12/6 GOP Debate—Segment 1

Jason Russell30min

Speaker 1

00:00

onstage tonight, for candidates all vying to become their party's nominee. And given the state of affairs in our political system right now, one of you might very well do it. Even many Democrats now admit that President Biden is a weak candidate. Just as many Republicans acknowledge that former President Donald Trump's multiple legal troubles, could imperil his quest for a second term, all of which means one of you could wind up the leader of the free world. Mr. Trump is nearly 50 points ahead of all of you in the national polls. 29 points ahead in Iowa where the GOP caucuses are less than six weeks away. And so as Republicans get ready to vote on whether any of you might be preferable to Mr. Trump, we begin with the question of electability. Governor DeSantis. Your campaign and it's super PAC had spent the most money had the most high net worth donors and had a wave of momentum coming into this race after your big reelection when in Florida. You were seen by many as the candidate most likely to consolidate the non Trump field. But here we are a month out from the first real votes and you haven't managed to do it. In fact, Nikki Haley is beating you in New Hampshire and South Carolina now and closing in on you in Iowa. Not to mention Trump was not dominating in the early stage, but he's beating you in Florida by over 30 points. Is it fair to say as senators and Scott did when he dropped out that voters are telling you not? No, but not now? Just like

Unknown Speaker

01:36

so. We have a great idea in

Speaker 2

01:38

America that the voters actually make these decisions, not pundits or pollsters. I'm sick of hearing about these polls, because I remember those polls in November of 2022. They said there was going to be a big red wave. It was going to be monumental. And that crashed and burned. But one place it didn't crash and burn was in the state of Florida. They weren't predicting that I would win the way I did. And I won the greatest Republican victory in the history of the state of Florida. I'm looking forward to Iowa and New Hampshire, the voters are going to be able to speak and we're going to earn this nomination. And here's what we need. I am sick of Republicans who are not willing to stand up and fight back against what the left is doing to this country. You've got to be willing to stand strong and you've got to be willing to beat these people aren't the only one running for president that is beaten these people on issue after issue. We beat the teachers unions when we did school choice, we beat Fauci on COVID We beat George Soros. When we remove two of his radical district attorneys. We beat the Democrats on election integrity. I have delivered results. That's what we need for this country. And you have other candidates up here like Nikki Haley. She caves anytime the left comes after anytime the media comes after I did a bill in Florida to stop the gender mutilation of minors. It's child abuse and it's wrong. She opposes that bill. She thinks it's fine and the law shouldn't get involved with it. If you're not willing to stand up for the kids. If you're not willing to stand up and say that it is wrong to mutilate these kids, then you're not going to fight for the people back home. I will fight for you and I will win for you.

Speaker 1

03:21

You left government service in 2018 with just $100,000 in the bank. Five years later, you're reportedly worth 8 million thanks so Luke, lucrative corporate speeches and board memberships like you had with Boeing. Weeks ago you met with Wall Street heavyweights including leaders from JP Morgan Goldman Sachs and BlackRock, several other billionaire investors are reportedly ready to endorse you or recently have all of which comes with expectations. Aren't you too tight with the banks and the billionaires to win over the GOP is working class base which mostly wants to break the system, not elect someone beholden to it?

Speaker 3

03:57

Well, thank you. It's great to be here. You know, first I'll tell you just to respond to Ron i He continues to lie about my record. I actually said his don't say gay Bill didn't go far enough because it only talked about gender until the third grade. And I said it shouldn't be done at all that that's for parents to talk about. It shouldn't be talked about with schools, in reference to donors coming on board. Look, we will take support from anybody we can take support from but I have been a conservative fighter all my life. I was a Tea Party candidate when I became governor we opposed every single corporate bailout we possibly could we pass tort reform, we passed one of the toughest illegal immigration laws in the country. We pass pro life bills. We moved in unemployment from 11% to 3%. We took on the unions and we took the unions and Syrian refugees and everything in between and so I've had a fight. And so as much as Ron says that that's not true. But when it comes to these corporate people that want to suddenly support us, we'll take it, but you can they don't. I don't ask them what their policies are. They asked me what my policies are. And I tell them what it is. Sometimes they agree with me sometimes they don't some don't like how tough I am on China. some don't like the fact that I've signed pro life bills. some don't like the fact that I may oppose corporate bailouts. that doesn't matter. that's who I am. and that's why the most conservative grassroots group in the country Americans for Prosperity endorsed me last week, because

Speaker 2

05:28

you didn't respond to the criticism, it wasn't about the parents rights education bill. operations on minors. They do puberty blockers. These are irreversible. Talk to Chloe Cole. She went through this now she's an adult she's warning gets it. She may never be able to have kids again. That is what Nikki Haley opposed. She said the law shouldn't get involved in that. And I just asked you if you're somebody that's going to be the President of the United States and you can't stand up against child abuse, how are you going to be able to stand up for anything? That is the truth.

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