Chris Christie has accused Vivek Ramaswamy of being a "drunk driver" - not on the roads, but on the debate stage.
Christie, the former governor of New Jersey, did so on Thursday during an appearance on the Fox News Channel's Fox & Friends.
This comes after Christie and Ramaswamy recently participated in the fourth Republican presidential primary debate, alongside former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R).
All four of these individuals are longshot candidates, trailing former President Donald Trump by at least 48 percentage points. But, Christie and Ramaswamy are especially far behind, with Ramaswamy trailing Trump by about 56 percentage points and Christie trailing Trump by nearly 60 percentage points.
Christie was prompted to reflect on the fourth debate by Fox's Ainsley Earhardt, who asked him this:
Governor, last night when I was watching the debate, I felt like they were yelling at each other, the other three at least, attacking each other more than I’ve seen in the other debates. Is that because of the pressure? We’re getting closer and closer to Iowa. And, what happens during those commercial breaks between the four of you?
Christie responded by attacking his fellow Republican presidential candidates, saying, "Well, look, as far they’re yelling at each other, it’s because they have nothing substantively to say that matters." Then, Christie criticized his fellow Republican presidential candidates one by one, starting with Ramaswamy.
"I mean, look, let’s face it, if you look at their performances last night, Vivek Ramaswamy is a drunk driver on the debate stage. You never know where he’s going, what he’s going to do, when he’s going to run into the bridge above it. He’s a drunk driver," Christie said.
He continued, "Ron DeSantis looks at — every time he gives an answer that he’s memorized, he’s released, that he actually got it out of his mouth. And, Nikki last night really looked like somebody who just wanted it to be over. Just get me off the stage and let it be over."
Christie then tried to claim that he was the "adult" in the room - the only one willing to "answer . . . questions" and "tell . . . the truth."
Christie did not say what specifically it was about Ramaswamy's debate performance that caused him to compare Ramaswamy to a "drunk driver."
What can be said is that Ramaswamy's debate performance was controversial. Chances are that if you support former President Donald Trump, then you probably agreed with some of the things that Ramaswamy said during the debate, whereas if you're more of an anti-Trump Republican or even a Democrat, you probably disagreed with what Ramaswamy had to say.
Perhaps Ramaswamy's biggest moment of the debate was when he held up a sign that read, "Nikki Haley = Corrupt." Take a look:
Vivek: “Nikki Haley’s campaign launch video sounded like a woke Dylan Mulvaney Bud Light ad talking about how she would kick in heels”#RepublicanDebate #GOPDebate pic.twitter.com/geEpDLviHv
— NEWSMIX 🌟 (@NewsMixCenter) December 7, 2023
It appears that it is stuff like this that makes Ramaswamy, according to Christie, a "drunk driver on the debate stage."
