Christie says he ‘had enough’ of Ramaswamy’s ‘garbage’ during debate

GOP presidential candidate Chris Christie said he “had enough” of Vivek Ramaswamy’s “garbage” on the debate stage, where he repeatedly launched attacks at the conservative entrepreneur. 

Asked by CNN’s Dana Bash in an interview post-debate about why he defended former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley from Ramaswamy’s insults — including questioning her “basic intelligence” — the former New Jersey governor denounced the attacks as “personal.”

“I’m a truth-teller, Dana. And I — look, Nikki 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,” he said. “And she’s an accomplished woman, and she’s worked incredibly hard both in South Carolina and in the U.N.”

“And I think Vivek does have a woman problem,” he continued. “I do think he insults women’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.”

Christie was on the offensive throughout the fourth debate, getting into numerous fiery clashes with Ramaswamy. The most intense moment came when he lambasted the entrepreneur for repeatedly interrupting the other candidates.

“This is the fourth debate that you would be voted in the first 20 minutes as the most obnoxious blowhard in America,” he said. “So shut up for a little while.”

Still, much of the former governor’s ire was aimed toward the GOP front-runner — who was missing from the debate — former President Trump.

He marked the former president as “Voldemort: he who shall not be named” and as a coward for not attending the debates. While also lambasting Trump as a “dictator” and a “bully,” he questioned his fellow GOP hopefuls on why they didn’t call him out.

“I look at my watch now. We’re 17 minutes into this debate,” Christie told moderator Megyn Kelly. “And except for your little speech in the beginning, we’ve had these three acting as if the race is between the four of us.”

“I understand why these three are timid to say anything about [Trump]. Maybe it’s because they have future aspirations,” he continued, implying the other candidates would want to join a future Trump administration.

Wednesday’s debate in Tuscaloosa, Ala., was hosted by NewsNation. The cable news channel is owned by Nexstar Media Group, which also owns The Hill.