Christy, Santis and Haley clashed on stage in Alabama on Wednesday. Photo: GETTY IMAGES
It was the last battle before the Republican presidency. Iowa's primaries begin in a few weeks.
Sparks flew from the first issue as Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis traded blows frequently as they battled to become Donald Trump's top challenger.
G- Ms. Haley underscored her rise in the race by fending off rivals, Vivek Ramaswamy's constant interruptions hurt his bid more than it helped, and Mr. DeSantis failed to force a dramatic restart.
But it was the former president who emerged victorious, skipping the entire event and instead choosing to hold a fundraiser.
The final GOP debate focused largely on foreign policy and covered the candidates' positions on Ukraine, Israel and China.
During the final debate, the Republican Party also addressed pressing domestic issues, including the country's culture wars, the immigration crisis and the fentanyl epidemic. .
How did the final debate change the state of the race? Here is the Telegraph's ranking of each candidate.
Sorry about Ron DeSantis. Florida's governor wants to show Republican voters that he is a political bulldog who can replace Donald Trump. The problem is that he is unwilling or unable to prove this by attacking Trump.
DeSantis' campaign strategy has centered on arguing that he is in the best position to woo the former president's base.
But the 45-year-old was faced with the painful realization that enthusiasm for Trump among the party's rank-and-file has never been stronger.
Mr. DeSantis was on the defensive from the opening seconds of the debate. and the first brutal question asked him, essentially, why his campaign crashed and failed due to poor polling and cash flow problems.
“I'm tired of hearing about these polls,” Mr. DeSantis retorted with genuine anger.
Still, it was one of Mr. DeSantis' strongest performances in the debate. more.
He was less robotic and more dexterous in answering questions. And he successfully landed a few punches on Haley, his main rival on stage.
“This is the fourth debate where you'll be voted the worst bully in America in the first 20 minutes, so shut up,” Chris Christie told Vivek Ramaswamy.
He may have spoken for everyone watching. American. Houses. Or at least those who resisted the shutdown when the debate turned into shouting matches.
Mr. Ramaswamy emerged as the villain of the last Republican debate when he took the debate into personal territory by taking a jab at Ms. Haley's daughter.
On Wednesday night, he immersed himself in the role, making taunt after taunt at the their rivals.
Ms Haley was “corrupt”. Ron DeSantis became governor only because he went “begging” for Donald Trump, a brash young entrepreneur said.
His sharpest line came in response to Mr. Christie. “Do everyone a favor and just get off stage, enjoy some good food and get the hell out of this race,” he told the former New Jersey governor.
The jibe was met with cheers from the crowd, indicating that , how few people are inclined to make personal attacks against Mr. Ramaswamy. Christie is far from popular among conservative audiences.
Nikki Haley was going to lose the debate, and her opponents knew it, taking turns throwing arrows in her direction.
The former South Carolina governor comes prepared, easily dismissing criticism in favor of being backed by liberal Wall Street donors.
“You're just jealous,” she shot back. The 51-year-old was able to deftly defend her aggressive foreign policy stance, which is at odds with much of the Republican Party's conservative base.
“You have to hit them. You have to hit them hard,” she said of Russia and other U.S. adversaries. “You have to understand that all these issues are interconnected,” she said, arguing that supporting Ukraine against Moscow's encroachment was in the U.S. national interest.
Ms. Haley drew applause for insulting Mr Ramaswamy in the last debate. But when this time she was offered the opportunity to respond to his attacks, she said it simply wasn't worth her time.
As a rising candidate in the race, Ms. Haley appears to have decided she doesn't need it. to strike.
But will her performance have any impact on Trump's command leadership? This seems unlikely.
Chris Christie entered the race vowing to become the biggest bully on the debate stage. In fact, he was teetering on the edge of not qualifying for the event.
The former New Jersey governor has hit out at Donald Trump, saying the former president is “unfit” to return to the Oval Office. – but since the GOP leader missed the debate again, it was a somewhat futile mission.
Chris Christie barely qualified for the debate tonight Wednesday. Photo: REUTERS
Still, he managed to find a place in the conversation, despite his poor performance in the polls.
And he laid out the line of debate, calling Mr. Ramaswamy “the worst braggart in America.”
His role today was to represent the old guard of the Republican Party, offering a staunch defense of Ukraine and Israel and providing the strongest counterargument to Trump's dominance in the race.
But the exclamations of the spectators told their story. The Republican Party is undeniably Trump's party.
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