Breaking down DeSantis’s squeamish response on Pence and Jan. 6, Pence’s conspicuous “contrition” reference to Trump, and other moments that haven’t gotten their due.
The dust has settled on the first Republican debate of the 2024 presidential nominating contest. We recapped some of the big storylines and moments here.
But the two-hour debate also featured some exchanges that flew somewhat under the radar and deserve some reflection.
Below, we look at a few.
Ramaswamy’s ‘bought and paid for’ remark
Perhaps the biggest story of the debate was the emergence of Vivek Ramaswamy as the center of attention. Nobody’s performance shuffled expectations — for good or ill — as much as his did.
Among his characteristically absolutist proclamations was this particularly stark one:
“Let us be honest as Republicans,” Ramaswamy said as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis talked around a climate-change question. “I’m the only person on the stage who isn’t bought and paid for, so I can say this: The climate change agenda is a hoax.”
Someone said, “Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.” Another added: “That is ridiculous.” A fair number of boos rained down.
It was an angle to be expected from the most inexperienced politician on the stage, but perhaps not to that degree. He was saying that seven of the top nine candidates for the GOP nomination — former president Donald Trump skipped the debate — were “bought and paid for.
