“Every time I hear you, I feel a little bit dumber” during 2nd GOP debate 2024

Donald Trump ‘s rivals laid into him repeatedly during the second presidential debate on Wednesday, ripping the former president for skipping the event as they sought to dent his commanding early lead in the Republican primary.

“He should be on this stage tonight,” said Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is attempting to establish himself as the leading Trump alternative despite recent struggles to break out from the rest of the back. “He owes it to you to defend his record where they added $7.8 trillion to the debt. That set the stage for the inflation we have now.”

Former Vice President Mike Pence slammed President Joe Biden’s economic policies during Wednesday night’s GOP debate in California. 

“Bidenomics has failed. Wages are not keeping up with inflation,” Pence said, referring to the president’s economic plan.  

Facts First: While there are several ways to measure inflation and wages, at least two indicators show that Pence’s specific claim about wages is no longer true – though it was accurate for much of Biden’s presidency.   

In June, for the first time in 26 months, US workers’ real average weekly earnings grew on an annual basis — by 0.7%, according to a Bureau of Labor Statistics report, which looks at inflation-adjusted earnings. That growth slowed but remained positive in August, at 0.3%, the most recent data available, meaning that wages continued to outpace inflation.  

Likewise, the bureau’s Employment Cost Index showed that inflation-adjusted wages and salaries for private industry workers increased 1.7% for the 12 months ending June 2023, the most recent data available.  

The quarterly index tracks changes in employers’ labor costs for wages and salaries but is not subject to the same distortions as other measures, such as average hourly earnings, because it keeps the composition of the workforce constant.

The debate came at a critical moment in the GOP campaign, with less than four months before the Iowa caucuses formally launch the presidential nomination process. Trump has continued to dominate the field, even as he faces a range of vulnerabilities, including four criminal indictments that raise the prospect of decades in prison.

Several of those onstage blistered Trump for not showing up, a departure from the first debate, which Trump also skipped. DeSantis said just a few minutes in that President Joe Biden was “completely missing in action from leadership. And you know who else is missing in action? Donald Trump is missing in action.”

DeSantis: “[Donald Trump] owes it to you to defend his record where they added 7.8 trillion to the debt. That set the stage for the inflation that we have now”.