Republican presidential hopeful Chris Christie said he “had enough [of the] garbage” coming out of Vivek Ramaswamy’s mouth at the candidates’ debate Wednesday night.
“I’m a truth-teller, Dana. And I look, Nikki [Haley] and I disagree. I don’t think Nikki should be president of the United States. But I’ll tell you this — she’s a smart woman,” Mr. Christie told CNN’s Dana Bash after the debate. “And she’s an accomplished woman, and she’s worked incredibly hard both in South Carolina and in the U.N.”
The former New Jersey governor jumped to Ms. Haley’s defense at the fourth GOP debate in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, after he said Mr. Ramaswamy, an entrepreneur, attacked her “basic intelligence.”
“And I think Vivek does have a woman problem,” Mr. Christie said. “I do think he insults woman’s basic intelligence. He’s done it over and over and over again. And I guess tonight, I just had had enough. I had enough to listen to his garbage.”
Mr. Christie, who was relatively quiet at the start of the debate, got into some contentious exchanges with Mr. Ramaswamy and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as the night progressed. He called out Mr. Ramaswamy for interrupting his fellow candidates while they were speaking.
“This is the fourth debate that you would be voted in the first 20 minutes as the most obnoxious blowhard in America,” he said to the entrepreneur. “So shut up for a little while.”
He also accused Mr. DeSantis of not answering the questions the hosts were asking.
“This is the problem with the first three debates,” Mr. Christie said on the stage. “Ron gets asked a question and he doesn’t answer it.”
• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.
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