Ron DeSantis and Vivek Ramaswamy spent quite a bit of air time Wednesday evening zeroing in on Nikki Haley on an array of policy positions, suggesting a tacit acknowledgement from both candidates the former U.N. ambassador and South Carolina governor continues to enjoy some momentum among donors and in early state polls, even as Trump maintains a comfortable lead.
Drafting off of an opening question that focused on Haley’s lucrative relationship with wealthy donors and major corporations, Ramaswamy and DeSantis began the fourth GOP presidential debate in Tuscaloosa, Ala., arguing that the newly wealthy career politician is a poor fit for the current populist moment.
“You were bankrupt when you left the U.N.,” Ramaswamy said. “After you left the U.N. you became a military contractor, you actually started … serving on the board of Boeing whose back you scratched for a very long time, and then gave foreign multinational speeches like Hillary Clinton did and now you’re a millionaire. That math does not app up. It adds up to the fact that you are corrupt.”
Haley defended her record, arguing that she was “proud” of the work she did for Boeing and insisting that her corporate and ultra-wealthy individual donors wouldn’t shape her agenda were she to win the White House.
“When it comes to these corporate people who suddenly want to support us, we’ll take it,” Haley said. “I don’t ask them what their policies are, they ask me what my policies are.”
DeSantis then jumped in, calling Haley “very weak on China” and accusing her of being beholden to Beijing-friendly donors.
“She will cave to the donors,” DeSantis said, prompting Haley to hit back by saying DeSantis is “mad” that many Wall Street donors who used to support him are now warming to her.
“I love all the attention fellas, thank you for that,” Haley shot back, noting that much of the first half of the debate was occupied by attacks on her record.
The attacks on Haley are no surprise given that her recent surge in popularity among both primary voters and major donors: She raised $500,000 from Wall Street executives at an event in Manhattan this week, and she’s overtaken DeSantis in New Hampshire and South Carolina and is nipping at his heels in Iowa.
The hits kept on coming as the GOP’s final scheduled primary debate rolled on: At various points throughout the night, DeSantis accused Haley of not prioritizing transgender bathroom policies while governor of South Carolina, and Ramaswamy challenged her to name three provinces in Ukraine amid Russia’s unprovoked invasion.
“You can put lipstick on a Dick Cheney and it is still a fascist neocon,” said Ramswamy, who at one point held up a piece of paper that read: “Nikki = Corrupt.”
The forceful attack from Ramaswamy left Haley in what seemed like stunned silence, which was only interrupted when Christie came to her defense.
“This is the fourth debate. The fourth debate that you would be voted in the first 20 minutes as the most obnoxious blowhard in America,” Christie said, also blasting Ramaswamy for insulting Haley’s intelligence. “We disagree about some issues,” Christie said, pointing to Haley. “What we don’t disagree on is this is a smart, accomplished woman. You should stop insulting her.”
After reserving his most impassioned attacks for the absent Donald Trump throughout the first three debates, Christie wore his heart on his sleeve in Wednesday night’s contest, ripping into Ramaswamy over his ad hominem style and his insistence on questioning the ethical standards of his opponents while staying silent about Trump’s moral failings.
While Haley absorbed the majority of the air time, Trump — who maintains a double-digit lead in national and early state polls, even as he battles four criminal indictments — loomed over the entire two-hour contest. Debate moderators spent the entire evening peppering candidates with hard-hitting questions about Trump’s frontrunner status, as well as his foreign policy, pandemic record, healthcare positions, and insistence that the Justice Department is rigged against him.
Pressed on Trump’s age and whether he is mentally fit to serve, Florida governor Ron DeSantis said Republicans need to elect a fresher face who can serve two terms. “Father time is undefeated,” DeSantis said, also hitting Trump from the right for elevating ex-White House medical adviser turned Republican bogeyman Anthony Fauci, not draining the “swamp,” and not getting Mexico to pay for the U.S.-Mexico border wall.
That answer prompted former New Jersey governor Chris Christie — the lowest-polling candidate onstage Wednesday evening — to hit DeSantis for not giving a straight answer. “Is he fit to be president or isn’t he?” he asked. “This is the problem with my three colleagues. They are afraid to offend.”
“They don’t wanna talk about him,” added. “I’m in this race because the truth needs to be spoken. He is unfit.”