Philly vandalism came up in the GOP debate, along with Donald Duck and a lot of interrupting

The second Republican presidential primary debate was a noisy but ultimately somewhat forgettable evening with a lot of fiery exchanges and few standout moments.

The two-hour debate, broadcast Wednesday on Fox News from the Ronald Reagan Library and Museum in Simi Valley, Calif., featured seven candidates vying for the party’s nomination and again went on without the GOP front-runner, former President Donald Trump.

Here are some takeaways from the second debate:

Trump is leading the contest by double digits in some polls, and the candidates clearly came eager to seize the moment. But all the jockeying for airtime often devolved into candidates talking over each other and made the debate feel, at times, like an unruly shouting match.

Debates this far ahead of an election don’t tend to have much of an impact on the race, but clips of some of the chaos will likely benefit Trump and President Joe Biden, both eager to discredit the GOP field.

Vivek Ramaswamy, a biotech entrepreneur who is polling in a steady third place in many swing states, was the biggest target of criticism Wednesday. He responded to questions about his former employer’s expansion into China by noting that the company later withdrew its location there.

“I’m glad you pulled out of a business deal in 2018 in China,” former Vice President Mike Pence said. “That must have been about the time you started voting in presidential elections.” (Ramaswamy didn’t vote in 2008, 2012, or 2016).

One of the more pointed exchanges again came between him and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.

After Ramaswamy defended his use of TikTok to reach young voters (despite also calling it a highly addictive social media platform that he would ban for users under 16, if he’s elected president), Haley shot back.

“Every time I hear you, I feel a little bit dumber for what you say,” she said. “What they’re doing is 150 million people are on TikTok. That means they [China] can get your contacts, can get your financial information, they can get your emails, they can get your text messages.”

Haley also had several heated exchanges with a fellow South Carolinian, Sen. Tim Scott. The two had previously been largely cordial to each other despite vying for support in the same key state.

But after a whole lot of discord, the night ended on a more harmonious note. Moderators asked the candidates to write down on a piece of paper who they would “vote off the island.” After outbursts of “Are you serious?” and “That’s disrespectful,” the seven agreed not to answer.

On the whole, not much time was spent on Trump. But when he did come up it was the same two candidates who mentioned him: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.

Christie, in keeping with his campaign pledge to hold the former president accountable, said Trump should be on stage to defend his administration, which contributed significantly to the national debt.

He then debuted what seemed to be a rehearsed zinger:

“You’re not here because you’re afraid,” Christie said straight to the camera, “You’re afraid of defending your record. You’re ducking these things. We’re gonna call you Donald Duck.”

Christie’s official campaign account on X, formerly Twitter, posted images of Donald Duck throughout the debate, while Trump’s official campaign account responded by posting unflattering photos of Christie.

DeSantis called the former president “missing in action,” and said he needed to defend comments made about abortion.

“He should be here explaining his comments — to try to say that pro-life protections are somehow a ‘terrible thing’? I want him to look into the eyes and tell people who have been fighting this fight for a long time.”

DeSantis was more combative toward Trump than he has been in the past as he continues to drop in the polls. In the most recent Reuters/Ipsos poll, he’s almost 40 percentage points behind Trump. And in some early-voting states such as New Hampshire, he is in danger of dropping into the middle of the pack.

The five other candidates’ silence on Trump shows how secure they view his grip to be on a portion of the Republican electorate.

The California crowd was much more friendly to the anti-Trump messaging than at the first debate in Milwaukee, where Christie got jeers when he slammed Trump. He got applause Wednesday night (though the Donald Duck line prompted some groans).

A segment about addressing crime featured news footage of the break-ins and vandalism that occurred across Philadelphia on Tuesday night.

Republicans have a long history of running against crime, and against crime in Philadelphia, specifically. It was a major topic in the 2022 Senate race between Mehmet Oz and John Fetterman. And Senate GOP candidate Dave McCormick mentioned the looting at a rally in Bridgeport on Tuesday night ahead of the debate.

Haley brought up the vandalism on the debate stage in an answer to a question about illegal immigration. (Police have not indicated that any of the 52 people arrested associated with Tuesday night’s destruction are undocumented immigrants.)

“We have to secure the border and the way we do that is to defund sanctuary cities,” she said. “You see what’s happening in Philadelphia right now and it’s got to stop.”

Candidates on stage offered vague ideas for how to curb crime, which is a difficult thing for a president to address directly.

Both DeSantis and Haley said they’d send U.S. special forces into Mexico to fight drug cartels there, which would be an unprecedented way to address the fentanyl crisis.

An hour before the debate started, Trump again attempted to draw attention from his opponents, this time speaking to autoworkers in Michigan. He told the crowd his event was competing against “the job candidates,” suggesting that his Republican competitors are really hoping for jobs if he wins the White House again.

Trump repeatedly pleaded for an endorsement from the United Auto Workers, which is striking now against three automakers, though he spoke at a nonunion auto parts manufacturer. Trump said he supports the UAW push for wage increases and insisted that any contract agreement the union secures will not matter if the auto industry follows Biden’s push to increase manufacturing of electric vehicles.

“Joe Biden claims to be the most pro-union president in history. Nonsense,” Trump said. “His entire career has been an act of economy treason and union destruction.”

Biden in April announced a goal of “having 50% of all new vehicle sales be electric by 2030.” Trump called that a “mandate.”

The Biden campaign, in an email to media outlets while Trump was still speaking, called that “a lie”

Trump spoke at a plant in Macomb County, Mich., the only part of the three-county Detroit metropolitan area that supported Trump over Biden in 2020. He also wasn’t the only candidate counterprogramming on Wednesday.

The Biden campaign on Wednesday morning started airing in Michigan a new television ad touting the president’s record on manufacturing and jobs while showing Trump golfing.

The third Republican presidential debate will be held in Miami on Nov. 8, a day after several states hold elections.