Chris Christie had a zinger ready to launch at Vivek Ramaswamy that the former New Jersey governor let fly as Ramaswamy was calling climate change a hoax and criticizing what he called Washington’s anti-carbon agenda.

“I’ve had enough already tonight of a guy who sounds like ChatGPT standing up here,” Christie said to Fox News moderator Bret Baier. “And the last person in one of these debates, Bret, who stood in the middle of the stage and said, ‘What’s a skinny guy with an odd last name doing up here?’ was Barack Obama,” Christie said, referring to Ramaswamy’s self-introduction that he made earlier in the debate.

Ramaswamy’s rapid rise in the polls has been attributed to his serial appearances on broadcast TV and podcasts in which he has come across as an articulate and convincing speaker, although the wealthy entrepreneur has also been accused of flip-flopping on numerous issues.

“And I’m afraid we’re dealing with the same type of amateur,” Christie said, comparing Ramaswamy to Obama.

“Give me a hug just like you did to Obama, and you’ll help elect me just like you did to Obama,” Ramaswamy fired back.