Vox Sentences - Everyone lost last night's debate

Thursday, November 9, 2023

Hi all, 

Today, we will be talking about last night's presidential debate and the end of the actors' strike!  

—Rachel DuRose, Future Perfect fellow

0 winners and 5 losers from the third Republican presidential debate

Joe Raedle/Getty Images

The third GOP debate was more composed and substantive than the previous ones, but just as inconsequential. Donald Trump, who didn’t participate in the debate, remains the dominant candidate — he has the support of 56 percent of Republicans, compared to the 14 percent Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, his closest rival, has.

No one greatly increased their chances against Trump, essentially making this debate equivalent to a policy discussion among five random Republicans, writes senior politics correspondent Andrew Prokop. 

The lowdown: No one won. 

The losers: 

• Vivek Ramaswamy: While the businessman seemed to be gaining momentum early in the primary season, he’s struggled to stay relevant. Last night he tried to stand out by attacking NBC moderator Kristen Welker, DeSantis’s height, and competitor Nikki Haley’s parenting. 

• Sen. Tim Scott: The South Carolina senator has struggled in the polls and was mostly ignored Tuesday night. Even when he proposed going to war with Iran, none of his competitors seemed to care enough to push back. Scott’s big moment was when he promised a national ban on abortion after 15 weeks. 

• Chris Christie: The former New Jersey governor said he’s running because he’s “tired” of seeing division, anger, and pettiness dominating politics. Andrew notes he also seemed literally tired and did not bring any fire to the debate stage.  

• Nikki Haley: The former ambassador to the UN again suggested Republicans need a more nuanced approach to abortion in order to win elections. She’s now neck-and-neck with DeSantis in the Iowa and New Hampshire polls, but, like DeSantis, is still about 30 percentage points behind Trump. 

• Ron DeSantis: Once thought to be a formidable challenger of Trump, the Florida governor’s campaign has hit some bumps. He won a big endorsement Monday from  Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R), but how much that’ll help in a state dominated by Trump remains to be seen. 

Read Andrew’s full story on last night’s debate here.

The long, long Hollywood strikes have ended

Mario Tama/Getty Images

118 days after walking off set, SAG-AFTRA (the union for actors and performers) and the AMPTP (the association of Hollywood’s largest studios and production companies) announced that they’d reached a deal. 

Here’s what we know about the deal so far:

• Details aren’t yet available, but SAG-AFTRA says the deal will lead to “sustainable careers.” The union says the contract includes pay and benefits increases, protections against the use of AI, and rewards for streaming success. 

• Hollywood will be going back to work, but not quite yet. While picketing ended immediately, actors won’t return to set until the union’s leadership votes to approve the agreement (which it likely will). 

• The industry won’t return to the way it was before the strike. Release dates for movies and TV shows have been pushed back, and studios say their 2023 earnings are going to take a major hit.

Read senior correspondent and critic Alissa Wilkinson’s full story here.

• The world experienced its hottest 12-month period on record. Only 1 percent of the population experienced normal temperatures; everyone else saw record warmth. [ABC]

• In recent days, an estimated 72,000 people have fled to southern Gaza from the northern part of the region. The influx of people, coupled with ongoing hunger, sanitation, and medical issues creates ideal conditions for disease outbreaks, the World Health Organization warns. [UN OCHA]

• Ivanka Trump testified yesterday in the fraud trial against her father, former President Donald Trump. Ivanka said she had nothing to do with the Trump company’s key financial documents. [NPR]

In the West Bank, Israeli settlers are on an anti-Palestinian rampage

It’s getting increasingly dangerous to be a newborn in the US

You’re more likely to go to prison for exposing animal cruelty than for committing it

Why stop at the four-day workweek?

Today’s crossword

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