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      CNN Will Host Two GOP Debates in Iowa and New Hampshire in 2024

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      The announcement of the debates, planned for the days before each state’s nominating contest, comes as the Republican National Committee considers loosening its rules for the onstage clashes.CNN will hold two Republican presidential debates in Iowa and New Hampshire next month in the days leading up to those states’ nominating contests, the network said on Thursday.The announcement, made a day after the fourth debate this year, comes as the Republican National Committee weighs whether to loosen its rules and allow candidates to take part in debates that it does not sponsor. A spokesman for the committee, Keith Schipper, said on social media that it had not approved the CNN debates.The committee approved four debates this year, steadily raising the minimum thresholds for participation and pushing out lower-polling candidates.The current Republican front-runner, former President Donald J. Trump, did not attend any of the debates. An adviser to his campaign said he did not plan to participate in the CNN debates.The Republican Party had suggested it might hold forums in January in both Iowa and New Hampshire, but multiple people involved in the process said those debates might no longer be sponsored by the party.Almost immediately on Thursday, Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, who has staked his campaign’s success on a strong showing in Iowa, said he would participate in the debate there.That gathering will be held on Jan. 10 at Drake University in Des Moines, five days before the Iowa caucuses. The network will allow candidates to participate only if they have received at least 10 percent in three separate national or Iowa polls, with at least one poll of likely Iowa Republican caucusgoers.The second debate is scheduled for Jan. 21 at St. Anselm College in Goffstown, N.H., two days before the New Hampshire primary election. The top three finishers in Iowa will be invited to participate. Otherwise, the criteria are similar to the Iowa debate. More

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      Winners and Losers From the Fourth Republican Debate

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      Welcome to Opinion’s commentary for the fourth Republican presidential debate, held at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa on Wednesday night. In this special feature, Times Opinion writers and contributors rate the candidates on a scale of 0 to 10: 0 means the candidate didn’t belong on the stage and should have dropped out before […] More

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      Christie to Ramaswamy at Debate: ‘So Shut Up for a Little While’

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      Chris Christie had had enough.After standing mostly silent for the first 25 minutes of the Republican presidential debate, Mr. Christie, the former governor of New Jersey, stepped into the spotlight — and in front of an attack on Nikki Haley by Vivek Ramaswamy — with the blunt force that has become his political trademark.“Let me tell you something,” Mr. Christie barked at Mr. Ramaswamy, waving his hand after Mr. Ramaswamy suggested Ms. Haley was lacking basic knowledge about the war in Ukraine. “This is the fourth debate that you would be voted in the first 20 minutes as the most obnoxious blowhard in America. So shut up for a little while.”Mr. Ramaswamy managed a quick laugh, and quickly tried to interrupt. But Mr. Christie maintained control of the microphone, yelling at his rival across the stage in Alabama that he wasn’t finished speaking. Mr. Ramaswamy, who has been aggressive with his debate disruptions, stood down.But not for long. Mr. Ramaswamy bided his time, and then it got ugly.“Chris, your version of foreign policy experience was closing a bridge from New Jersey to New York,” Mr. Ramaswamy soon shot back, scowling at Mr. Christie across the stage and wagging his right index finger at him.It was a dig at Mr. Christie’s most devastating political moment, when his administration in New Jersey effectively shut down a busy bridge to New York as political retribution against a small-town mayor who hadn’t endorsed his re-election bid. And Mr. Ramaswamy had another sharp dig in store aimed at Mr. Christie’s weight.“So do everybody a favor,” Mr. Ramaswamy told Mr. Christie. “Just walk yourself off that stage, enjoy a nice meal and get the hell out of this race.” More

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      Christie Lashes Out at Trump as a ‘Dictator’ and a ‘Bully’

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      For more than 15 minutes, three of the four Republican candidates on the debate stage fended off sharp questions from Megyn Kelly and made a case for their electability. But as they attacked one another’s records, former President Donald J. Trump, the dominant front-runner in the race, was notably absent from the conversation.Former Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey, Mr. Trump’s fiercest critic among his Republican opponents, took notice.“I look at my watch now. We’re 17 minutes into this debate,” Mr. Christie said to Ms. Kelly. “And except for your little speech in the beginning, we’ve had these three acting as if the race is between the four of us.”Mr. Christie, referring to Mr. Trump as “the fifth guy” and “Voldemort, he who shall not be named,” mocked the former president as a coward who “doesn’t have the guts to show up and stand here” — and denounced the other candidates for fighting among themselves while ignoring their strongest opponent, who skipped Wednesday’s debate to attend a private fund-raiser.Referring to Mr. Trump as a “dictator,” a “bully” and an “angry, bitter man,” Mr. Christie criticized his opponents on the debate stage — Nikki Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy and Ron DeSantis — as too timid to criticize the former president. Maybe, he suggested, they were unwilling to do so because “they have future aspirations,” an allusion to succeeding Mr. Trump or becoming a member of his administration.“This is the problem with my three colleagues. They’re afraid to offend,” Mr. Christie said. Referring to the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, he added, “And if you’re afraid to offend Donald Trump, then what are you going to do when you sit across from President Xi?”Mr. Christie also pointed to Mr. Trump’s statements about his plans to go after his political enemies if elected to a second term, in an attempt to make the case to Trump supporters that the former president is unfit to return to the White House.“There’s no bigger issue in this race than Donald Trump,” Mr. Christie said, later adding, “This is an angry, bitter man who now wants to be back as president because he wants to exact retribution on anyone who has disagreed with him.”His comments reflected a debate strategy of sharply criticizing Mr. Trump — even if the former president is physically absent, and even if the attacks get Mr. Christie booed by Trump supporters in the audience.Mr. Christie has sought a face-to-face confrontation with Mr. Trump, and he has often expressed his frustration about having to compete against a front-runner who doesn’t want to face his opponents in a debate. More

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      Haley Comes Under Fire During Debate: ‘I Love the Attention, Fellas’

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      The perils of momentum.Within minutes of the opening question in the fourth Republican primary debate, Nikki Haley — the former ambassador to the United Nations who has been rising in the polls, though she is still far behind former President Donald J. Trump — found herself on the receiving end of well-practiced attacks from Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida and Vivek Ramaswamy.For the first 15 minutes, Mr. DeSantis and Mr. Ramaswamy took turns heaping criticism on Ms. Haley, at times cutting each other off before Ms. Haley had time to respond.When she did, she savored the moment.“I love all the attention, fellas — thank you for that,” Ms. Haley, the only woman in the race, quipped.The attacks began as Mr. DeSantis, midway through a defense of his floundering poll numbers, pivoted to claiming that Ms. Haley did not support his law that banned transition care for transgender minors. (Ms. Haley has said she opposes such care but deflected on Wednesday, instead saying she did not think a different law Mr. DeSantis signed went far enough.)Mr. Ramaswamy, avoiding answering a question about whether he was a “unifier,” instead took aim at Ms. Haley’s personal financial endeavors, claiming she had been “bankrupt” after she left the Trump administration and had quickly looked for ways to make money.“We weren’t bankrupt when I left the U.N. — we’re people of service,” Ms. Haley replied. “My husband is in the military, and I served our country as U.N. ambassador.”Her retort did little to halt the continued assault from Mr. DeSantis and Mr. Ramaswamy, who continued a joint argument that Ms. Haley would be beholden to her wealthy donors.Again, Ms. Haley shot back.“In terms of these donors that are supporting me, they’re just jealous,” Ms. Haley said of her two rivals. “They wish they were supporting them.” More

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      Our Columnists Aren’t Moderating Tonight’s Debate. Here’s What They’d Ask if They Were.

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      Wednesday night’s Republican presidential debate, held in Tuscaloosa, Ala., will feature just four candidates — Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis, Vivek Ramaswamy and Chris Christie — sparring over everything from abortion to Israel to former President Donald Trump. When we asked Times Opinion columnists and contributors what they would ask the candidates if they were moderating the debate, they came back to us with questions designed to test them on guns and crime, foreign wars and health care — exposing where the field stands on, say, military aid for Ukraine or a draconian state abortion ban. But above all, what they wanted to see was the moderators needling the candidates into taking a strong stance on the former president. Here were the responses:Maureen DowdGov. Haley, you have your first ad up about “moral clarity” and “chaos.” But you don’t mention Donald Trump. Why not?Should Donald Trump be prohibited from running for president because of Jan. 6 and all these federal charges?Kenny Holston for The New York TimesFrank BruniIf you’re elected president, would you consider pardoning Donald Trump if he’s convicted by a jury of one or more of the 91 felony counts he faces?Jamelle BouieThe Republican Party has lost the majority of the popular vote in seven out of the last eight presidential elections. Despite this, it has held the presidency for a total of 12 years because of the Electoral College. If you are the nominee in 2024 and you win the majority of the popular vote but lose the Electoral College, would you concede to Joe Biden?Ross DouthatGov. Haley, please name one United States military intervention in the last 30 years that you believe was a mistake, and explain why.Gov. DeSantis, while running for president in 2016, Donald Trump promised to replace Obamacare with some form of universal health care. Do you support repealing Obamacare with a measure that guarantees health insurance to all Americans? If not, why? If so, what would that measure be?Gov. Haley and Gov. DeSantis, if Donald Trump is the Republican nominee, is there anything he could do between now and November 2024 that would make you refuse to support him against Joe Biden? If so, please specify.For all the candidates: The Western world is aging rapidly. The Republican Party currently stands for serious restrictions on immigration. Is there any public policy that your hypothetical administration would pursue that would encourage Americans to have more kids?Erin Schaff/The New York TimesNicholas KristofGuns are the leading cause of death for children in America today. And the states with the highest firearms mortality rates are mostly Republican states. Why is that, and what specific steps can we take to reduce gun deaths in America?President Reagan was known for standing up relentlessly to Moscow. Yet if Republicans continue to block President Biden’s requests for aid to Ukraine, isn’t Russia the big winner? Has the G.O.P. come full circle from confronting Russian aggression to becoming its best hope?Michelle CottleGov. Haley, immigration policy continues to be sacrificed on the altar of political gamesmanship. Border security is important, but it is only one piece of the puzzle. As president, how would you jump-start a push for bipartisan, comprehensive reform?Mr. Ramaswamy, what would it take for you to drop out of this race and spare Americans your troll-y nonsense? A column in The Daily Caller? Your own Fox News show? The promise of a midlevel cabinet post?Gov. DeSantis, why has your candidacy been sagging? What do you plan to do to turn it around?Gov. Christie, the base seems to hate you. How do you respond to people who worry that you staying in the race any longer is helping Donald Trump by preventing non-Trump voters from consolidating behind a challenger whose campaign is getting more traction?Oleg Petrasyuk/EPA, via ShutterstockPamela PaulA question for all: Confidence in the military, while still relatively high compared with confidence in other institutions, is the lowest it’s been in over 25 years, at the same time that the military is struggling to bring in recruits. What would you do to restore trust in the military and recruit more people to volunteer for the armed services?Thomas FriedmanGov. DeSantis, if you were in Congress today, would you vote with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to continue military and economic aid for Ukraine and sustain Kyiv in its war with Russia for the next year, or with the House isolationists against any further aid? If it is the latter, how would you react if Vladimir Putin publicly thanked you?Gov. Haley, the late Henry Kissinger became famous for his diplomacy, with President Nixon, for peeling China away from the Soviet Union back in the 1970s. If you were president today, would you consider attempting such a move with Xi Jinping’s China, or do you think we should confront Russia and China at the same time? How would that make America more secure?Gov. Haley, as possibly America’s first Indian American president, do you think we should get tougher with President Narendra Modi to limit his curtailments of Indian democracy, or are you OK with what he’s doing?Jose Luis Gonzalez/ReutersEzra KleinGov. DeSantis and Gov. Haley, in 2021, your states — Florida and South Carolina — had higher homicide rates per capita than New York and California. That was also true in 2020, and 2019, and 2018, and 2017, and 2016 and 2015. Why is that?Michelle GoldbergTwenty women are suing Texas after being denied abortions, including in cases of severely dangerous or nonviable pregnancies. Should Texas amend its abortion ban to create a health exemption?Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman, via Associated PressCharles BlowGov. DeSantis, you made your crusade against what you called “wokeness” a centerpiece of your governorship and a springboard for your presidential bid. You even wrote a book in which anti-wokeness was a central theme. But over the summer, polling showed that Republican voters were unlikely to be swayed by a narrow focus on rooting out left-wing ideology in schools, media, culture and business — and you didn’t mention the word “woke” in any of the first three debates. Did you overestimate the currency anti-wokeness would have with the Republican primary electorate, and do you regret such a laserlike focus on a single cultural topic?Tressie McMillan CottomOur constitutional right of “free speech” has become a partisan issue. This is having a chilling effect on research, education and public workers. How do you define “free speech”? What role should the president and Congress play in shaping the way that free speech intersects with public institutions?The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips. And here’s our email: letters@nytimes.com.Follow the New York Times Opinion section on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X and Threads. More

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      Alabama Is at the Center of the 4th Republican Presidential Debate

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      Republican presidential candidates will gather in Tuscaloosa on Wednesday, at a moment when the state’s politics have new resonance on the national stage.Tuscaloosa is used to having the eyes of the nation on it, especially toward the end of the year. (Suffice to say, there is no controversy in Alabama about who made the College Football Playoff, again.)Yet the Republican presidential debate on Wednesday, held on the University of Alabama campus, offers the city of 113,000 a different kind of opportunity. The state has never before hosted a debate in a presidential election cycle, with organizers often eyeing swing states, early voting states or huge population centers as possible locations instead.“For a lot of people, this is going to be their rare opportunity to actually see a presidential candidate in person,” said Walt Maddox, the mayor of Tuscaloosa, adding that he had been fielding a number of ticket requests that rivaled that of a game day weekend. “In Iowa, New Hampshire, that’s a birthright,” Mr. Maddox, the 2018 Democratic nominee for governor, said of seeing numerous presidential candidates. “In Alabama, that’s something that’s pretty rare.”In some ways, it is not surprising that Republicans chose to descend upon Alabama, a conservative stronghold molded in part by hard-line politicians willing to leverage its grievances and divisions. (Former President Donald J. Trump, the Republican front-runner, has frequently reveled in the state’s loyal voter base, but he will not be a participant in the debate.)The third Republican presidential primary debate last month in Miami.Scott McIntyre for The New York Times“Alabama is getting more attention, especially on the conservative Republican side,” John Wahl, the chairman of the Alabama Republican Party, said. “If you look for a state across the country that kind of embodies Republican principles and the values of the Republican Party, we’re a good state,” he added.But beyond the outcome of Wednesday’s debate, there are reasons national political figures are paying close attention to Alabama this election cycle.At a moment when control of the House of Representatives hinges on just a couple seats, a congressional district in Alabama is suddenly competitive. In October, a federal court ordered Alabama to use a new map that creates a second district with close to a majority of Black voters.The order came after the Supreme Court ruled this summer that the congressional map drawn by the Republican-dominated state legislature violated the Voting Rights Act. The ruling has potentially paved the way for more equitable and competitive races across the region in 2024.This month Georgia lawmakers unveiled a proposed congressional map that would create an additional majority-Black district, while the Louisiana legislature has until late January to craft a new map that complies with the Voting Rights Act.And now in Alabama, nearly two dozen candidates are now vying for the Second Congressional District, designated as the newest district where Black voters have a valid opportunity to elect a candidate of their choice. (In Alabama, Black voters tend to back Democrats, increasing the odds that the party can flip the seat.)The University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Ala., will host the Republican presidential debate on Wednesday.Brian Snyder/ReutersSome Democrats said that Wednesday’s debate was a chance for them to tie criticism of Alabama’s hard-line leadership and policies to Mr. Trump and the other candidates. Democrats have already spent months hammering the state’s senior senator, Tommy Tuberville, over a monthslong, single-handed blockade of senior military promotions; on Tuesday, he agreed to drop his blockade for all but the most senior generals.“We’re a conservative state, yes, but I don’t think that we are that state where we are extreme the way that we’re seeing this with Donald Trump and so many of the other Republican leaders,” Doug Jones, a former Democratic senator and Biden ally, said. He argued that policies championed by top Republicans in Alabama — its strict abortion ban, a push to restrict certain books in libraries and an effort to curb rights for L.G.B.T.Q. youth — would make the case against Mr. Trump and other Republican candidates.But, he added, “even as a as a partisan Democrat, I am happy to see a major debate of the Republican Party coming into this state.”“It’s always good for Tuscaloosa, for the state, for the University of Alabama,” he said.Mr. Wahl said that he, too, was pleased that the debate was happening on the campus, where the Republican Party could make inroads with younger voters.“I think it gives the party a tremendous opportunity to reach out to young people to talk about the issues that are important to them and how these issues affect their lives,” he said.He also noted that the university’s own, apolitical imagery — crimson red with an elephant mascot — were fitting for a Republican debate. More