GOP Rivals Try to Stand Out in Debate No. 2

The 2024 Republican presidential candidates on Wednesday night aimed their verbal attacks mainly at President Joe Biden during the second primary debate, held at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute in Simi Valley, California.

With 2 in 3 Americans saying the country is on the wrong track, and 3 in 4 saying the U.S. economy is not good, candidates were asked about Biden and how he joined autoworkers on the picket line Tuesday.

"Joe Biden doesn’t belong on a picket line; he belongs on the unemployment line," former Vice President Mike Pence said.

"Bidenomics has failed."

Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina quipped that Biden "should not be on the picket line; he should be on the southern border."

"There's no doubt that Joe Biden needs to be fired," Scott said. "That's why I'm running for president."

Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy said he had sympathy for the autoworkers because "people are going through a lot of hardship in this country."

"If I was giving advice to those workers, I would say, Go picket in front of the White House in Washington, D.C. That's really where the protest needs to be — disastrous economic policies that have driven up prices, that have driven up interest rates and mortgage rates. At the same time, wages remaining stagnant."

Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley asked, "Biden showed up on that picket line but why are those workers actually there?"

"It's because of all of the spending he has pushed through in the economy that has raised the inflation," she said.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie also criticized former President Donald Trump for again skipping the debate.

Trump, the front-runner by a large margin, skipped the first GOP debate last month. He again was not on the stage Wednesday night, instead addressing auto industry workers in the battleground state of Michigan.

"And you know who else is missing in action? Donald Trump is missing in action," said DeSantis, who is second to Trump in polling. "He should be on this stage tonight."

Christie, a Trump critic, said the former president "hides behind the walls of his golf clubs and won't show up here to answer questions."

"He put 7 trillion on the debt," Christie said. "He should be in this room to answer those questions."

A third Republican debate is planned for November.