The former New Jersey governor Chris Christie, who short-circuited Marco Rubio in a 2016 debate, entered the race with the goal of hammering Mr. Trump over his attempts to overturn his loss in 2020. Initially, he went after Mr. Ramaswamy as the next best thing, saying that he “sounds like ChatGPT” and likening him to Barack Obama; Mr. Ramaswamy reminded Mr. Christie that the then-governor notoriously hugged Mr. Obama in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, just before the 2012 election. Around an hour in, Mr. Baier finally invoked Mr. Trump — “the elephant not in the room” — and his indictments, to the boos of the crowd. The hand raise began with Mr. Ramaswamy and moved across the stage like a sluggish wave at a stadium, stopping at Mr. Christie. But Mr. Trump was not there to make his own noise, which left more room for one of the main goals of a first debate: to let candidates introduce themselves to a broader audience.

---

Persons: Chris Christie, circuited Marco Rubio, Trump, Ramaswamy, Barack Obama, Christie, Obama, Baier, —, “ Rich Organizations: New, Mr, Fox, North, Richmond ” — Locations: New Jersey, Hurricane