Megyn Kelly, a moderator at Wednesdayâs GOP primary debate, explained on her SiriusXM show Thursday what former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said to her during a commercial break.
Videos of Christie approaching the moderatorâs table had begun to circulate online during and after the debate, raising questions about the pairâs seemingly heated discussion
Christie was âmad that he wasnât getting enough questionsâ during the debate, explained Kelly, who said that she told him in response: âWeâre coming to you. Youâre going to be happy in the second hour.â
Kelly added that Christie was initially slated to be asked a question in the first few minutes but as the debate began to rage on, his time was reverted. âAnd the reason that happened is because we let them fight in the first 40 minutes of the debate, and therefore that comes at the expense of something,â she said. âThe sort-of even distribution of questions got mucked up by all the arguing.â
At the same time, the former Fox News host noted that it was unrealistic for Christie to expect equal time.
âHeâs polling at 2 percent! In no debate everâand Iâve now done six of themâhave we given as many questions to the guy whoâs at 3 percent as to the person whoâs in the lead, at least amongst the candidates on the stage,â Kelly said. âIâm sorry, Gov. Christie. Thatâs the way it is.â
By debateâs end, Christie had spoken only half a minute less than Nikki Haley, according to CNNâs figures. Christieâs time on the mic was about six minutes less than Vivek Ramaswamyâs 22, and four less than Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
âSo I donât want to hear it, frankly. We did right by him. He got a ton of airtime. Thatâs what he was mad about,â Kelly concluded.
In one notable moment, Christie got into an extended argument with Ramaswamy, calling him an âobnoxious blowhard.â