Follow along for live updates on the second 2024 Republican presidential debate. The field’s early front-runner, Donald Trump, is skipping the event, just as he did the first. He is 2,000 miles away trying to woo union workers in Michigan amid a labor strike.

The candidates on stage are Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum.

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Haley pivots debate conversation to China again and again

Warning about the threats she perceived are posed by China is key to Haley’s stump, and it’s on full display in the debate.

Several times, Haley has pivoted her part in the conversation by noting that some U.S. supplies of amoxicillin come from China. Several times, she has pointed to Ramaswamy’s ties to the country, from business deals to his presence on TikTok, a wholly owned subsidiary of Chinese technology firm ByteDance Ltd.

Haley also went after Trump’s China policy, saying that she feels the former president was too focused on the U.S.-China trade relationship and did too little about possible threats from the country.

Haley defends sending special ops to deal with Mexican cartels

Mexico has been a critical partner on border enforcement with the Trump and Biden administrations, but Haley defends sending special operations to deal with Mexican drug cartels, a common position among those on the debate stage.

It’s a nonstarter for Mexico’s leaders.

Mexico has deployed thousands of troops to its southern border to stop U.S.-bound migrants.

In January, it agreed to take back people from Cuban, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela if they enter the United States illegally, a major concession to deal with populations that are difficult to deport.Going against medical professionals, Ramaswamy calls being transgender a…