Eight of the GOP’s candidates for president debated on Wednesday… and there was no shortage of aggressive performances.
Former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley, former Vice President Mike Pence and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie all clashed when given the opportunity.
However, all eight candidates waffled on one issue: whether to vote for former President Donald Trump in the event of a conviction.
Trump, a presidential candidate, is planning to surrender to arrest Thursday at the Fulton County jail in Atlanta. He has been indicted in four different courts, and he may be convicted. Much remains uncertain.
At the debate, the moderators took more than an hour to ask about Trump’s legal battles, a discussion previewed with a video of the jail.
All eight debate contestants were asked to raise their hands if they’d support Trump’s campaign for president even after a conviction.
Each of the eight candidates waited to answer the question.
Moderator Brett Baier said, “You all signed a pledge to support the eventual Republican nominee. If former President Trump is convicted in a court of law, would you still support him as your party’s choice? Please raise your hand if you would.”
Former Gov. Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas declined to raise his hand.
Christie eventually made a cut-off motion misinterpreted as a hand raise. Christie, a former U.S. attorney and frequent Trump antagonist, pushed back aggressively despite being drowned out at times by the audience’s boos.
“Someone’s got to stop normalizing misconduct,” Christie said. “Whether or not you believe that the criminal charges are right or wrong, the conduct is beneath the office of president of the United States.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis hesitated to raise his hand, and he and looked around at the other candidates first.
Earlier in the debate, DeSantis bristled at being asked to raise his hand. During a question about global warming, he described hand raising as juvenile, and he asked to answer the question verbally instead.
“We’re not schoolchildren,” DeSantis said almost immediately. “Let’s have the debate. I’m happy to take [the question].”
Six candidates raised their hands to indicate support for Trump… eventually.
Take a look —
All but two of the eight candidates participating in Wednesday night’s Republican presidential debate said they would support former President Donald Trump if he is the GOP’s nominee in 2024 — even if he is convicted of a crime before Election Day. https://t.co/lNAFVlns0f pic.twitter.com/UIvPeerETz
— New York Post (@nypost) August 24, 2023
Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) interrupts a hand-raise question at the GOP debate about whether the field of candidates acknowledges the existence of human-caused climate change, redirecting to criticism of President Biden:
“We’re not schoolchildren, let’s have the debate.” pic.twitter.com/ZoXjs3WeTS
— The Recount (@therecount) August 24, 2023
The moderators called Trump “the elephant not in the room” a reference to Trump’s decision to skip the debate. They drew jeers from the audience after making this joke.
The former president scheduled counterprogramming with an interview aired on Twitter.
“Do I sit there for an hour or two hours, whatever it’s going to be, and get harassed by people that shouldn’t even be running for president? Should I be doing that at a network that isn’t particularly friendly to me?” Trump said during the interview with talk show host Tucker Carlson.
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The Horn editorial team and the Associated Press contributed to this article.