MILWAUKEE — New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie immediately established a strong presence in the undercard Republican presidential debate Wednesday by blasting Democratic front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton for what he described as a big-government economic agenda.
Presenting himself as the candidate taking the high road, he urged his GOP rivals on the stage at the Milwaukee Theater to also to train their fire on Hillary Clinton — not each other.
Mr. Christie, who was reduced to the small debate stage because of low poll numbers, rebuked his fellow undercard candidates after an sharp exchange between former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal which one actually cut the size of state government.
“The bottom line is believe me, Hillary Clinton is coming for your wallet everybody - don’t worry about Huckabee or Jindal, worry about her,” said Mr. Christie.
He said that Republicans had to remain focus on Mrs. Clinton, who is the heavy favorite to win her party’s nomination, because her far-left policies posed the real threat to the country.
“She’s running so fast to the left to keep up with a socialist that you can’t even see her,” said Mr. Christie.
SEE ALSO: Bobby Jindal: Fire everybody in Washington
He was referring to Mrs. Clinton’s moves left to counter a challenge by Sen. Bernard Sanders, a Vermont independent and avowed socialist who is her chief rival for the nomination.
“Let’s be very clear. She believes that she can make decisions for you better than you can make them for yourself,” he said, looking directly into the camera. “She believes that Washington should pick the winners and losers in our economy and in our life.”
“And here’s what I believe as a Republican. I believe the greatness of America is not in its government. The greatness of America is in the American people. And what we need to do is get the government the hell out of the way and let the American people rule once again,” he said.
Mr. Jindal attempted to pick a fight with Mr. Christie, who wouldn’t take the bait.
“Let’s not just beat Hillary. Let’s elect a conservative,” he said, latter adding that a “big-government Republican,” would be just as bad as Mrs. Clinton, apparently referring to Mr. Christie.
Mr. Christie said that nobody in New Jersey would “call me a liberal.”
SEE ALSO: Watch the Republican debate live
Later, Mr. Christie also hit President Obama and Mrs. Clinton, who served as secretary of state, for a “feckless” foreign policy that he said made America less safe.
Mr. Christie, Mr. Huckabee and Mr. Jindal were joined in the lesser debate by former Sen. Rick Santorum.
The main debate was scheduled for later Wednesday with the top polling eight candidates in the GOP field.
The debate, which was hosted by Fox Business and the Wall Street Journal, focused on economic issues, giving all four candidates opportunities to highlight their conservative agendas to shrink government and lower taxes.
Mr. Santorum pitched his proposal for more job-training programs, saying there are scores of jobs for welders and other trades that can’t be filled because too many people are pressured to go to college rather than trade schools or apprenticeships.
Mr. Huckabee said that America does not have to give up on manufacturing and can reverse the trend of exporting manufacturing jobs to countries that do it more cheaply. He said the U.S. tax code provided disincentives to manufacturing in America.
He pushed his plan for a “fair tax” or national sales tax that would eliminate income taxes and instead levy a tax on goods and services that people buy.
“Here’s the best part, we don’t reduce the IRS, we get rid of the IRS,” he said, adding that the federal government has no business knowing how much money you make.
The undercard debate offered Mr. Christie a chance to stand out and revive his faltering campaign. He was as once considered one of the party’s most formidable candidates for the White House.
He was knocked down a couple pegs by the Bridgegate scandal, in which aides ordered the closure of lanes on the busy George Washington Bridge to cause traffic jams as a payback to Mr. Christie’s political foes.
As the presidential race got underway, Mr. Christie’s blunt-talking persona was overshadowed by the brash showmanship of billionaire businessman Donald J. Trump, who has remained a front-runner in the race for months.
• Seth McLaughlin contributed to this article reporting from Washington.
• S.A. Miller can be reached at smiller@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.