How to watch the second Republican debate — and why you should (even if you don't want to)

Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic
Updated ·4 min read
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There’s good news and bad news about the second Republican presidential debate.

The good news is that it can hardly be worse than the first one, which was an exercise in childish antics and running roughshod over the moderators.

The bad news is that it’s difficult to see how it can be much better.

The network is different, more or less. The moderators are different. The lineup of participants likely will be different, as one candidate isn't expected to clear the low bar for participation.

But the elephant not in the room, as Fox News’ Bret Baier put it in the first debate, remains (or doesn’t) Donald Trump, who skipped out on the first debate to whine on X with Tucker Carlson. Trump’s passing on this one, as well, instead giving a speech to striking autoworkers in Detroit while the other candidates bark at each other on the debate stage.

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What time is Republican debate tonight?

The second Republican debate is scheduled for 6 p.m. Arizona time on Wednesday, Sept. 27 on Fox Business and Univision, and will stream on Rumble, a conservative online video platform. (It’s where Kari Lake announced she was leaving Fox 10 in Phoenix, if you’re wondering what it’s like).

The debate will be held at the Ronald Reagan Foundation and Institute in Simi Valley, California.

Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy, Mike Pence, Tim Scott, Doug Burgum and Chris Christie are expected to participate.

From left, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former Vice President Mike Pence, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy joke with one another during a commercial break at at the first Republican presidential debate on Aug. 23, 2023, in Milwaukee.
From left, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former Vice President Mike Pence, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy joke with one another during a commercial break at at the first Republican presidential debate on Aug. 23, 2023, in Milwaukee.

Stuart Varney and Dana Perino of Fox News, along with Univision’s Ilia Calderón, will moderate.

Who cares?

I don’t say that lightly. I think debates can be important. Politicians, like athletes and movie stars, among others, are increasingly controlling of their image, with little exposure to media that isn’t rehearsed or approved. A debate actually gives voters a chance to get them away from that, at least in theory.

There wasn't meaningful debate the first time around

In the first debate, held on Fox News on Aug. 23, that was more difficult than it sounds. The most notable takeaways from that debacle? The lingering image is of DeSantis, looking around the stage at the other candidates before answering a question about who would support Trump as the GOP candidate, even if Trump was convicted of any of the crimes he's been indicted on. Then DeSantis meekly raised his hand.

Profiles in courage it wasn’t.

Then there was Ramaswamy, who came off like an annoying frat bro; he did everything but give Pence a wedgie on stage. Meanwhile, Baier and Martha MacCallum basically ran the thing like preschool teachers who couldn’t get the kids to come in from recess.

Baier was almost apologetic when bringing up Trump, who is currently lapping the field. MacCallum began the proceedings with the question that surely was burning in everyone’s minds: What did the candidates think about Oliver Anthony’s hit song “Rich Men North of Richmond.”

Seriously. That's how they kicked off the first debate of the campaign season.

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Next Republican debate has some advantages

In that regard Varney, Perino and Calderón are starting from an advantage — you can’t get off to a dumber start than that. (Anthony later said the candidates were basically the people he was singing about.)

Typically media would treat a debate as a proving ground for candidates to stake out a claim on certain policies, or to gain some traction in polling that lasts more than a day or two after the debate is over.

Not this time. Or next time. Or any time Trump doesn’t appear. Because the hard truth everyone on the stage, in the room and watching on TV knows is simple: None of these people are going to be the Republican candidate for president in 2024. Trump is.

The best this bunch can hope for is somehow proving their fealty to him in hopes of being chosen as his running mate. And even that seems unlikely.

Haley is the grown-up in the room, for instance, which you would think might make her a good choice for the No. 2 spot. But no. That assumes Republicans are looking for grown-ups, and there is no evidence of that so far this campaign season. And she criticizes Trump too much.

Will anyone else? Will the moderators keep the circus in check? Will they push harder on what Trump’s indictments mean to the party? Will any of the candidates stand out in a meaningful way?

We can’t know the answers to those questions yet. But we do know the answer to this one: Will any of it matter, ultimately?

Not one bit.

What channel is the GOP debate on tonight?

6 p.m. Arizona time on Wednesday, Sept. 27 on Fox Business, Univision and streaming on Rumble.

Reach Goodykoontz at bill.goodykoontz@arizonarepublic.com. Facebook: facebook.com/GoodyOnFilm. X, formerly known as Twitter: @goodyk.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: How to watch 2nd Republican primary debate, still without Trump