Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie took a dig at Vivek Ramaswamy as his presidential debate rival tried to defend Donald Trump.
As Christie expressed his belief that the country should move on from Trump at Wednesday night’s event, he suddenly turned his attention to Ramaswamy.
‘Vivek, put your hand down for a second, would you?’ he said, sounding like a disapproving schoolteacher. ‘I still got time, dude, so chill out.’
Following the momentary departure, he got back on topic about the former president.
‘Look, this guy has not only divided our party, he’s divided families all over this country. He’s divided friends all over this country.
When Vivek Ramaswamy attempted to interrupt Chris Christie, the former New Jersey Governor stopped him dead in his tracks, ordering that he put his hand down and wait his turn
‘I’ve spoken to people and I know everyone else has who have sat at Thanksgiving dinner or at a birthday party and can’t have a conversation anymore. If they disagree with Donald Trump, he needs to be off the island and he needs to be taken out of this process,’ said Christie.
When it was Ramaswamy’s turn to speak, he began by calling Trump ‘an excellent president.’
He added: ‘But the America first agenda does not belong to one man. It does not belong to Donald Trump. It doesn’t belong to me. It belongs to you, the people of this country. And the question is, who’s going to unite this country and take the America first agenda to the next level?’
The Harvard and Yale grad, who has previously heaped praise on the 45th President, said he respected Trump ‘because it’s the right thing to do.’
Ramaswamy has remained a staunch supporter of Trump, praising him throughout his campaign, and has been asked to outline his policy differences as they are so similar.
He characterized himself and the 45th President as being ‘deeply aligned on policy, 90-plus percent of the way’ during a segment on Fox News at the end of August.
The 38-year-old commended Trump during the first Republican presidential debate, referring to him as ‘the best president of his lifetime.’
Trump gave Ramaswamy his own version of glowing praise when he called in to Glenn Beck’s show on Blaze TV soon after the debate.
When asked if he would consider the candidate as a running mate, Trump said: ‘Well, I think he’s great. Look, anybody that said I’m the best president in a generation…I have to like a guy like that.
‘He’s a smart guy. He’s a young guy. He’s got a lot of talent. He’s a very, very, very intelligent person,’ Trump continued.
He said he thought the presidential hopeful had ‘good energy’ and had ‘really distinguished himself.’
However, he acknowledged that Ramaswamy had started to get ‘a little bit controversial’ with more eyes on him.
Christie continued his searing criticism of Trump, saying: ‘This guy has not only divided our party, he’s divided families all over this country’
During his turn to talk, Ramaswamy upheld his staunch support of the former president, insisting that he respected Trump ‘because it’s the right thing to do’
Despite the other GOP candidates’ efforts during the debate, Trump remains the clear frontrunner according to the latest polling data
Ramaswamy shook hands with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who remains Trump’s closest opponent – but by a sizable margin
Christie was seen chatting with Nikki Haley, who took a pass at Ramaswamy herself when she criticized his decision to start a TikTok account
Trump complimented the young entrepreneur back in August, calling him ‘intelligent’ and someone with ‘a lot of talent’
Christie has maintained an opposing view. During a June interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper, the former governor said he had been ‘wrong’ about Trump
‘I couldn’t make him a better candidate and I couldn’t make him a better president, and he disappointed me,’ Christie said.
He referred to election night 2020 as ‘the breaking point.’
Now, the man he backed – twice – and advised ahead of the 2020 election has become his rival.
Christie took plenty of shots at Trump during Wednesday’s debate, even addressing the former president personally.
‘I want to look at that camera right now,’ he said. ‘Donald, I know you’re watching. You can’t help yourself. I know you’re watching. Okay. And you’re not here tonight, not because of polls and not because of your indictments.
‘You’re not here tonight because you’re afraid of being on the stage and defending record. You’re ducking these things. And let me tell you what’s going to happen. You keep doing that. No one up here is going to call you Donald Trump anymore. We’re going to call you Donald Duck.’
The latest national FiveThirtyEight poll shows Ramaswamy ahead of Christie, polling at 6.3 percent to Christie’s 2.9 percent. Trump remains ahead of the pack, polling at 54 percent.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis trails behind Trump with a sizable margin at 13.8 percent. He has struggled to take on the frontrunner without alienating a Republican base that worships the former president.
During Wednesday’s debate, DeSantis sharpened his approach, using his first answer to criticize Trump for avoiding the confrontation with other candidates and for adding to the national debt during his term.
Republican strategist John Feehery gave DeSantis ‘the clear victory’ for his performance in the debate – ‘outside of Trump for staying away.’