GOP candidates clash in debate: 5 memorable moments

Seven GOP presidential candidates took to the debate stage Wednesday night hoping to make a dent in former President Trump’s considerable lead.

The two-hour clash included numerous testy exchanges over a range of topics, but a few moments left a lasting impression. 

Here are five of the most memorable moments from the second GOP primary debate.

Christie’s ‘Donald Duck’ dig on Trump

Chris Christie’s “Donald Duck” jab at former President Trump started to trend on X — previously known as Twitter — after the former New Jersey governor took aim at Trump for skipping the debate.

“Donald, I know you’re watching. You can’t help yourself. I know you’re watching,” he said, looking into the camera. “OK, 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 your record.”

“You’re ducking these things,” he continued. “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 gonna call you Donald Duck.”

“Donald Duck” began soon trending on X — though many users labeled the attack as “cringe” or “lame.” 

Christie’s account continued to tweet out photos of the animated duck during the debate, including in response to Trump’s campaign’s criticism of the White House hopeful.

Christie has been a strong vocal opponent of the former president for years and has ramped up his jabs at Trump since hopping into the GOP primary.

He also knocked Trump — who opted to give a prime-time address to striking autoworkers Wednesday night — over not attending the debate.

“Donald Trump, he hides behind the walls of his golf clubs, and won’t show up here to answer questions like all the rest of us are up here to answer,” Christie said.

Haley, Ramaswamy spar in Round 2

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley once again squared off with biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy in one of the night’s most resonant moments.

The sparring began when Ramaswamy was asked whether the commander-in-chief should be easily persuaded by an influencer, following his recent appearance with social media star Jake Paul on TikTok, which is banned on government-issued devices because of its ties with the Chinese government.

Maintaining that children younger than 16 should not be using “addictive” social media, Ramaswamy argued social media can be a tool for reaching young people in elections.

Haley jumped into the middle of Ramaswamy’s argument, saying, “This is infuriating because TikTok is one of the most dangerous social media assets you could have and what you’ve got. I honestly, every time I hear you, I feel a bit dumber for what you say.”

“You’re now wanting kids to go and get on this social media that’s dangerous for all of us, you are in business with the Chinese that gave Hunter Biden $5 million, we can’t trust you, we can’t trust you,” Haley said.

Given 15 seconds to respond, Ramaswamy said they would better serve the Republican Party if they were not “hurling personal insults” but debating on policy.

The conversation moved on, but minutes later, the pair was back at it again when it came to Ramaswamy’s stance on the Russia-Ukraine war.

“The reality is just because … Putin is … an evil dictator does not mean that Ukraine is good. This is a country that has banned 11 opposition parties,” Ramaswamy said.

“A win for Russia is a win for China,” Haley fired back, a comment she has repeated in recent weeks over the Russia-Ukraine war.

Ramaswamy shot back, “That’s not true, we’re driving Russia,” as Haley repeated again, “A win for Russia is a win for China, but I forgot you like China.”

Scott, Haley tangle: ‘Bring it, Tim’

Ramaswamy wasn’t the only rival tangling with Haley.

Toward the end of the debate, Haley found herself sparring with Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) over raising the gas tax as governor of South Carolina and her spending while serving as United Nations ambassador.

Scott argued leaders should “lead by example,” shooting back at Haley for criticizing his actions in the Senate earlier in the debate.

Scott noted Haley pushed for increasing the state’s gas tax by 10 cents over a period of a few years, to coincide with a cut to the state’s top income tax bracket while she served as governor.

“Talk about someone who has never seen a federal dollar she doesn’t like, 10 cents on this gallon in South Carolina,” Scott said.

As Scott spoke, Haley shot back, “Bring it, Tim,” prompting laughs from the audience.

“As the U.N. ambassador, you literally spent $50,000 on curtains at a $15 million subsidized location,” Scott said.

Haley rushed to her defense, telling the South Carolina senator he has “bad information,” claiming she fought the gas tax in South Carolina “multiple times” and noting the proposal to raise the gas tax was coupled with lowering the income tax.

She then stressed the $50,000 purchase was before her time as ambassador. Haley, who served as ambassador during the Trump administration, was the first ambassador to live in the new residence, but the purchase was made during the Obama administration, and Haley had no role in it. 

When Scott asked why she did not have the curtains returned, Haley shot back, “Did you send it back? You’re the one who works in Congress,” Haley said. 

“You are scrapping,” she added as Scott sought to interject.

Rivals slam Ramaswamy over voting records, business in China

GOP rivals took to the stage to target Ramaswamy over his voting record and his business in China. Former Vice President Mike Pence took aim at Ramaswamy for his lack of voting in presidential elections and his business deals in China.

“Well, first, let me say I’m glad I’m glad Vivek pulled out of his business deal in 2018 in China, that must have been about the time he decided to start voting in presidential elections,” Pence quipped to laughter from the audience.

Ramaswamy has faced criticism over why he did not vote in multiple elections when he was eligible to do so. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, he revealed last month he voted for a libertarian presidential candidate in 2004 but did not vote in another presidential election until 2020, when he supported then-President Trump.

Other candidates, including Scott, ripped Ramaswamy over his business dealings in China.

“And I thought about that for a little while, and said, you know, I can’t imagine how you could say that, knowing that you were just in business with the Chinese Communist Party, and the same people that funded Hunter Biden millions of dollars was a partner of yours as well,” Scott said.

“Nonsense,” Ramaswamy interjected.

Biopharmaceutical company Sinovant Sciences was formed between Ramaswamy’s Roivant Sciences and a state-owned Chinese investment company’s private equity firm, according to The Washington Post.

While responding to Ramaswamy’s stance on TikTok, Haley took the chance to bring the topic up, saying Ramaswamy “helped” China by making medicine in the country, instead of America.

Burgum tries to stand out, repeatedly shushed

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum struggled to get a word in the debate and was repeatedly cut off for trying to get into the conversation.

He repeatedly questioned the moderators on why he was not asked questions on technology and energy, claiming he was the only candidate on stage with experience in those sectors. Early in the debate, Burgum interrupted the moderator to take aim at electric vehicles and President Biden.

“I have to jump in because we’re missing the point and every other network is missing the point,” he said, cutting off Univision anchor Ilia Calderón. “The reason why people are striking in Detroit is because Joe Biden’s interference with capital markets and with free markets.”

Burgum squeaked by to meet the criteria necessary to participate in the second GOP presidential debate on Wednesday, as his poll numbers remain some of the lowest in the field. According to RealClearPolitics’s polling average of the GOP primary, the North Dakota governor is polling at just 0.9 percent.

Moderator Dana Perino also threatened to cut off Burgum’s microphone if the North Dakota governor continued to interrupt proceedings. Burgum asked to return to the moderator’s question on artificial intelligence after Perino said they were going to move on.

“I am the only person on the stage that has a career in technology,” Burgum, who is at the end of the stage, argued.

“Sir, we’ll have to cut your mic, and I don’t want to do that. I don’t,” Perino told Burgum.