While there were no official opening statements in Wednesday’s GOP primary debate, most candidates used their first answer as impromptu opening remarks. And entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who claimed he did no standard debate prep, used his first words on stage to steal a popular Barack Obama campaign line nearly word-for-word. “First, I want to just address the question that is on everyone’s mind at home tonight—who the heck is this skinny guy with a funny last name?” he said. The remark was strikingly similar to what Obama said on the campaign trail in 2004, when the then-Senate candidate made his national debut on stage saying he’s just “a skinny kid with a funny name.” Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie immediately linked Ramaswamy’s remark to Obama, chirping that the last person to introduce himself that way on stage was the former president. “I’m afraid we’re dealing with the same type of amateur,” Christie said.
