It was the undercard that underwhelmed.
The third straight Republican presidential debate that former President Donald J. Trump has skipped — choosing instead to rally with supporters a few miles away — represented a critical and shrinking chance for his rivals to close his chasm of a polling advantage.
And with only five candidates on the stage for the first time — Chris Christie, Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy and Tim Scott — they all had far more time to speak.
Yet they had precious little to say about Mr. Trump, even when given the chance just over two months before the Iowa caucuses.
They sparred in a substantive debate that dissected disagreements over aid to Ukraine, Social Security, confronting China, banning TikTok and how to approach abortion less than 24 hours after Republicans suffered their latest electoral setbacks driven by the fall of Roe v. Wade.
Persons:
Donald J, Trump, —, Chris Christie, Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy, Tim Scott —, Roe, Wade
Organizations:
Social Security, Republicans
Locations:
Iowa, Ukraine, China