Burgum barely made it onto the debate stage tonight — he hit the polling threshold only last weekend. He needs to make a big splash tonight, one reason he cut off the moderator to push himself into this debate about the UAW.
Haley's answer about the UAW strike is notable — rather than talk about her record as South Carolina’s governor being a “union buster” who prefers to eliminate the "middlemen" of unions, she outlines the bullet points of her economic “Freedom Plan.”
A risk for DeSantis
Some in DeSantis’s orbit continue to argue this race is a marathon, that “slow and steady” and staying on-message is the way to go — and his sitting back in the first couple of minutes feels part and parcel of that — but there’s an obvious risk to that strategy, too, considering how Trump’s stomping on the rest of the field.
DeSantis is notably not jumping into the conversation about the UAW strike, and he has avoided answering specifics on the campaign trail.
Asked about the strike at a PAC-sponsored event in Red Oak, Iowa, this month, he dodged the question: “So, I’m not well-read enough into the details to be able to comment on that specific, but I will say this: What Biden is doing with his push for electric vehicles is ultimately going to be destructive of the automobile industry as a whole.”
Not a great sign for DeSantis in a debate he desperately needs to not only do well in but win: You’ve got candidates polling well behind him getting their second answers in before he even gets in his first.
DeSilent?
Ben Kamisar notices: Interesting that we’re three questions in and the candidate at center stage, DeSantis, hasn’t gotten a question yet. He’s the polling leader (again: of those on the stage, as Trump is obviously polling far and away above the rest of the field), and that’s why he’s standing at the center.
Matt Dixon with Ben: His wife is right on screen also in every shot of moderators.
Dasha Burns points out that it's only getting worse: DeSantis will now be the last candidate to speak. He missed his moment to jump in on the economy, even though he just unveiled his energy policy.
Scott first to drop Biden’s name
Scott quickly pivoted off a question about his past remarks about striking autoworkers by pointing to Biden’s appearance on the picket line Tuesday.
“He should be on the southern border,” Scott said. He said the administration was a failure on immigration.
It was an early reference to the president in a contest in which the candidates increasingly need to appear as alternatives to Biden if they’re going to get past Trump.
Scott leans into his upbringing and how it proves the “American dream is alive and well” at nearly all of his campaign events and advertisements.
After the last debate, where the complaints were that it was chaotic with everyone talking over one another, it’s striking tonight that — albeit just a few minutes in — the tone and tenor here are tame and collegial. We’ll see how long that lasts …
Pence says we should repeal the Green New Deal. No such bill ever passed Congress. Maybe he means the bipartisan infrastructure bill?