Haley said she doesn't want to bomb Iran; DeSantis vowed to address health care. Four Republican presidential candidates -- minus the front-runner, Donald Trump -- took the stage Wednesday night to make another pitch to voters with just weeks to go before voting in the 2024 primary begins. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy sparred over policy and personality. Here are some notable moments you might have missed. Addressing Christie early in the debate, moderator Megyn Kelly...

"We need somebody ... who absolutely is going to be a fighter," he said. On the fourth Republican debate stage, with just weeks to go before the Jan. 15 Iowa's caucuses begin the 2024 primary, Vivek Ramaswamy's night kicked off with a question about whether he can unify the country despite having a bit of a self-professed "know-it-all" demeanor. "I think there's a time and place for everything," he told moderator Megyn Kelly, who had noted his penchant for personal insults. "We need somebody in the White House who absolutely...

Republicans held their fourth presidential primary debate, and once again, the likely nominee wasn’t on stage. Let’s be clear: Donald Trump is at nearly 60% in the national polling average, well over 40 percentage points ahead of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in second place. Trump looks a little weaker in the early states, to be sure. But he’s still at 45.9% in Iowa and 44.7% in New Hampshire, with no one else cracking 20% in either state. This debate comes after the Koch brothers-founded Americans for Prosperity Action endorsed former...

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie unloaded on his 2024 rivals and the moderators of Wednesday night's GOP presidential debate, likening Donald Trump to "Harry Potter" villain Lord Voldemort while calling out his competitors for refusing to name the former president. The ex-governor, who waited more than 15 minutes to get a chance to speak, criticized the panelists and the moderators for being too soft on Trump, according to The Daily Beast. “It’s often very difficult to be the only person on the stage who’s telling the truth, and the...

Fifteen minutes went by without Chris Christie getting a word edgewise. “I’m usually not somebody that gets missed,” he quipped when the moderators finally turned their attention to him. And then it was off to the races as the ex-Jersey governor turned up the heat and grabbed attention, at one point calling Vivek Ramaswamy “the most obnoxious blowhard in America.” In the latest edition of NJ Advance Media’s “What Makes Christie Run?” newsletter, political reporter Matt Arco breaks down Wednesday night’s fourth Republican presidential debate — and Christie’s performance. Arco,...

Ohio businessman Vivek Ramaswamy pulled out all the stops during the fourth GOP debate, involving taking down his rival former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and former Gov. Chris Christie (R-N.J.). On Wednesday night, Ramaswamy threw punches left and right, telling Christie to "have a nice meal" and get out of the race as the "most obnoxious blowhard in America." "First of all, Chris Christie also doesn't know what provinces in eastern Ukraine he actually wants us to fight for. Chris, your version of foreign policy experience was closing a bridge...

Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has not made many friends on the debate stage in his four appearances in GOP primary debates. The entrepreneur has been a firebrand in the first four Republican debates, garnering strong reactions to his feisty and contentious debate style. Here are five times during those debates when Ramaswamy made inflammatory comments or claims.

BOSTON – "I'm sick of hearing about these polls," said Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis at the start of Wednesday night's final pre-primary Republican presidential debate. No wonder. With surveys showing DeSantis slipping behind former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley in Iowa and New Hampshire, he wasted no time going after her. (Disclosure: I have a close relative who works for the Haley campaign). "I did a bill in Florida to stop the gender mutilation of minors because it's wrong," DeSantis said. "She opposes that bill." As she did on several occasions...

Happening this Thursday: Nikki Haley becomes target at fourth GOP presidential debate… Ron DeSantis pulls his punches versus Donald Trump… Vivek Ramaswamy promotes Jan. 6 conspiracy theory… And DeSantis and Ramaswamy campaign in Iowa, while Chris Christie stumps in New Hampshire. But FIRST… Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie dropped a “truth” bomb at the beginning of last night’s GOP presidential debate — after fellow candidates Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy criticized each other. “We’ve had these three, acting as if the race is between the four of...

“This is the fourth debate that you would be voted in the first 20 minutes as the most obnoxious blowhard in America,” Christie told Ramaswamy, after the biotech entrepreneur attacked their fellow competitor, former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley. Ramaswamy had lobbed insults at Haley, the former governor of South Carolina, whose campaign has picked up speed in recent weeks and threatened to outstrip that of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as second in the race after former President Donald Trump. Ramaswamy trivialized Haley’s foreign policy experience and claimed she wouldn’t even...