The subject of climate change prompted one of the most revealing exchanges of the debate, and was broached only 20 minutes into the clash by moderators who asked the eight contenders for the Republican candidacy to raise their hand if "you believe human behavior is causing climate change."
Before anybody could raise their hand, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, second in the polls behind Donald Trump, a climate change denier who skipped the debate, stepped in to say: "We're not school children, let's have the debate."
That left the candidates free to keep their hands down. But one of them, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who is enjoying a surge in polls, seized the opportunity.
"The climate change agenda is a hoax," the 38-year-old political newcomer said. "The reality is, more people are dying of bad climate change policies than they are of actual climate change." He did not back up this argument with evidence.
A little earlier, he said the government must "unlock American energy, drill, frack, burn coal, embrace nuclear."
Democratic President Joe Biden immediately reacted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, saying, "Climate change is real, by the way."
Reactions also flared from climate experts.
The Republican Party "is not just a threat to the nation. It's a threat to the planet," said Michael Mann, a renowned climatologist at the University of Pennsylvania.
Climate Power, calling the televised debate "politics at its worst", noted that Ramaswamy was booed by the audience after he uttered the word "hoax."
"2024 will be a climate election -- and Republicans will face real consequences for their ongoing denials," it said.
"Young Americans - including 88% of conservatives - want a real plan to tackle climate change," tweeted Christopher Barnard, president of the American Conservation Coalition.
His right-wing organization on the contrary praised statements by the only female Republican candidate, Nikki Haley.
"Is climate change real? Yes, it is," the former US ambassador to the UN said. "But if you want to go and really change the environment, then we need to start telling China and India that they have to lower their emissions," she added.
Syracuse University professor Farhana Sultana criticized that line of reasoning as an attempt to deflect responsibility by accusing other countries.
China emits more than twice as much carbon dioxide as the United States per year, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). But emissions per capita are much higher in the United States, which has also historically emitted more CO2 than China.
In any case, the debate "brought critical questions to the forefront," said activist group Extinction Rebellion. "It's time for candidates to step up and
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