Approximately 20 minutes into Wednesday’s debate featuring the Republican presidential nominees, the moderators from Fox News handed the floor to a college student who had a pertinent question. Alexander Diaz, the chair of Young Americans for Freedom at the Catholic University of America, stated, “Polls consistently show that young people’s No. 1 issue is climate change.”

Interestingly, this marked a notable moment. Historically, Fox News has been active in the decades-long conservative effort to downplay the impacts of climate change, challenging the nearly unanimous global consensus that human reliance on fossil fuels is responsible.

Nevertheless, just before Diaz’s inquiry, moderators Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum highlighted the ongoing extreme weather events across the nation, such as the wildfires in Maui, Tropical Storm Hilary, the “hot tub” ocean temperatures along the Florida coast, and the record-breaking heatwaves in the Southwestern United States.

Admittedly, expectations are rather low. In the 2012 election cycle, more questions revolved around the moon than the Earth. In 2016, those concerned about the climate had to witness Hillary Clinton’s assertion that she believed in science being met with laughter, mainly because the idea of a President Trump, who denied climate change, was seen as a joke at that time.

However, over the past decade, attitudes around climate change have shifted notably. Aligning with broader trends among young people, both Generation Z and millennial Republicans consistently expressed their desire for the party to take decisive action on this issue.

Now, how did the candidates respond to the seemingly straightforward request to raise their hand if they acknowledged human-induced climate change? Regrettably, their responses fell short, which isn’t surprising given that the party’s base still maintains a strong allegiance to Donald Trump.

The simple gesture request devolved into a chaotic display of disjointed arguments. Ron DeSantis disrupted the hand-raising exercise, suggesting a more extensive debate on the matter. He then launched into a misleading tirade about President Biden’s response to the events in Maui, an answer that moderators agreed did not address the initial question.

Nikki Haley’s response followed, marked by a relatively thoughtful tone. She asserted, “We do care about clean air, clean water—we want to see that taken care of. Is climate change real? But if you wanna go and really change the environment, then we need to start telling China and India that they have to lower their emissions.”

Haley took a similar approach to abortion, rejecting the call for a nationwide ban (a policy with little favor, mainly championed by figures like Mike Pence) and emphasizing the need to support vulnerable women instead of merely prosecuting them.

The Republican Party has backed itself into these self-defeating stances due to a polarizing former president and a Supreme Court that’s widely disliked.

In sum, it was not a favorable night for those hoping for a more reality-based Republican Party. Ramaswamy reiterated his familiar “Drill, frack, burn coal” slogan, drawing some cheers.

Conveniently, Burgum overlooked the fact that his state is benefiting from a domestic battery factory thanks to funds from the president’s infrastructure bill. He blustered, “If we’re going to stop buying oil from the Middle East and start buying batteries from China, we’re going to trade OPEC for Sinopec.”