The great debate: Republicans take center stage

If you didn’t watch the GOP debate, here is a recap from the vantage point of an international affairs expert.

The GOP debate began, predictably, on the topic of the economy — always a major pocketbook issue for voters.

Climate change, which is both a national and international issue, got second place on the issues raised by the moderators, with Vivek Ramaswamy stating that the climate agenda was a “hoax.” One supposes he does not watch the Weather Channel.

Next up was a divisive debate on abortion rights, with candidates fighting over who was more pro-life. Still, no war and peace.

Almost an hour into the debate, the “elephant in the room” was raised. The one leading candidate in the race, former President Donald Trump, who opted out of the debate, finally got airtime, with his Fulton, Ga., appearance coming up related to the indictment of 19 people for conspiring to overturn the 2020 election.

It fell to former Gov. Chris Christie (R-N.J.) to risk the wrath of the audience by criticizing Trump for suspending the Constitution. Former Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R-Ark.) piled on, suggesting Trump could be disqualified. Former Vice President Mike Pence got the praise of everyone on the stage for his response to the events of Jan. 6, 2021. He should be pleased.

Finally, more than an hour into the debate, we got to Russia, with a question over America’s financial and military assistance to Ukraine.

With war in Europe raging and news of a plane crash killing Yevgeny Prigozhin, leader of the Russian Wagner Group, and other members of the mercenary organization, Russian President Vladimir Putin made it into the conversation — but not for long.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who had earlier walked back his comments that the war in Ukraine was merely a “territorial dispute,” tried to pivot, suggesting we shift the burden more to Europe and pay more attention to domestic issues like the border.

Christie, having recently visited Ukraine, was the most forward-leaning on the behavior of Putin, coming closest to the Biden policy of supporting Ukraine.

Pence, who also made a trip to Ukraine in June — the first presidential candidate to do so — has risked the wrath of some in his party who are tiring of Russia, by making it clear he wants the United States involved in Ukraine, calling Putin a “dictator and a murderer.”

Nikki Haley, with her experience as former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, distanced herself from both Trump and DeSantis, demonstrating her grasp of foreign policy by asserting forcefully that she wants Ukraine to win, saying it is the first line of defense.

China also got a lot of attention in the debate, with all the candidates beating up on the Biden administration’s stance — especially North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum.

Most of the candidates, including South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, invoked the Southern border in many of their answers — including on China. Destroying drug cartels and stopping migrant crossings got everyone animated, with Christie blaming China for our drug problems.

Ultimately, the debate was long but important.

Debates have impact around the world. Our friends overseas watch them to look for hints about American policy. Our enemies watch them to see if there are cracks in America’s national security framework. And our competitors pay close attention. China hopes America is too busy at war with itself to focus on other wars, like a potential one over Taiwan.

The best news coming out of the debate, considering how Putin runs Russia with an iron fist, is that democracy is still alive in America. Although election-year dysfunction is not necessarily the best kind of public diplomacy, as far as political systems go, even a messy democracy is better than no democracy at all.

As former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill famously said: “Democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried.”

Tara D. Sonenshine is the Edward R. Murrow Professor of Public Diplomacy at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.