The Republican National Committee's four 2024 primary debates held this year may have been missing former President Donald Trump, known for his nicknames and insults of opponents, but the events were still chock full of one-liners and attacks between the other GOP candidates.
Even though the far-and-away primary front-runner opted against attending the Republican matchups, those who did show up were out for blood.
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The GOP debates, which saw eight candidates take the stage during the first debate, saw a winnowed field by the time the fourth debate rolled around, with just four candidates qualifying for the event. The fourth debate featured just Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, and former biotech CEO Vivek Ramaswamy, whose ability to garner attention put him in many of the most memorable debate moments.
Here are seven of the most memorable moments throughout the first four GOP debates of the 2024 cycle.
Christie slams Ramaswamy as 'ChatGPT'
During the very first matchup, Christie wasted no time knocking Ramaswamy for his platitudes. “I’ve had enough already tonight of a guy who sounds like ChatGPT standing up there," he said.
His remark came after a question regarding climate change, to which Ramaswmay replied, “I’m the only person on the stage who isn’t bought and paid for, so I can say this: The climate change agenda is a hoax."
The former biotech CEO then launched into a tirade against the "anti-carbon agenda," which he called a "wet blanket on our economy." His comment prompted Christie to cut in to accuse Ramaswamy of sounding like artificial intelligence.
"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 added, apparently accusing Ramaswamy of stealing an earlier line from the former president.
Haley says Ramaswamy makes her feel 'a little bit dumber'
Haley stung Ramaswamy with a one-liner during the second debate, telling him, “Honestly, every time I hear you, I feel a little bit dumber for what you say.”
Ramaswamy had been prompted on the subject of Tiktok and his use of the controversial app, which he defended.
Haley responded, "This is infuriating because TikTok is one of the most dangerous social media apps that we could have," before explaining her concerns against the platform.
"What they're doing is 150 million people are on TikTok. That means they can get your contacts. They can get your financial information. They can get your emails. They can get text messages. They can get all of these things," the former ambassador explained.
"You now wanted kids to go and get on this social media that's dangerous for all of us? You were in business with the Chinese that gave Hunter Biden $5 million. We can't trust you," she added.
Ramaswamy compares Haley to 'Dick Cheney in 3-inch heels'
Ramaswamy continued his feud with Haley in the third event, landing his own unforgettable one-liner.
Hitting Haley over her foreign policy stances, which run counter to his own, Ramaswamy detailed that after her stint as ambassador, she became "a military contractor. She joins the board of Boeing … and is now a multimillionaire.”
“I think that that’s wrong when Republicans do it or Democrats do it," he said.
“Do you want a leader from a different generation who’s going to put this country first, or do you want Dick Cheney in 3-inch heels?” he asked.
Ramaswamy suggested the blow was meant for both Haley and DeSantis, who has been accused of wearing heels to seem taller, saying, “We’ve got two of them onstage tonight." However, the zinger was mostly understood to be about Haley.
Haley responded to him, claiming, “They’re 5-inch heels, and I don’t wear them unless you can run in them.”
Christie calls Ramswamy an 'obnoxious blowhard'
The former New Jersey governor took the opportunity at the final RNC-sponsored debate to call Ramaswamy "the most obnoxious blowhard in America."
"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," he claimed after Ramaswamy tore into Haley for her support of Ukraine in its war against Russia.
Ramaswamy had slammed Haley for wanting to "send our sons and daughters ... and our military equipment to go fight" for Ukraine and accused her of not knowing "the names of the provinces that she wants to actually fight for."
Christie continued his defense of the former ambassador, adding, "We're now 25 minutes into this debate, and he has insulted Nikki Haley's basic intelligence, not her positions, her basic intelligence."
"This is a smart, accomplished woman. You should stop insulting her," he said.
Ramaswamy was unswayed by Christie's defense of Haley, responding, "Do everybody a favor, just walk yourself off that stage, enjoy a nice meal, and get the hell out of this race."
Pence jokes about 'sleeping with a teacher'
Pence shocked the crowd when he made a risque joke about his sex life during the second GOP debate.
While discussing education, Christie claimed President Joe Biden couldn't be trusted to address unions, as he is "sleeping with a member of the teachers union," in reference to first lady Jill Biden, who is a teacher. "There is no chance that you can take the stranglehold away from the teachers union. ... They have an advocate inside the White House every day for the worst of their teachers, not for our students to be the best they can be. A president of the United States has to take on the teachers union," he said.
But Pence captured the audience's attention when he quipped back, "By way of full disclosure, Chris, you mentioned the president's situation. My wife isn't a member of the teachers union. But I've got to admit I've been sleeping with a teacher for 38 years."
The former vice president's remark made waves for its out-of-character nature, not fitting Pence's Christian family man persona.
Ramswamy says 'Nikki = corrupt'
During the final RNC matchup, Ramaswamy took full aim at Haley. He doubled down on his comparison to former Vice President Dick Cheney and his accusations over her involvement with defense contractors following her time at the United Nations.
"At the first debate, she said only a woman could get this job done," he recalled of Haley.
Ramaswamy continued, "After the third debate, when I criticized Ronna McDaniel for five failed years of leadership of this party and criticized Nikki for her corrupt foreign dealings as a military contractor, she said that I had a 'woman problem.'"
"Maybe I don't have a woman problem. You have a corruption problem," he claimed of Haley.
It was at this point that Ramaswamy held up his notepad, which read "Nikki = Corrupt." The large text had been scribbled before the debate's start and was observed by reporters ahead of the event.
After doing so, Ramaswamy was booed by the crowd, and Haley tried to suppress a smile.
When asked to respond, Haley said, "No, it's not worth my time to respond to him."
Christie labels Trump 'Donald Duck'
At the second RNC debate, Christie attempted to use a strategy out of Trump's playbook, assigning Trump an insulting nickname as the former president has successfully done to his opponents for years.
“I want to look at the camera right now and tell you, Donald, I know you’re watching. You can’t help yourself. I know you’re watching, OK?" he said to Trump, who was not in attendance. "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 this stage and defending your record."
“You’re ducking these things," Christie said of the GOP front-runner, who attended none of the debates.
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"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,'" he claimed.
The nickname did not catch on, however.