The fourth Republican debate opened on Wednesday with rivals setting their sights on Nikki Haley, who has emerged as the leading alternative to front runner Donald Trump, who again was a no-show.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Vivek Ramaswamy each tried to cast Haley as a creature of the corporate elite, while chiding her remarks last month in which she said that “Every person on social media should be verified by their name. It’s a national security threat.” She later softened her stance, focusing instead on the need for platforms to curb bots as a way to fight back against foreign influence.
The remaining candidate on the stage, Chris Christie, criticized the candidates for ignoring Trump, comparing the situation to the Harry Potter franchise’s Voldemort, or “He Who Cannot Be Named.”
Trump, Christie said, “is a dictator, a bully, who has taken shots at everybody.” He suggested that the other candidates weren’t attacking him because “maybe they have future aspirations.”
“I am in this race because the truth has to be spoken,” Christie said.
The debate in Tuscaloosa, AL also has been a significant moment for host network NewsNation, Nexstar’s startup news network. Although it has a fraction of the cable news audience, the network has been able to attract a series of personalities who spent much of their careers at major cable and broadcast networks. Elizabeth Vargas, formerly of ABC News, was co-moderating, Although she is not a NewsNation staffer, Megyn Kelly, formerly of Fox News and NBC News, also was a co-moderator, along with Eliana Johnson, the editor in chief of the Washington Free Beacon.
The debate was with a much smaller field than the first: Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), who was in the debate last month, has since dropped out of the race, leaving just four candidates on the stage.
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Source: DLine
