By Sahil Kapur - NBC News
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis used his participation in the Republican presidential debate in Miami to face off against former President Donald Trump, the front-runner in the polls, and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who was trying to take advantage of the recent momentum her candidacy has had.
Five candidates gathered on stage Wednesday night, just over two months before the primary: DeSantis, Haley, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.
As happened in the previous debates, Trump decided not to participate and has already confirmed that he will not participate in the fourth debate either. The former president, who so far dominates the GOP polls, continued his tradition of holding a political event at the same time as the debate. On this occasion he held a rally in the nearby city of Hialeah.
While DeSantis and Haley are vying for second place in the polls and for a chance to position themselves as the main alternative to Trump, the other three hopefuls are fighting to keep their candidacies alive.
[Republican Candidates Debate Sending Troops to Mexico, China, Economy and Abortion]
These were the main themes of the Republican debate.
'I'm sick of Republicans losing': DeSantis and his opponents attack Trump
DeSantis used the first question to pounce on his criticism of Trump before a wider audience, listing a litany of what he called Trump's failures as president. He also blamed him for the GOP's bad election night on Tuesday.
"Donald Trump is a very different guy than he was in 2016. He owes it to you to be on this stage and explain why he should get another chance," DeSantis said. "It should explain why we didn't make Mexico pay for the border wall. He should explain why he racked up so much debt. It should explain why it didn't drain the swamp. And he said the Republicans were going to get tired of winning: what we saw last night... I'm sick of Republicans losing."
Haley, who worked in the Trump administration as ambassador to the United Nations, said Trump "was the right president at the right time; I don't think he's the right president now."
Christie also weighed in. "I'm going to say this about Donald Trump: Anyone who's going to spend the next year and a half of their life focusing on staying out of jail and out of the courts can't lead this party or this country," he said.
Ramaswamy confronted Haley
Ramaswamy began to criticize at the first opportunity. He complained that NBC News hosted the discussion and that Meet the Press moderator Kristen Welker asked the questions. He lashed out at Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, blaming her for the GOP being "crushed" in Tuesday's election and other elections since 2016, conveniently omitting that that timeline coincides with Trump's rise.
[What Hialeah, the Cuban exile capital where Trump is preparing a rally parallel to the Republican debate, is like]
Ramaswamy then said Haley was "Dick Cheney in 3-inch heels," prompting some boos from the crowd.
Haley turned it down: "They're 5-inch heels, and I don't wear them unless I can run in them." He added: "They're not a fashion statement. They're a munition."
Ramaswamy later attacked DeSantis and Haley for endorsing what he called the "censorship" of student groups during a debate about anti-Semitism on college campuses.
And he mentioned Haley when talking about Ukraine: "I'm actually enjoying watching the hawks of Ukraine retreat from their position, quietly and gracefully, as this has been turning into a mess."
In the second hour of the debate, Ramaswamy again criticized Haley by pointing out that her daughter was on TikTok. Haley responded, "Leave my daughter out of your mouth."
"You're nothing but scum," he told her.
[Why should any of them be the candidate and not Trump? Here's how DeSantis and Haley respond]
Candidates grapple with the party's position on abortion
Asked about the defeat of abortion foes in Ohio on Tuesday, DeSantis emphasized his support for "a culture of life" and said states can set their own abortion laws. He signed Florida's ban on abortion after six weeks.
"Everything that has happened to the pro-life cause has caught them off guard in these referendums. And they've been losing," he said, lamenting that conservatives are losing voters who support Republican candidates but also support abortion rights measures.
Scott, for his part, called for a federal ban on abortion after 15 weeks: "I challenge Nikki and Ron to support my proposal for a 15-week limit."
It's the same length proposed by Virginia Republicans who campaigned this year but lost both chambers of the state legislature on Tuesday.
Haley said Republicans won't find the votes to "ban abortions" at the federal level. Asked if he would enact a ban on abortion at 15 weeks, he said, "I would support anything that can be passed."
[Trump at Hialeah rally 'compares Biden administration to Cuba regime']
Haley wants to show off her foreign policy expertise
Haley, responding to one of Ramaswamy's many criticisms, said, "I tell you that Putin and President Xi are salivating at the idea that someone like that could become president. They'd love to."
Ramaswamy tried to disrupt her, but she defended protecting Ukraine and strengthening international alliances, arguing that a network of foreign enemies would exploit the weakness of the nation's commitment to its alliances.
"America can't be so arrogant as to think it doesn't need friends after 11/<>. "This unholy alliance between Russia, Ukraine and China is real. There's a reason the Taiwanese want us to support the Ukrainians; it's because they know that China will come for them later. There's a reason why the Ukrainians want us to support the Israelis, because they know that if Iran wins, Russia wins," he explained.
Haley used multiple opportunities during the debate to promote her belief in an aggressive U.S. role in shaping world issues. And he seems to have liked to disparage Ramaswamy by associating him with Putin and Xi.
DeSantis, Haley clash over China and climate change
The two most endorsed candidates clashed over Washington's biggest foreign policy concern: China. But the attacks mostly focused on development in their own states, rather than their disagreements over future foreign policy.
Haley criticized DeSantis when talking about his plan to take on China economically. "We're going to go and end all formal trade relations with China until they stop murdering Americans with fentanyl, which Ron hasn't said he's going to do yet," he said.
['I'm going to stop this invasion': DeSantis says he'll send military to the border]
DeSantis countered: "Ambassador Haley welcomed them to South Carolina, and gave them land near a military base, plus she wrote the Chinese ambassador a love letter saying they were good friends." He also said that in Florida he banned China from "buying land."
Haley took a swipe back at the Florida governor: "Yes, I brought a fiberglass company 10 years ago to South Carolina. But Ron, you're the president of your economic development agency that since last week has been saying Florida is the place to be for Chinese companies."
Haley later took aim at DeSantis on environmental policy. "He's opposed fracking, he's opposed drilling," Haley said. She called him "a liberal when it comes to the environment," bringing up an argument she had already made in a previous debate.
DeSantis responded: "There's no question we're going to drill. But I don't agree with Nikki Haley: I don't think it's a good idea to drill in the Florida Everglades, and I know most Floridians agree with me."
Division of Medicare and Social Security
Candidates were divided on whether to cut retirement benefits in the future.
[DeSantis: "I'm going to tighten the screws on the regime in Venezuela"]
Haley advocated cutting long-term spending on Medicare and Social Security, calling for raising the retirement age, slowing the pace of benefit growth and cutting benefits for wealthy Americans.
"Any candidate who says they're not going to take care of the benefits is not serious. Social Security will go bankrupt in ten years. Medicare will go bankrupt in eight. Right now, Ron and Trump are joining Biden and Pelosi in saying they're not going to change or do any kind of entitlement reform," he said.
DeSantis sidestepped the question by refusing to endorse specific changes to Social Security or Medicare, and advocated for lowering inflation and boosting economic growth. He said life expectancy has declined in recent years, so tying benefits to that wouldn't cut them.
"To America's seniors: promise made, promise kept," he said.