The Biggest Winners and Losers of the Fourth GOP Debate

The fourth and final Republican primary debate boasted the smallest crowd of candidates thus far, but the night was far from quiet, with all four participants fighting to make a mark just weeks ahead of the Iowa caucuses.

Only four candidates out of a once-crowded pool of GOP hopefuls qualified for Wednesday's debate in Tuscaloosa, Alabama: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, ex-New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy. Once again, despite meeting the Republican National Committee's requirements to participate, GOP front-runner and former President Donald Trump did not attend.

Trump, who holds a healthy lead in preliminary polling for the next Republican presidential nominee despite facing 91 felony charges spread over four indictments, still commanded a major presence Wednesday night. Haley and DeSantis wasted no time taking the battle for second place to the debate stage, while Christie and Ramaswamy fought to stay in the race.

Winners: Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis

As expected, Haley faced attacks left and right from DeSantis and Ramaswamy regarding her policies on foreign affairs, the U.S. southern border and her support from top-dollar donors. But the only woman on stage did not waver once amid the pressure, telling her foes early in the night, "I love all the attention, fellas."

Haley specifically faced criticism for her support from Wall Street donors in recent days, and moderators questioned if she would be able to resonate with the working-class demographic of the GOP. The former governor assured voters, however, that she has been a fighter for Republican policies throughout her career, and touted her support from the conservative grassroots group, Americans for Prosperity.

Later in the night, Haley again faced accusations from Ramaswamy about being "corrupt," although the attacks did not faze the former governor.

"It's not worth my time to respond to him," she told the moderators.

DeSantis appeared assertive throughout the night, and was quick to jump on Haley with any chance he was given. Cheers from the crowd also appeared to pick up throughout the debate for the Florida governor, and he was quick to put to bed any doubts about his campaign.

"I'm sick of hearing about these polls," DeSantis said during his opening statements, adding that he was the only candidate on stage "willing to stand up and fight back against what the left is doing to this country."

As Haley's campaign closes the gap between the former South Carolina governor and DeSantis, the race is on up to the Iowa caucuses January 15 for second place in the GOP primary. Neither candidate shows a likely chance of catching Trump, who as of Wednesday is polling at 59 percent on average across major national polls, according to FiveThirtyEight's assessment.

Aaron Kall, political commentator and director of the debate program at the University of Michigan, told Newsweek that DeSantis showed "momentum" from his debate last week with California Governor Gavin Newsom, noting that the Florida governor often cracked a smile while the other three candidates picked up their attacks on Haley.

"DeSantis had the better overall performance given the high stakes and momentum in the race, but Haley has benefited the most from the debates to date and this could be viewed as another solid performance by her supporters," Kall added.

Winner: Trump

Even without being in the room, the former president came out a winner Wednesday.

All four candidates made their typical attacks against Trump's presidency, and DeSantis may have offered the strongest criticism, claiming that the former president dropped the ball during his first term in office on issues like the U.S.-Mexico border struggle and COVID-19.

Still, questions about the former president instead raised fights among the candidates onstage, and when Christie issued warnings that Trump's second term could look like something of a "dictator," the answer was met with a resounding "boo" from some in the crowd.

The former New Jersey governor, who supported Trump in 2016 and 2020, spent most of his answers throughout the night digging at the former president, a move unlikely to give his campaign its much-needed boost before caucus votes in January.

Loser: Transgender Rights

One of the few things that candidates agreed on Wednesday was that gender-affirming care should not be offered for minors, although they disagreed to what extent the federal government should be involved in the issue.

DeSantis touted his war on "woke" in Florida when asked about how to handle treatment for transgender minors, while Christie explained his position on why he believes the issue is ultimately up for parents to decide, not the government.

"Parents don't have the right to abuse their kids," DeSantis exclaimed, which was met with roaring applause from the audience.

Ramaswamy took the question one step further, stating that being transgender is a "mental health disorder."

Kall told Newsweek that DeSantis' position as the only sitting governor gives him the advantage of being able to point to his own legislation on "woke" policies in Florida. He also noted that the governor's position as "culture warrior" works well when compared to more moderate candidates like Haley and Christie, "but if he gets to a final showdown with Trump, it will be hard to outflank him on this issue."

Loser: China

All four candidates fought to outdo one another over who has the toughest approach to China as tensions in the South China Sea continue escalating. Haley said the U.S. needs to let Beijing know that there will be "hell to pay" if China goes far enough as to invade Taiwan, and Ramaswamy reiterated his plan to equip all Taiwanese citizens with an AR-15 to defend themselves.

When asked if U.S. soldiers should be sent to Taiwan if China invades, DeSantis said that under his administration, Beijing would be deterred from ever making that decision. He also accused Haley of not being tough enough on China as governor of South Carolina, saying that her "Wall Street liberal donors" who "make money in China" wouldn't let her be tough on the issue once in office.

Haley and Ramaswamy also pointed fingers at China as the main source of the fentanyl surge in the U.S. The U.S. Treasury Department has taken steps in recent months to crack down on Chinese sources of fentanyl that are smuggled into the country, launching the Counter-Fentanyl Strike Force on Monday, reported the Associated Press.

Chinese President Xi Jinping said during a meeting with President Joe Biden last month that he has ordered chemical companies in his country to curtail shipments to Latin America containing products used to produce fentanyl. Biden has faced immense pressure from the GOP to step up his approach to U.S.-China relations.

Winner: Israel

None of the candidates on stage questioned Israel's response to the October 7 attacks by Palestinian militant group Hamas, although Ramaswamy again said that it was Israel's responsibility to defend itself in light of the war in the Gaza Strip.

Christie went as far as to say that he would be willing to send U.S. troops into the Gaza Strip to rescue American citizens still being held hostage by Hamas. Haley reiterated throughout the night that the war between Israel and Hamas was really about Iran's threat to the Western world, as is the Russia-Ukraine war.

Haley also criticized how U.S. universities have responded to tensions between pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian groups on campus, and said that being anti-Zionist—opposed to the movement and belief in the establishment of a Jewish nation—should be equated to antisemitism.

Biden has become more critical of Israel's actions in Gaza in recent weeks, and is facing pressure from a large part of his younger Democratic base to call for a ceasefire in the conflict. Meanwhile, some of the most conservative members of Congress have opposed sending military aid to Israel in an effort to cut government spending.

Loser: Civility

Perhaps the biggest thing lost among the candidates Wednesday was any sense of good manners. Every single participant interrupted another on the stage at some point, and there were several viral one-liners throughout the night.

Christie may have taken the cake as far as one-liners go, calling Ramaswamy an "obnoxious blowhard." The former New Jersey governor did stand out for a moment in the chaos by defending Haley in the middle of Ramaswamy's ceaseless attacks, calling her a "smart, accomplished woman." (Christie later got in a several-second fight with DeSantis, where neither the candidates, nor the audience members could understand what was being shouted.)

Moderators also struggled like other debates to cut candidates off at their time limit, and participants often began responding to attacks or answering one another's questions without being directed to do so.

Still, Kall told Newsweek that he would put the host of Wednesday's debate, NewsNation, in his "winners" category.

"NewsNation is a relatively new media enterprise and this the first presidential primary debate they've ever hosted," Kall said. "The moderators understood that front-runner Trump needed to be a bigger focus of the debate even though he wasn't physically present. The debate immediately started with a question about Trump and they continually forced the four candidates to engage the Trump question by playing video clips and reading direct quotations."

Update 12/6/2023, 10:48 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information and background.