'Donald duck' and other Trump zingers that stole the GOP debate spotlight

In a high-stakes GOP debate held at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, on Wednesday (Sept 28, local time), former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie delivered a humorous yet pointed nickname for former President Donald Trump due to his absence from the debate stage: "Donald duck."

This clever quip was just one of many attacks unleashed by Christie, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, and former Vice President Mike Pence against Trump during the event. Notably, Trump is the clear front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination.

This second GOP debate took on a heightened sense of urgency as Trump sought to divert attention from the other candidates by hosting a competing event in the Detroit area, where autoworkers were engaged in a strike.

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Christie's direct address to Trump

Christie, in response to a question about crime, seized the moment to address Trump directly, stating, "Donald Trump should be here to answer for that, but he's not."

He confronted Trump's absence and remarked, "You're not here tonight, not because of polls or indictments, but because you're afraid to be on this stage defending your record. You're avoiding these challenges. And let me tell you what's going to happen if you continue to do so: We won't refer to you as Donald Trump anymore; we're going to call you Donald duck."

Shift in debate dynamics

In contrast to the first debate where Trump was rarely mentioned and faced minimal attacks, this debate marked a notable shift. The candidates directed their criticism towards Trump in three significant ways:

1. Absence critique: Christie and DeSantis called out Trump for not participating in the debate.
2. National debt: Both Christie and DeSantis highlighted the significant expansion of the national debt during Trump's tenure in the White House.
3. Executive powers: Pence offered a critique of Trump's plans to expand executive powers if he were to secure a second term.

Christie highlightedTrump's nonattendance in another response, where he compared President Biden "hiding in his basement" to Trump "hiding behind the walls of his golf clubs."

DeSantis echoed Christie's sentiments, asserting that both Biden and Trump were "missing in action." Furthermore, both Christie and DeSantis took aim at the Trump administration for its contribution to the significant national debt increase of $7.8 trillion during Trump's presidency.

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Trump to skip third presidential debate too?

US media reports state that Donald Trump is set to skip the third Republican presidential debate as well, as revealed by a senior adviser who requested anonymity, reported Bloomberg. This decision aligns perfectly with his ongoing strategy of avoiding debates that feature lower-polling rivals.

Trump skipped both the first and the second presidential debates.Instead, he chose to pre-record an interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, which was streamed to the audience while the other candidates engaged in the first presidential debate.

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