Nikki Haley says ‘I love the attention fellas’ and mocks ‘jealous’ Ron DeSantis and Vivek Ramaswamy for attacking her as Megyn Kelly opens fourth Republican debate

The fourth Republican primary debate got off to a hot start Wednesday with Ron DeSantis and Vivek Ramaswamy launching a verbal attack on Nikki Haley as the former U.N. ambassador rises in the polls.

Haley, the only woman on stage and in the Republican presidential primary, didn’t back down, joking: “I love the attention, guys.”

Haley, Ron DeSantis, Ramaswamy and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie took the stage at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa Wednesday night to stake their claim in the race to succeed front-runner Donald Trump.

Former Fox News host Megyn Kelly returned as a debate moderator eight years after her infamous confrontation with Trump in 2015, when she challenged him over “misogynistic” comments.

DeSantis used his first remarks of the evening to accuse Haley of supporting “child mutilation,” although he had not condemned gender reassignment surgeries for minors in previous comments.

And Ramaswamy, a 38-year-old millionaire biotech entrepreneur, said Haley left South Carolina “bankrupt” after her time as governor and sold out to corporations to rise to millionaire status, including through serving on the board of Boeing.

“We weren’t bankrupt when I left the UN. We are people of service—my husband is in the military, and I have served our country as an ambassador and governor of the United Nations,” Haley responded. “The company may have gone bankrupt for him, but it certainly wasn’t bankrupt for us.”

But Haley said the bigger problem is that her competitors on the stage are “jealous” because they want donors supporting her candidacy to give their money to their campaigns.

“As for the donors who support me, they are just jealous,” Haley said. “They would like to be supported.”

Gov. Christie didn’t get a chance to speak until 17 minutes into the debate, when DeSantis, Haley and Ramaswamy sparred.

The debate turned out to be the tightest yet with the fewest candidates qualifying under the strictest criteria as the heat rises between those vying for the Republican nomination in 2024.

Before the first commercial break, Christie called Ramaswamy the most disgusting braggart in America and responded by advising the former governor: “Get off stage and eat well.”

The debate will be the tightest yet with the fewest candidates meeting the strictest criteria as the heat heats up between those vying for the Republican nomination in 2024.

But none of the four on stage are likely to actually win the nomination, with former President Donald Trump still leading in polls and popularity.

Despite this, a new Morning Consult poll shows that nearly two-thirds of likely Republican voters plan to watch at least part of the debate.

Only 25 percent said they would not participate in the debate at all.

Donald Trump, who had a 50-point lead in some polls, is skipping the event again.

So far, the ex-president’s absences have not impacted his lead, although more than 75 percent of GOP voters give some importance to the debate.

On the day of the debate, Alabama Senator Kathy Britt expressed support for the former president.

NewsNation will host its fourth debate Dec. 6 at the Frank Moody Music Building at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. This will be the first debate ever held in the deep red state of Alabama.

Moderators include former Fox News host and current SiriusXM host Megyn Kelly, NewsNation’s Elizabeth Vargas and Washington Free Beacon editor-in-chief Eliana Johnson.

To get to the stage, the candidates had to face their toughest fight yet, in which Governor Christie narrowly lost.

Applicants had to reach 80,000 donors, with at least 200 donors from 20 different states or territories.

Each challenger also had to receive 6 percent support in two different national polls. Alternatively, they could earn 6 percent in one national poll and 6 percent in two separate state-level polls in the primary state of Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada or South Carolina.

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, who failed to qualify for the third and fourth debates, announced Monday he was suspending his campaign.

South Carolina Senator Tim Scott dropped out just days after participating in the third debate in Miami, Florida, in early November.

Between the second and third debates, former Vice President Mike Pence also ended his race.

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson only qualified for the first debate but did not close his candidacy.

Meanwhile, Dallas businessman and pastor Ryan Binkley never took the stage but is still hanging on to his bid.

Trump significantly exceeded the debate eligibility requirements at each event, but refused to show up.

The ex-president says the debate is beneath him, given the huge poll lead he holds over the rest of the field.

He also won’t sign the RNC’s pledge of support for the eventual 2024 GOP nominee, which candidates must agree to in order to take the stage.

Trump has spent every debate so far hosting his own events.

During the first debate, he gave an extensive interview to former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, which began airing just five minutes before his eight competitors took the stage in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

In September, during the second debate, Trump was in Wisconsin speaking to auto workers picketing demands for better wages, hours and benefits, while seven others were in Simi Valley, California, debating at the Ronald Presidential Library Reagan.

Most recently, last month in Miami, Florida, Trump held a rally just 15 minutes down the road on debate night.