Republican Debate Audience Boos When Christie Trashes Putin
Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie received a heaping helping of boos from the audience throughout the first Republican debate on Wednesday night – even when he criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Debate co-moderator Bret Baier of Fox News asked the candidates if they oppose additional aid to Ukraine as it tries to fend off Russia’s ongoing invasion. The issue has become a lightning rod in the GOP.
“I think this is disastrous that we are protecting against an invasion across somebody else’s border when we should use those same military resources to prevent the cross-invasion of our own southern border here in the United States of America,” said Vivek Ramaswamy while arguing against funding for Ukraine. “We are driving Russia further into China’s hands. The Russia-China alliance is the single greatest threat we face.”
Christie then recalled his recent trip to Ukraine.
“I did go to Ukraine,” he began. “And I went to Ukraine because I wanted to see for myself what Vladimir Putin’s army was doing to the free Ukrainian people. And let me tell you, I want you all to look around this arena tonight and imagine that every one of these seats was filled. And if every one of them was filled, there would still be 2,500 more children outside to make over 20,000 who have been abducted, stolen, ripped from their mothers and fathers, and brought back to Russia to be programmed to fight their own families.”
The former governor went on to describe Russian war crimes in graphic detail before trashing Putin and noting that the autocrat has received lavish praise from former President Donald Trump, who skipped the debate.
“They have gouged out people’s eyes, cut off their ears, and shot people in the back of the head – men – and then gone into those homes and raped the daughters and the wives who were left as widows and orphans,” he continued. “This is the Vladimir Putin who Donald Trump called brilliant and a genius. If we don’t stand up against this type of autocratic killing in the world, we will be next.”
As he finished his response, the audience showered him with boos.
Watch above via Fox News.
