The first presidential debate of the 2024 campaign made one thing apparent: The consequences of global warming have become just too big to ignore. The subject of Climate change emerged within the first 20 minutes of Wednesday night’s Republican showdown — marking a notable departure from past presidential cycles. During the 2020 campaign’s first Democratic debate, NBC News moderators took well over an hour to raise the issue. In their three 2016 faceoffs, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump spent just five minutes on the crisis. And in 2012, the debates between then-President Barack Obama and GOP contender Mitt Romney basically ignored the topic entirely. But Fox News moderators Martha MacCallum and Bret Baier jumped right in Wednesday by detailing this summer’s climate-fueled calamities — including the deadly fires in Maui, the tropical storm flooding California, rising ocean temperatures off the coast of Florida and the record heat waves gripping much of the nation. The prerecorded question posed to the eight candidates came from Alexander Diaz of the conservative Young America's Foundation, who asked how each would assure young GOP voters they care about climate change. (Polls show that young conservatives worry much more about the issue than their older counterparts.) The presidential hopefuls offered an array of colorful takes on the global emergency, highlighting where the party is united and where it is deeply divided. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis avoided addressing human-caused warming by redirecting the conversation to “the corporate media†and President Joe Biden’s handling of Maui. Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley acknowledged that climate change is “real†but said that “we need to start telling China and India that they have to lower their emissions.†(Fact check: The United States is the second-largest greenhouse gas producer after China, with India coming in third.) And fast-talking entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy — who was declared the night’s winner by debate no-show Trump — not only alleged that “the climate change agenda is a hoax†but also that “more people are dying of bad climate change policies than they are of actual climate change. “ Candidates were far more united in tearing into Biden’s efforts to spur clean energy development, arguing they only serve to boost China’s economy. And each has called for a massive increase in domestic oil and gas production. Will that assure young Republican voters that their elected leaders care about climate change? That’s a question perhaps only the 2024 election can help settle. Read more coverage of last night’s debate.
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