The Republican debate's biggest loser

Haley landed the best punches of the night SPECIAL EDITION Thursday, Sep. 28, 2023 [A photo of Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis and Vivek Ramaswamy]( This is the second edition of MSNBC's pop-up newsletter covering the 2024 election. [Click here]( to continue receiving this special offering of race updates and expert analysis.   [Brian Tyler Cohen: A win, a loss, and a lie from the second Republican presidential debate]( [Brian Tyler Cohen: A win, a loss, and a lie from the second Republican presidential debate]( A win: After an unexpectedly strong performance [in the last debate](, former U.N. Ambassador and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley had the momentum — and was hellbent not to relinquish it. She had some big moments, including ripping into Vivek Ramaswamy over his Putin apologia: “A win for Russia is a win for China.” She also called out Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for banning fracking and off-shore wind farms, a claim that DeSantis flatly denied. But according to [PolitiFact](, Haley was right: “Just two days into his term, DeSantis issued an executive order with several water policy reforms and a line directing the Department of Environmental Protection to push to end all fracking in Florida. The order instructed the department to ‘take necessary actions to adamantly oppose all off-shore oil and gas activities off every coast in Florida and hydraulic fracturing in Florida.’” And finally, Haley had this line directed at Ramaswamy: “Every time I hear you, I feel a little bit dumber.” While I’m normally loath to suggest that hurling personal insults qualifies as a “win,” this is the Republican primary, after all. A loss: Momentum is everything in a presidential campaign. DeSantis is in desperate need of it;[his polling has collapsed](by double digits over the last several months. And his performance being devoid of any commanding or otherwise memorable moments means that he failed to do what his campaign needed him to do. Whereas he was once the heir apparent in the Republican Party, his political future is anything but apparent. A lie: Taking home the honor of a loss and a lie is DeSantis, who claimed early on in the debate that his comments suggesting that slaves benefited from slavery were “a hoax perpetrated by Kamala Harris.” Not so much. DeSantis has vocally supported Florida’s new curriculum, which includes the following assertion as part of its middle school instruction: “Slaves developed skills which, in some instances,[could be applied for their personal benefit.](” When pressed on this, DeSantis said, “[They’re probably going to show that some of the folks that eventually parlayed, you know, being a blacksmith into doing things later in life.](” So, no, this was not a hoax perpetuated by [Vice President Kamala Harris](, it was a quote directly from the mouth of Ron DeSantis. But the fact that he was so desperate to distance himself from the truth is a tacit acknowledgment of just how misguided his comments were. It’s almost like DeSantis knows the difference between right and wrong, even if he’s not willing to be honest about it. TOP DEBATE ANALYSIS [Alternate text] [A photo of Rachel Maddow]( [Rachel Maddow]( [Gov. Newsom pans Republican debate: 'More disappointing than I was expecting']( [A photo of Joy Reid]( [Joy Reid]( [Like Nikki Haley, I too feel dumber after watching that debate]( [MORE FROM ZEESHAN ALEEM]( [Alternate text] In the opening moments of the second Republican presidential debate, five GOP contenders attempted to address the highest-profile economic dispute in America today — the United Auto Workers strike in Michigan. Every candidate whiffed. One by one, each candidate pivoted from the strike to unrelated issues, all of which inevitably rested on the idea that everything was President Joe Biden’s fault. Not a single one of them criticized the chief culprits — the corporations exploiting their workers. And not a single one of them acknowledged the role that union power could play in helping workers achieve their goals of higher pay, better working conditions and stronger job security. The consecutive whiffs illustrated the phony populism of the right. It’s a lot of hand-waving about workers — and then a series of diversions from the real sources and the real solutions to their problems, which in turn serves to preserve the economic status quo. This is a preview of Zeeshan Aleem's latest article. [Read the full column here](. MORE ANALYSIS [Alternate text] [An illustration containing Doug Burgum, DeSantis, Haley, Ramaswamy, Mike Pence, Chris Christie, and Tim Scott]( [MSNBC Live Blog]( [Highlights from the second Republican presidential debate]( [A photo of Rachel Maddow]( [Rachel Maddow]( [DeSantis is hurting his own party with lies about abortion]( [Jennifer Palmieri]( [Before it even started, the second GOP debate was a tragedy in three acts]( [A photo of Joy Reid]( [Joy Reid]( [DeSantis needed to do the most during the second debate — and dodged a major bullet](   This is the second edition of MSNBC's pop-up newsletter covering the 2024 election. [Click here]( to continue receiving this special offering of race updates and expert analysis. MORE ON MSNBC [Alternate text] In a new episode of “Velshi Banned Book Club,” Ali Velshi is joined by Laurie Halse Anderson, author of “Speak,” and Meg Cabot, author of “Ready or Not.” Together they subvert the damaging and sexist narrative that books written by and for women are frivolous, light and devoid of meaning. [Listen now.](   www.peacocktv.com/morningjoe Morning Joe streams live on Peacock every week day from 6-10 a.m. ET as part of the Morning News Live offering. For more information, check out [www.peacocktv.com/morningjoe](. [UNSUBSCRIBE](listvar=sub_midterms) | [PRIVACY]( | [CONTACT]( | [VIEW IN BROWSER]( [UNSUBSCRIBE](listvar=sub_maddow) | [PRIVACY]( | [CONTACT]( | [VIEW IN BROWSER](