(Will Lanzoni/CNN)
Republican presidential candidates Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis sparred on a wide range of economic issues during the CNN GOP presidential debate on Wednesday evening.
Topics ran the gamut from Nancy Pelosi's investment strategy (DeSantis is not a fan) to Social Security funding ("You would cut Social Security benefits for 70-year-olds while you pay the pensions of Ukrainian bureaucrats," said DeSantis. "You're so desperate, Ron, you're just so desperate," retorted Haley).
But as Haley and DeSantis duked it out in an attempt to crown themselves the most fiscally prudent candidate, some clear economic themes began to emerge that will likely have a big influence on the upcoming Republican primaries and beyond: China, debt levels and the government's role in business.
The Iowa caucus is just days away on January 15.
Let's dive into it.
China
Both Haley and DeSantis sought to prove how tough they could be on China.
Haley said that she would "end all normal trade relations" with Beijing. She also criticized Donald Trump, who is currently leading the field in Iowa but did not participate in Wednesday's debate, for being too soft on China.
DeSantis promised that he would decouple the United States from China's economy altogether.
But as my colleague Elisabeth Buchwald points out, the US and China are the first- and second-largest economies in the world. China is America's third-largest trading partner.
DeSantis said he would minimize the pain of decoupling by offering "tax and regulatory" incentives in the US. "I want to make things here again," he added.
President Joe Biden has also made reducing economic dependence on China a platform in both his 2020 and 2024 campaigns. His Inflation Reduction Act is already boosting US manufacturing and jobs.
Tensions have been growing between the US and China for reasons including trade, escalating disagreements over high-tech chips and artificial intelligence, tighter investment curbs and geopolitical disputes.
US debt
Haley and DeSantis didn't agree on much, but they did both take the time to blame Trump for record-high government debt.
The former president, said DeSantis, needs to explain, "why he added $7.8 trillion to the debt" while in office. Both candidates in part blamed the government's runaway spending for the post-pandemic inflation crisis.
They also leaned on their experience as state governors to explain how they would manage the federal budget.
Haley said that South Carolina, the state she governed from 2011 to 2017, required a balanced budget. DeSantis said the debt in Florida, where he is currently governor, has gone down under his watch.
Haley and DeSantis both said they would bring down the US budget deficit and curb spending.
As president, Haley said, she would focus on "clawing back" government spending and vowed to "veto" spending that significantly increases the debt limit.
Business and government
Perhaps one of the greatest divides between DeSantis and Haley (economically speaking) is their approach to government involvement in private businesses.
DeSantis is in an ongoing fight with The Walt Disney Company, which stemmed from the company's criticism of a law that restricts public education on sexual orientation and gender. (DeSantis signed that bill into law in March 2022.) That fight has cost his state thousands of jobs.
Haley said on Wednesday that she wouldn't let her politics get in the way of business. "When [Disney] went and criticized him, he got thin-skinned and suddenly started to fight back," she said.
"We don't need government fighting against our private industries … I will always invite businesses to come to South Carolina," she added. "Government doesn't bully our businesses."
DeSantis replied that he had no regrets and was standing up to the "800-pound gorilla in the state."
"We need to stand up for the people and not bow down to woke corporations, and we know Nikki Haley will cave to the woke mob every single time," he said.
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