What Chris Christie said at the first Republican presidential debate

New Jersey’s former Gov. Chris Christie may have started out calm and level-headed during the first Republican presidential debate on Thursday, but as the evening wore on he returned to his old form and fired one-liners at his fellow candidates.

The debate, which featured eight candidates, though former President Donald Trump was notably absent, was the first time the potential nominees squared off in what has already been a contentious campaign season.

Christie dodged gibes from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and took the unusual route of bragging about cutting pension payments for the sake of maintaining the budget, before squaring off against newcomer Vivek Ramaswamy.

"I've had enough already tonight of a guy who sounds like ChatGPT," Christie said of Ramaswamy, before comparing him to "another skinny guy with a funny last name, Barack Obama." Ramaswamy was quick to retort that a hug from Christie would help elect him, "just like it did Obama."

The former governor mentioned his history as a U.S. attorney and implied that the best way to fight violent crime is to have the federal government get involved on the local level.

"These prosecutors in these states and these localities are refusing to do their jobs and to arrest violent criminals," he said. "So what a President Christie would do is appoint an attorney general who would instruct each of the 93 U.S. attorneys that they are to take over the prosecution of violent crime in every one of those cities that are failing to do so."

When moderators called for a show of hands as to who would support Trump as the candidate if he were convicted, Christie appeared to waver and was called on it.

He told moderators that he would not support Trump because “whether or not you believe that the criminal charges are right or wrong, the conduct is beneath the office of the president of the United States,” before getting into another verbal spat with Ramaswamy about the Trump indictments.

Christie took the time to defend former Vice President Mike Pence for certifying the 2020 election and also his own trip to Ukraine.

During the debate’s “lightning round,” Christie was the only candidate dealt a question about UFOs, and he jokingly noted that New Jersey is “different, but we’re not that different,” adding that it is the responsibility of the president to level with residents about everything, even aliens.

He also said the “biggest threat to our country” is teachers' unions, not UFOs.

As the evening drew to a close, Christie reminded voters that he was the only person in the debate to beat a Democratic incumbent, and he compared himself to Ronald Reagan.

It's Trump's party: Winners, losers and the absent frontrunner at the first GOP debate

“I did it in a deep-blue state,” he said. “Beating a Democratic incumbent is not easy. The last Democratic incumbent who was defeated was Jimmy Carter, and he was defeated by a conservative governor from a blue state who knew how to get results, stood for the truth, who cared about accountability and stood strong and hard against waste.”

Since announcing his candidacy at the beginning of June, Christie has spent much of his time on the trail taking aim at the former president.

Trump, despite numerous indictments, remains the front-runner for the Republican nomination and has maintained a significant lead over Christie, DeSantis and his own former vice president.

In televised appearances, Christie has called Trump, his former friend, “angry” and “vengeful,” saying the former president would spend a potential second term “settling scores” against enemies real and perceived.

“He’s shown himself to be completely self-centered, completely self-consumed,” Christie said of Trump. “He doesn’t give a damn about the American people.”

Christie endorsed Trump in 2016 after shutting down his own campaign. He went on to help the former president prepare for debates and served for a time on his transition team.

Kelly: Chris Christie is the most interesting person in the GOP right now. This is why

Since leaving office, Christie has returned to his roots as a lawyer. He also has served as a political analyst and legal contributor for ABC News. He’s worked as a lobbyist in Washington and has a seat on the board of directors for the Mets.

Christie, a two-term governor, had legislative wins including instituting public employee health and benefits reforms, the complex merger of Rutgers and the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, and the overhaul of the criminal justice system, which notably eliminated cash bail.

He reached new heights in popularity due to his response to Superstorm Sandy but is perhaps better remembered for controversy than policy.

During his bid for reelection in 2013, “traffic problems in Fort Lee,” the political revenge scheme that is now known as Bridgegate, brought about a downturn in Christie's public approval and was viewed by many as a derailing factor in his chance at securing the presidential nomination in 2016. Christie was never found to have known about or had involvement in the revenge plot.

Others might remember photos from July 2017 when Christie and his family enjoyed a holiday weekend at the beach during a state government shutdown.

Before his time as governor, Christie was elected to the Morris County Board of Freeholders and served as U.S. attorney for New Jersey from 2002 to 2008.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Chris Christie: What he said at the first Republican debate last night