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The Debate Clock: Which Issues Got The Most Time

NPR tracked which issues got the most airtime during the fourth GOP debate.
Patrick Sison
/
AP
NPR tracked which issues got the most airtime during the fourth GOP debate.

Republicans criticized CNBC moderators during and after the last debate for not asking "substantive"-enough questions. With that in mind, NPR tracked the topics raised by moderators Tuesday in the Fox Business Network debate — and the length of time spent on each issue. (This does not include how candidates deviated from the topic at hand.)

The issues that got the most attention at the Fox Business debate Tuesday night.
Domenico Montanaro / NPR
/
NPR
The issues that got the most attention at the Fox Business debate Tuesday night.

Here's how many minutes were spent on the following issues:

Taxes/Deficit/Budget/Debt: 26:16

Which candidates talked about it? Cruz, Carson, Paul, Bush, Rubio, Fiorina, Trump, Kasich

National Security/Foreign Policy: 18:04

Which candidates talked about it? Carson, Bush, Trump, Fiorina, Paul, Rubio, Kasich

Bank Bailouts: 14:38

Which candidates talked about it?
Bush, Carson, Rubio, Kasich, Cruz, Fiorina

Politics (Hillary Clinton, Carson's bio, etc.): 9:52

Which candidates talked about it? Rubio, Fiorina, Carson, Cruz

Immigration: 6:10

Which candidates talked about it? Trump, Kasich, Bush

Medicare: 4:39

Which candidates talked about it? Cruz

Trade: 4:34

Which candidates talked about it? Trump, Paul

Obamacare: 4:10

Which candidates talked about it? Fiorina

Economy: 4:07

Which candidates talked about it? Bush, Rubio

Minimum Wage: 3:39

Which candidates talked about it? Trump, Carson

Energy: 3:08

Which candidates talked about it? Paul, Bush

Income Inequality: 1:58

Which candidates talked about it? Paul

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Domenico Montanaro is NPR's senior political editor/correspondent. Based in Washington, D.C., his work appears on air and online delivering analysis of the political climate in Washington and campaigns. He also helps edit political coverage.
Barbara Sprunt is a producer on NPR's Washington desk, where she reports and produces breaking news and feature political content. She formerly produced the NPR Politics Podcast and got her start in radio at as an intern on NPR's Weekend All Things Considered and Tell Me More with Michel Martin. She is an alumnus of the Paul Miller Reporting Fellowship at the National Press Foundation. She is a graduate of American University in Washington, D.C., and a Pennsylvania native.
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