Second Republican presidential debate LIVE: Nikki Haley blames Biden and inflation for the auto workers strike as candidates tear into ‘Bidenomics’

Christie says: ‘When you have the President of the United States sleeping with a member of the teachers union, there is no chance that you could take the stranglehold away from the teachers union every day.’

First Lady Jill Biden is a teacher.

Democrats rounded on Christie over the attack.

Former Obama staffer Tommy Vietor said: ‘Christie referring to Biden as “sleeping with a member of the teacher’s union” is gross and disrespectful.’

Joe Biden has weighed in on the debate.

The president says he ‘couldn’t agree more’ with Ron DeSnatis after the Florida governor slammed Trump for adding $7.8 trillion to the national debt

Trump may or may not be watching, but his advisors certainly are, and say it confirms he made the right deicison not to be there.

Senior adviser Chris LaCivita says it’s a ‘joke’ and ‘an interview to be the designated survivor.’

Andy Surabian, a former Trump official, says the DeSantis line that Trump is ‘missing in action’ was ‘clearly pre-rehearsed, poll-tested and consultant written’.

He adds: ‘That underscores the fundamental problem with the DeSantis campaign.’

Nikki Haley unloads on Vivek Ramaswamy.

In a withering attack Haley says: ‘Honestly, every time I hear you I feel a little bit dumber for what you say.’

She slams Ramaswamy for his use of ‘dangerous’ TikTok and his links to China and Hunter Biden.

In conclusion she says ‘We can’t trust you.’

He’s the only GOP presidential candidate on TikTok, but Vivek Ramaswamy says teens staying away from ‘addictive social media.’

In a question about security, Ramaswamy pivoted to a discussion of border security, talking about teens turning to social media like Snapchat to procure pharmaceuticals.

‘If you’re 16 years old or under, you should not be using an addictive social media product, period,’ he said.

Ramaswamy, who at 38 is the youngest candidate on stage, has referred to TikTok as ‘digital fentanyl’ but earlier this month joined the platform, with his campaign saying he was angling to appeal to younger voters.

there’s still a long way to go but one of Donald Trump’s sons is tuning out already.

Nikki Haley has the stage to herself as the other six take a break.

‘What happens when Joe Biden waved the green flag it told everybody to come,” Haley says.

‘Now we’ve seen six million people cross the border. We’ve had more fentanyl that have killed Americans in the Iraq, Vietnam or Afghanistan wars combined. We need to make sure that we are a country of laws.’

She calls for defunding sanctuary cities, and putting 25,000 more Border Patrol and ICE agents on the ground.

‘Let’s go to catch and deport,’ Haley says.

‘You know, Ron, you talk a really good game about cutting spending, but you’ve increased spending in Florida by 30 percent.

‘When I was a member of Congress in 2006, right after Hurricane Katrina, you remember it. we stood our ground.

‘I led house conservatives, we cut $100 billion out of the federal budget.’

Looking straight into the camera Christie says:

‘And I want to look at a camera right now to tell you, Donald, I know you’re watching. You can’t help yourself. I know you’re watching, OK.

‘And you’re not here tonight. Not because of polls, and not because of your indictments. You’re not here tonight because you’re afraid of being on the stage and defending your record.

‘You’re ducking these things. And let me tell you what’s going to happen. You keep doing that, no one up here is gonna to call you Donald Trump anymore. We’re gonna call you Donald Duck.’

‘Just being here in southern California my wife and I have met three people who have been mugged just being on the street.

‘In Florida we back the blue.’

It’s briefly descended into school yard stuff as the newly aggressive Tim Scott takes on Vivek Ramaswamy over his links to China.

DeSantis weighs in calling on the moderators to intervene so they can have a ‘policy discussion’.

But for a while no-one can hear anything as the trio are all talking at once.

Christie says: ‘Donald Trump failed on this as well (the border).

‘He said he was going to build a wall across the whole border. and said Mexico would pay for it. He built 52 miles of wall.’

GOP presidential candidates started their second debate by mostly agreeing that the U.S. economic future should be powered by gasoline.

In lockstep, they all attacked the Biden administration’s support for electric vehicles.

They said it would hurt the U.S. auto sector and enrich China.

The unanimity reflected the challenge candidates face to stand out on policy issues.

Meanwhile in Detroit…

The Florida governor is the last candidate to speak and goes straight after Donald Trump.

He says: ‘You know who else is missing in action? Donald Trump is missing in action.

‘He should be on this stage tonight. He owes it to you to defend his record.’

DeSantis went on to attack Trump for adding $7.8 trillion to the national debt during his presidency.

Trump, on stage in Detroit, is dismissive of the ‘job candidates’ in the debate.

He suggests they are seeking jobs in his future cabinet.

‘Anyone see a VP?’ he asks. Seemingly not by his reaction.

Vivek Ramaswamy says he has some sympathy for the auto workers having himself come from humble beginnings.

He says they should move their picket line to the White House until Biden slashes regulation.

Pence weighs in: ‘Biden doesn’t bvelong on a picket line, he belongs in an unempmolyment line.’

Scott is asked if he would fire the striking auto workers in Michigan.

The South Carolina senator has promised to be more aggressive in this debate than he was in the first.

He says: ‘Joe Biden should not be on the picket line he should be on the southern border working to close it.’

He adds: ‘Finish the wall.’

On stage in Detriot Donald Trump is launching a new attack on Joe Biden, calling him a ‘wretched vulture’.

Donald trump is on stage in Detroit:

Yesterday, Joe Biden came to Michigan to pose for photos at the picket line. But it’s his policies that send Michigan auto workers to the unemployment line!

I want a future that protects American labor, not foreign labor. A future that puts American dreams over foreign profits. And a future that raises American wages, that strengthens American industry, that builds national pride, and that defends this country’s dignity.

You built this country, you love this country, and you are the ones who make this country run

The location of the debate – the Ronald Regan Presidential Library – means we can expect candidates to draw on him for inspiration.

A reminder of some famous Reagan quotes we might hear referenced:

‘We raised a banner of bold colors. No pale pastels. We proclaimed a dream of an America that would be “a shining city on a hill”.’

‘The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: I’m from the Government, and I’m here to help. “

‘Common sense told us that when you put a big tax on something, the people will produce less of it. So, we cut the people’s tax rates, and the people produced more than ever before.’

Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom says a Republican debate without Donald Trump is pointless given the former president’s commanding lead in the polls.

‘This is a sideshow, by any objective measure,’ Newsom said. ‘You’ve got a guy who’s the de facto incumbent.’

He said the debate is ‘JV, XFL stuff.’

Trump leads all other GOP contenders by at least 30 points in most national polls.

Despite his comments Newsom has agreed to debate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis later this year.

Donald Trump’s recent comments that a six-week ban on abortion would be ‘terrible’ has moved the issue to the top of the agenda.

Ron DeSantis has already signed a six-week ban in Florida, while Tim Scott and Mike Pence both claim to be the most pro-life candidate on the stage.

Expect them to attack Trump on the issue.

The day before the debate DeSantis said: ‘This (Trump) is not the guy who ran in 2016. He’s now attacking the pro-life movement. He’s attacking states that enacted pro-life protections that had support.’

South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace predicted Wednesday that ‘all eyes will be on Nikki Haley’ tonight after the former U.N. ambassador and South Carolina governor wowed at the first GOP debate last month in Milwaukee.

‘The last time we had a discussion was right before the first debate and I said do not underestimate Nikki Haley. And if she has another big night I think you’ll continue to see her walk away from the rest of the field,’ Mace told Fox News‘ Neil Cavuto.

Mace, a moderate Republican who criticized former President Donald Trump and survived his attempt to primary her, told Cavuto she had yet to pick a candidate to back in the 2024 GOP presidential primary.

She said she ‘loved’ both Haley and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, but added, ‘there’s something about seeing a strong woman from South Carolina, from my district, being out there and doing her thing.’

Mace also floated that she believed Haley’s ascent could be stymied if other hopefuls don’t drop out of the race.

‘Unless other people get out, really why would anybody go with somebody else right now, because the former president is currently running away with it,’ the congresswoman observed.

Republican candidate Chris Christie will be looking for a strong performance in California this evening.

Earlier on Wednesday during his final preparations, he tried to take advantage of the social media frenzy over Taylor Swift’s appearance at a Kansas City Chiefs game, to watch rumored beau Travis Kelce.

President Joe Biden is spending Wednesday night focused on the 2024 campaign, and chasing money.

Just before candidates were set to take the stage in Simi Valley, Biden was hauling in campaign cash at the home of billionaire climate activist Tom Steyer and his wife Kat Taylor in San Francisco.

Steyer shared a debate stage with Biden during the presidential primaries in the 2020 election.

He also rented Biden his $15 million Lake Tahoe vacation home this summer. Steyer told the 20 well-heeled guests Wednesday that Biden was doing a ‘spectacular job.’

In his own remarks, Biden blasted House Republicans and said Speaker Kevin McCarthy is ‘making a choice between the speakership and American interest’ in the budget battles.

Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley will be one of the candidates to watch when she takes the stage this evening.

She has seen a jump in the polls in recent weeks, and is in second place in some surveys in New Hampshire.

A DailyMail.com poll has her beating Joe Biden by 19 votes among independent voters.

If he wants to win in 2024, Biden will need independents on his side.

Across the country from the debate in Michigan, Trump is being welcomed by a drum-line.

But there are dueling pro- and anti- Trump protests happening as the ex-President heads there to speak with auto union workers in the midst of negotiations.

A plane is flying above the speech location with a banner reading, ‘Trump Sold Us Out,’ while cars are honking as they drive by protesters.

Trump’s remarks are at Drake Enterprises, a non-union facility in a Detroit suburb.

He beat Ron DeSantis – who mostly avoided any tustles with his opponents – by the narrowist of margins.

Entrepreneur Ramaswamy put up a combative performance, trading blows with opponents such as former Vice President Mike Pence who seemed intent on cutting him down to size.

It made him the focal point for much of the debate.

Read DailyMail.com’s guide to the Republican debate, with just under three hours until the seven candidates take the stage at the Ronald Reagan Library in Simi Valley, California.

Donald Trump is skipping the event again, and will speak in Michigan at 8pm (Eastern Time) to an auto parts manufacturing plant.

Trump is still the frontrunner in the Republican polls. Its a decisive night for his rivals trying to put a stamp on the race for the White House.

Protesters started lining-up down the hill from the Ronald Reagan Library in Simi Valley, California on Tuesday evening as seven GOP candidates prepare for the second debate.

The demonstrators on Tuesday were protesting the Republican debate in general.

But those that joined on the street down the hill from the library on Wednesday morning were pro-Trump protesters – even though Trump is skipping out on the second debate.

The signs included images of Trump’s migshot with phrases like: ‘Wanted for President 2024’ and ‘Never Surrender’

South Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum is painting himself as similar to late President Ronald Reagan as he and six other candidates prepare to debate on a stage at the conservative idol’s Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California.

‘Ronald Reagan’s legacy is a reminder that big things come from small towns and humble beginnings,’ said Burgum, who is from a North Dakota town with a population of just 328.

‘A reminder it doesn’t matter where you come from; what matters is your character, your dedication to service and your commitment to overcoming tough challenges,’ the 2024 hopeful wrote.

He added in the three-part Twitter post: ’40 years ago, America took a chance on a small-town kid from Tampico, Illinois. Today, I’m asking America to place their trust in me — a small-town kid from Arthur, North Dakota. Let’s saddle up and get to work!’

Sen. Tim Scott’s pre-debate preparations could include him going to the gym or playing a few games of pickleball, his campaign told DailyMal.com.

The South Carolina Republican will also pray and spend time with his family. Scott is known for, at times, taking his mother on the campaign trail with him.

Meanwhile, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is preparing for the debate by listening to some Bruce Springsteen pump-up songs.

“Once he’s on the stage, the strategy is simple: listen to the questions, answer them directly, and call out dishonesty when he sees it,” a campaign spokesperson shared with DailyMail.com.

Donald Trump is skipping the second debate – after already not going to the first – to speak with auto workers i n Michigan at 8pm.

The Democratic Party is taking aim at the ex-President’s trip with a new ad.

‘He says he stands with auto workers, but as President Donald Trump passed tax breaks for his rich friends while automakers shuttered their plants – and Michigan lost manufacturing jobs,’ the ad reads.

President Joe Biden visited Michigan on Tuesday to make history as the first president to join the picket line with protesting workers. The trip came just the day before Trump is also heading to the Detroit area to speak to auto workers amid negotiations for higher wages and shorter work weeks.

‘Joe Biden said he’d stand up for workers, and he’s delivering – passing laws that are increasing wages, and creating good-paying jobs,’ the Democrat’s ad notes. ‘Manufacturing is coming back to Michigan because Joe Biden doesn’t just talk, he delivers.’

Deep blue California is the site for the second Republican debate of the 2024 primary.

Kicking-off at 9:00 p.m. ET, seven candidates are taking stage at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California for a second chance to boost their polling against far frontrunner Donald Trump – who is skipping the debate.

Those on stage will be Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis ; biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy; former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley; South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott; former Vice President Mike Pence; former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie; and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum.