What They're Saying About Chris Christie at Tonight's Fox News Business Debate
"Christie Dominates"
“Christie Wins Applause On Economy”
The Washington Post’s Jennifer Rubin: “Christie Dominates Undercard Debate”
• “New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie dominated the proceedings, winning with demonstrated proficiency on the issues and his blunt, funny barbs at Hillary Clinton.”
• “Christie won this round hands down.”
Hugh Hewitt: “Well this has been pretty much a 45 minute @ChrisChristie ad this far.”
• “I'm replaying @ChrisChristie answer on China for @elianayjohnson b/c it is a great answer”
The Hill: “Christie Wins Applause On Economy”
The Washington Post’s Philip Rucker: “Strong Christie opening, speaking directly to camera to people's economic anxieties.”
Buzzfeed’s McKay Coppins: “Christie gets applause for ‘I'll get to fire a whole bunch of IRS agents.’”
The Wall Street Journal’s Matt Murray: “Christie gets early applause line by threatening to fire 'a whole bunch of IRS agents'”
National Review’s Rich Lowry: “Christie scores early w/ firing IRS agents jab”
The Washington Post’s Abby D. Phillip: “Christie's big applause line is for firing IRS agents. Hugely popular position with the base.”
Bloomberg’s Sahil Kapur: “Christie is deploying the empathy voice he used in that video on heroin addiction that went viral.”
National Review’s Eliana Johnson: “First round goes to @ChrisChristie.”
HotAir’s Ed Morrissey: “Christie's winning this in the first stanza. Not even close. He may have been done a favor by being put in the undercard.”
Kevin Madden: “That Christie ‘econ anxiety’ message is perfectly attuned to majority of swing voters right now.”
The New York Times’ Michael Barbaro: “Is this the sound of the Christie comeback gaining traction?”
“Christie Garnering Biggest Applause So Far. Hammering Theme Of Govt Incompetence”
Fox News’ Guy Benson: “Christie garnering biggest applause so far. Hammering theme of govt incompetence... why give DC more power & money?”
Stuart Rothenberg: “Christie to camera. Again. And it is effective.”
National Review’s Rich Lowry: “Another strong christie answer”
Yahoo News’ Matt Bai: “You get the feeling Chris Christie is about to turn the undercard debate into a pretty useful platform.”
DailyWire’s Ben Shapiro: “Christie wins Round 1.”
The Plain Dealer’s Henry J. Gomez: “The undercard debate is only 14 minutes old and Twitter already has declared Christie the winner.”
National Review’s Jay Nordlinger: “There's a reason Christie won two gubernatorial elections in New Jersey, you know.”
The Boston Globe’s Shira T. Center: “It really doesn't matter where Christie's podium is. He's a straight-to-camera dude.”
The Huffington Post’s Igor Bobic: “Christie still belongs on the big stage.”
ABC News’ Rick Klein: “Christie talks directly to the audience more explicitly and consistently than any of his rivals.”
Al Jazeera’s Alan Fisher: “Christie is making a strong case to get back into the main debate.”
The Wall Street Journal’s Neil King: “Christie appears to have come to Milwaukee with the clearest debate strategy: speak directly to viewers, and keep the fire on Hillary”
Politico’s Katie Glueck: “Christie making it all about HRC tonight, to applause”
NBC News’ Ali Vitali: “Christie is one to frequently remind of the battle GOPers face in the general; seeks to keep focus on HRC.”
TIME’s Zeke Miller: “Christie tries to steal the spotlight from the catfight down the stage”
The Washington Post’s James Hohmann: “Christie tries to transcend the Jindal vs Huckabee fight by pivoting to Hillary. The crowd likes it. And hitting HRC worked for him on CNBC.”
The Washington Post’s Philip Rucker: “Christie has his eyes on the general election: Only candidate to draw contrasts with Hillary in nearly every answer.”
The Wall Street Journal’s Shelby Holliday: “Seems like Christie is getting the most applause so far.”
MSNBC’s Benjy Sarlin: “Christie breaks up Jindal/Huck fight. "[Clinton] is the real adversary tonight and we better stay focused as Republicans on her."
• “As predicted, Christie looks like he's in a different league here. But everyone's had at least one good moment so far.”
