Republican debate: Nikki Haley blasts Ramaswamy for ‘choosing a murderer’ in Putin

The eight GOP presidential candidates had one of the most heated arguments of the first primary debate when discussing whether they would continue aid to Ukraine.

Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley accused entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy of “choosing a murderer” in Russian President Vladimir Putin for saying supporting Ukraine is not a “priority for the United States.”

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After a jab from Ramaswamy about a possible “future career on the boards of Lockheed and Raytheon,” the former South Carolina governor responded, “Under your watch, you will make America less safe. You have no foreign policy experience, and it shows.”

Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), who previously made headlines for characterizing the war as a “territorial dispute,” said, “Europe needs to step up,” and he raised his hand alongside Ramaswamy to indicate he would not support increasing aid to Ukraine.

Former Vice President Mike Pence and former Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ), both of whom have traveled to Ukraine to meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky, also strongly defended the side of aiding Ukraine.

“Look, I did go to Ukraine. And I went to Ukraine because I wanted to see for myself what Vladimir Putin’s army was doing to the free Ukrainian people,” Christie said. “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.”

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The former New Jersey governor also called out former President Donald Trump, who skipped the debate and instead conducted an interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, for his previous positive comments toward Putin, noting the alleged human rights abuses committed by Russian forces in Ukraine.

“Let me be clear, anybody that thinks that we can’t solve the problems here in the United States and be the leader of the free world has a pretty small view of the greatest nation on Earth,” Pence responded.