A sober, substantive debate as Haley and DeSantis fend off attacks

The third Republican debate began with a question about the man who refuses to be there.

Why you, asked NBC’s Lester Holt, and not Donald Trump?

Instead, the five candidates ticked off the problems facing the country, and only briefly dealt with the former president who leads them all.

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Ron DeSantis said Trump should explain why he ran up the debt and didn’t drain the swamp.

Nikki Haley said Trump was the right president at the time but not now, and we "can’t live in the past."

Vivek Ramaswamy didn’t mention Trump, but oddly accused the "corrupt media establishment" of having "rigged" the 2016 and 2020 elections.

Chris Christie said the GOP could not nominate someone who’d spend the next year and a half "focusing on keeping himself out of jail."

Tim Scott also didn’t mention Trump, saying the party should focus on "restoring our Christian values."

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Clearly, they had all made a decision not to overly dwell on Trump but to deliver their prepared recitations about a nation in trouble. The five seemed more poised and polished than in previous debates, and largely refrained from constant interruptions, except for Ramaswamy.

They all spoke in Miami in aggressive terms about supporting Israel and combating anti-Semitism.

On aid to Ukraine, three of the contenders backed further U.S. assistance with varying language. DeSantis called the $60 billion proposed by President Biden "totally ridiculous" and declared, "We need to bring this war to an end." Only Ramaswamy was flatly opposed, saying Ukraine "is not a paragon of democracy," and pivoting to attacking Haley, a former U.N. ambassador.

She shot back that the leaders of Russia and China were "salivating" at the idea of Ramaswamy becoming president.

There were sharp exchanges on the subject of the Chinese-owned Tik Tok. Haley told DeSantis that one of his agencies called Florida an ideal place for China’s products. The governor said he abolished that agency. Ramaswamy, asked about his own use of TikTok, said Haley’s daughter had been on it.

"Leave my daughter out of your voice," she shot back.

Haley also played offense at times, slamming DeSantis for the "liberal" approach of having opposed fracking. He responded that you can’t get to shale oil without fracking. 

On abortion, Haley’s call for a consensus rang louder after Republicans lost on the issue in several states Tuesday, while DeSantis didn’t mention his six-week ban in Florida.

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It was a solid and substantive debate, rather dull at times, that didn’t produce a big-headline moment. The truth is the candidates agree on most issues.

Haley drew most of the attacks, reflecting her recent rise in the polls. Both Haley and DeSantis had the strongest nights, projecting conviction and armed with detail. 

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But right now they are still battling for second place.