Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Chris Christie went after Trump while Nikki Haley took aim at Vivek Ramaswamy, who once again praised the former president.
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Seven candidates traveled to Reagan Library in California to spar over hot topics and whether they’re fit to be the next president of the United States.
Trump, the Republican front-runner, said he didn’t plan on participating because he was leading in the polls.
He visited Michigan, where he gave a speech on jobs, instead.
‘DONALD DUCK’
The topic turned to Trump after DeSantis laid into President Joe Biden for being “missing in action” when it comes to his leadership of the nation.
“You know who else is missing in action? Donald Trump is missing in action,” DeSantis said.
“He should be on this stage tonight. He owes it to you to defend his record where they added $7.8trillion to the debt. That set the stage for the inflation that we have now.”
Meanwhile, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie said the former president was scared to take the stage, and gave him a new nickname.
“Donald Trump hides behind his golf clubs and won’t show up here,” Christie said.
“Donald I know you’re watching. You can’t help yourself,” he said addressing the former president.
“You’re not here tonight because you’re afraid of being on this stage and defending your record.
“You’re ducking these things. 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 going to call you Donald Duck.”
At the end of the debate, Christie said he’d vote Trump “off the island.”
“He needs to be taken out of this process,” Christie said, speaking of the several candidates vying for the presidency.
NIKKI HALEY TAKES AIM
In another notable moment, former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley slammed Vivek Ramaswamy over his TikTok U-turn.
Ramaswamy had previously denounced TikTok and branded it a Chinese-made threat to America.
He later appeared in a TikTok video with influencer Jake Paul and vouched for the social media platform as a tool Republicans should be using to reach younger voters.
“Every time I hear you, I feel a little bit dumber from what you say,” Haley said to Ramaswamy after his TikTok explanation.
“We can’t trust you,” she continued.
Ramaswamy fired back, saying: “I think we would be better served as a Republican Party if we’re not sitting here hurling personal insults.”
TRUMP MISSING
Trump announced on September 18 that he would skip the second debate.
He cited his poll numbers as the reason, but he’s also refused to sign an RNC pledge to support primary voters’ choice for the 2024 nominee.
Trump instead spoke to auto industry workers near Detroit, Michigan, as they continue to strike.
“You built this country,” Trump said, addressing the crowd.
President Biden was also in Michigan visiting with striking workers.
Thirty minutes into his speech, Trump turned his attention to the GOP debate.
“We’re competing with the job candidates. They’re all running for a job,” Trump said, suggesting that the presidential hopefuls are vying for jobs in his future administation.
“They’re all job candidates. They’ll do anything, Secretary of something. They even say VP. Has anybody seen a VP anywhere?”
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