Democrats sound off following second GOP presidential debate: 'What a clown show'
'I made the mistake of tuning in and let me tell you, 'train wreck' doesn't begin to describe what I just watched,' said Rep. Jamaal Bowman
2024 candidates Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy spar during the second Republican debate over the use of TikTok.
Several Democrats and left-leaning individuals took to social media following the second Republican presidential debate to share their thoughts on the performances by GOP candidates who are hoping to serve as the United States' next commander in chief, with some insisting the onstage spats served as another reason to support President Biden's re-election bid.
During the debate – held Wednesday night at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California – several Republican candidates took aim at one another over a number of issues.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who previously represented California's 37th Congressional District in the House, reacted to the debate and insisted it's one reason why voters should work to re-elect President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
"The Republican Debate tonight is yet another reason to do EVERYTHING we can to re-elect President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris," Bass wrote in a post to X, formerly known as Twitter.
GOP DEBATE: SCOTT, RAMASWAMY GET HEATED OVER 'BOUGHT AND PAID FOR' INSULT
The 2024 Republican presidential candidates who took part in the second GOP presidential debate, from left to right: North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, Florida Gov. Ron DeSant … (Eric Thayer / Getty Images)
Reacting to the candidates' performances, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who was in attendance for the debate, wrote on X: "What a clown show."
Other elected Democrats also commented on the performances by the candidates.
Referencing one moment from the debate, which involved former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley saying she felt a "little bit dumber" when she listens to entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy speak, Rep. Jamaal Bowman said, "That's exactly how I feel about this entire Republican debate."
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Vivek Ramaswamy engage in a back and forth during the second Republican primary debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library on September 27, 2023 in Simi Valley, California. (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images)
"I made the mistake of tuning in and let me tell you, 'train wreck' doesn't begin to describe what I just watched," Bowman, who represents New York's 16th Congressional District, added in the post on X. "Every single answer…"
Near the end of the debate, moderator Dana Perino, co-host of Fox News' "America's Newsroom," asked the GOP candidates to write down who they would "vote off the island" in terms of their fellow competitors. None of the candidates wrote down answers, however former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said he would vote off Trump.
Referencing that moment, Rep. Barbara Lee wrote on X, "Let's vote them all off the island. And Donald Trump."
"I made the mistake of tuning in and let me tell you, 'train wreck' doesn't begin to describe what I just watched," Rep. Jamaal Bowman said in a post to X, referring to the GOP debate (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images)
Former Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger – a Republican who typically sides with and endorses Democrats after having served as a member of the House Select Committee to investigate the January 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol protest – suggested that Ramaswamy left the debate "looking like a complete clown."
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Weighing in on another particular moment from the debate, when Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis took aim at former President Donald Trump for not taking part in the discussion, President Biden wrote: "Couldn't agree more."
Biden's remarks, shared in a post to X, came after DeSantis told viewers that Trump was "missing in action" and "owes it to you to defend his record where they added 7.8 trillion to the debt," which the governor claimed "set the stage for the inflation" Americans are seeing now.