Republican Debate: Chris Christie Calls Vivek Ramaswamy “The Most Obnoxious Blowhard In America” — Update
07.12.2023 - 02:11
/ deadline.com
UPDATE: Vivek Ramaswamy continued to irritate his rivals, with Chris Christie saying that this was the fourth debate where in the first 20 minutes he would be labeled as “the most obnoxious blowhard in America.”
“So shut up for a little while,” Christie said.
Christie actually was coming to the defense of Nikki Haley, who has been the target of initial attacks by the other candidates, given her ascendency in the polls as the leading alternative to Donald Trump.
“This is a smart. accomplished woman and you should stop insulting her,” Christie said.
PREVIOUSLY: The fourth Republican debate opened on Wednesday with rivals setting their sights on Nikki Haley, who has emerged as the leading alternative to front runner Donald Trump, who again was a no-show.
At the NewsNation-hosted event, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Vivek Ramaswamy each tried to cast Haley as a creature of the corporate elite, while chiding her remarks last month in which she said that “Every person on social media should be verified by their name. It’s a national security threat.” She later softened her stance, focusing instead on the need for platforms to curb bots as a way to fight back against foreign influence.
“She said, ‘I want your name,'” DeSantis said, noting that The Federalist Papers were written by anonymous writers.
Ramaswamy, who has staked his candidacy on being as brash as possible during the debates, said that requiring verification would risk users being “doxxed by having a government issued ID tied to what they say on the internet.”
Haley, though, said that her proposal was meant to have social media platforms take on more responsibility for rooting out bots and to provide more transparency about their algorithms. “I never said