Key takeaways:
- The second 2024 Republican Primary Debate was hosted by the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California.
- President Donald Trump was absent from the debate, but his share of the GOP primary vote has grown from 52% to 54%.
- The candidates discussed climate change and almost uniformly rejected the idea that the planet’s steadily rising temperature was a problem.
On September 27th, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California hosted the second 2024 Republican Primary Debate. The debate featured four candidates: former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Vivek Ramaswamy and U.S. Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC).
The debate was notable for the absence of President Donald Trump, who had skipped the first debate and continued to do so for this one. DeSantis took the opportunity to call out the President for his absence, as well as for attacking Florida’s six-week abortion ban. Despite Trump’s absence, his share of the GOP primary vote has grown from 52% to 54%, according to the FiveThirtyEight polling average.
The candidates discussed a range of topics, but one of the most notable was their stance on climate change. Almost uniformly, the candidates rejected the idea that the planet’s steadily rising temperature was a problem at all. North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum said, “It’s not climate change we need to worry about.”
The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library is no stranger to natural disasters. In 2017, one of California’s increasingly destructive wildfires caused roughly $500,000 in damage to the library. It remains to be seen whether Trump’s absence from the debate will have any effect on his polling numbers.
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