparities.

In summary, DEI adopts a broader and practical approach to create inclusive environments for individuals of diverse backgrounds, particularly race, while CRT is a specific theoretical framework concentrating on the examination of systemic racism within legal systems. While these concepts are often discussed separately, they can intersect in discussions of suspected racial and social inequalities.

Fox News' Maeghan Dolph contributed to this report.

Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley took a sharp jab at Vivek Ramaswamy, telling him she feels "a little bit dumber" after hearing speak about TikTok.

"This is infuriating because TikTok is one of the most dangerous social media apps that we could have ... Honestly, every time I hear you, I feel a little bit dumber for what you say," Haley said after Ramaswamy defended his use of TikTok for campaigning.

Haley went on to rail against the threat of China stealing American's personal information through use of the app, which is owned by Chinese company ByteDance.

"We can't trust you," Haley added.

Ramaswamy responded with a call to have "a legitimate debate," rather than hurling personal insults.

Wednesday night's debate saw fireworks early on as GOP presidential candidates Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy traded shots over Ramaswamy's comment during the first debate.

Scott tore into Ramaswamy during the debate, getting into a raucous back-and-forth with the businessman over his comments in August claiming the other candidates were "bought and paid for."

"I'm the only person on this stage who isn't bought and paid for," Ramaswamy declared last month, which elicited boos.

Ramaswamy pushed back, calling Scott's comments "nonsense" as the temperature between the two spiked amid the spat.

Thousands of United Auto Workers have been on strike against the “Big Three” auto companies, General Motors, Stellantis and Ford.

The union’s contract with the companies ended at midnight on Sept. 14, launching the strike with 13,000 workers walking out of assembly plants. The strike is taking place around the country, with workers walking out of 38 facilities across 20 states.

Some actions strikers are seeking include 36% raises in general pay over a four year period as well as an end to tiers of wages for factory jobs. Automobile manufacturers have said one of the reasons they can’t meet the demands of the workers is because of the expensive feat of transitioning from gas-powered cars to electric vehicles.

So far, there is no end in sight, and strikes are expected to not only continue, but grow, potentially becoming a costly battle for manufacturers.

President Joe Biden joined the picket lines briefly Tuesday and encouraged the strikers in Michigan.

Fox News' Ashlyn Messier contributed to this report.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis defended the Sunshine State's African-American history curriculum during Wednesday's second GOP presidential debate, claiming the outrage was due to a "hoax" perpetrated by Vice President Kamala Harris.

Critics of Florida's new curriculum focused on this line, "Instruction includes how slaves develop skills, which in some instances could be applied for their personal benefit."

Harris and left-wing media outlets claimed Florida's curriculum teaches students that slaves in the U.S. "benefited from slavery" — an accusation which DeSantis' administration has fiercely denied.

Asked about the curriculum and the outrage it has received, DeSantis said, "So first of all, that's hoax that was perpetrated by Kamala Harris. We are not going to be doing that."

"Second of all, that was written by descendants of slaves. These are great black history scholars. So we need to stop playing these games," he continued. "Here's the deal. Our country's education system is in decline because it's focused on indoctrination, denying parents' rights. Florida represents the revival of American education. We're ranked number one in the nation in education by U.S. News and World Report."

"My wife and I, we have a six, five and three year old. This is personal to us. We didn't just talk about universal school choice. We enacted universal school choice. We didn't just talk about Parents Bill of Rights. ... We now have American civics in the Constitution, in our schools in a really big way, just like President Reagan asked for in his farewell address back in 1989. Florida is showing how it's done. We're standing with parents and our kids are benefiting."