Without physically being onstage, former President Donald Trump still took significant hits from his eight opponents at the Republican National Committee's first debate.
While only one question focused on Trump, candidates took subtle or direct swings at the former president on everything from the 2020 election and the four criminal cases against him to his administration's policy record.
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Trump is the front-runner of the Republican national primary, leading some candidates by over 40 points. Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) remains steadily in second place, with Vivek Ramaswamy rising swiftly in the polls.
Here are the four shots that the candidates onstage took at Trump during Wednesday's debate.
Mike Pence did the right thing on Jan. 6, 2021
Several candidates praised former Vice President Mike Pence for certifying the 2020 election results — an indirect hit at Trump, who continues to push debunked claims that the election was stolen from him.
Former Govs. Chris Christie and Asa Hutchinson took stronger hits at Trump for alleged criminal misconduct, while DeSantis, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, and Gov. Doug Burgum (R-ND) spoke about the weaponization of the Justice Department.
DeSantis said people needed to move forward away from Jan. 6, 2021, and focus on Jan. 20, 2025, "when the next president is going to take off."
"So Republicans, we've got to look forward, and we've got to make sure that we're bringing the message that can win," DeSantis said.
Haley called Trump the "most disliked politician in America," saying that Republicans cannot hope to win a general election against President Joe Biden with Trump as the nominee.
Haley also said in a post-debate interview with Sean Hannity that Trump would "spend more time in a courtroom than he is campaigning." She said that Trump's criminal cases can be used as a beacon for Republicans to fight against the weaponization of the DOJ.
"We will use Donald Trump as the reason we need to clean up Washington, but we can't clean up Washington if Donald Trump is bringing up issues of the past," Haley said.
Still, all candidates but Hutchinson and Christie raised their hands and said they would support Trump if he was convicted.
Christie jabs Trump for his record against Democrats
Christie said that while everyone onstage wants to be the next president of the United States, his record shows he is the only one who can defeat Democrats in 2024.
"I'm the only one on this stage who has ever beaten the Democratic incumbent and election. I did it in a deep blue state, being outspent three to one. Beating a Democratic incumbent is not easy," Christie said.
"The last Democratic incumbent president who was defeated was Jimmy Carter, and he was defeated by a conservative governor from a blue state who knew how to get results, who stood for the truth, who cared about accountability, and stood strong and hard against waste," Christie added.
His comments likely struck a chord with Republicans who fear another Trump-Biden matchup, particularly as incumbent presidents are historically favored to win their reelection campaigns. Most polls show Biden winning narrowly over Trump in a head-to-head matchup.
DeSantis hits Anthony Fauci and Trump's handling of COVID-19
DeSantis hit partly at the Trump administration for the federal government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in shutdowns across the country and a huge hit to the economy.
"We led the country out of lockdown, we kept our state free and open, and I can tell you this as your president: I will never let the deep state bureaucrats lock you down," DeSantis said.
"You don't take somebody like Fauci and coddle him. You bring Fauci in, you sit him down, and you say, 'Anthony, you are fired.'"
Trump administration and Republicans blasted for spending
Haley received loud applause after she took a hit at Republicans, as well as Democrats, for the U.S.'s national spending.
When asked how she would best turn the economy around as president, Haley took the time to remind viewers of Republicans' voting record when it comes to spending.
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"The truth is that Biden didn't do this to us. Our Republicans did this to us when they passed that $2.2 trillion COVID stimulus bill. They left us with 90 million people on Medicaid, 42 million people on food stamps," Haley said.
Haley took hits at DeSantis, Scott, and Pence, who all voted to raise the debt ceiling.
"Donald Trump added 8 trillion to our debt, and our kids are never gonna forgive us for this," Haley said. "And so at the end of the day, you look at the 2024 budget, Republicans asked for 7.4 billion in earmarks. Democrats asked for 2.8 billion, so you tell me who are the big spenders," the former South Carolina governor added.