Four Republican presidential hopefuls — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie — were on stage Wednesday debating in Alabama, the state that gave the GOP a roadmap to former President Donald Trump. Trump, the early front-runner for the GOP nomination, held a fundraiser in Florida instead.

Questions about how to handle conflicts with Hamas and Iran opened a fiery exchange about the candidates' foreign policy experience and smarts. Asked whether they would send U.S. troops to rescue American hostages held in Gaza, Christie answered, “Damn right, I would.” DeSantis didn’t appear to answer the question directly.

Ramaswamy, asked about his position that the U.S. shouldn’t be lending military support to Israel, acknowledged his policy on that was “a little bit different.”

“Israel absolutely has the right to defend itself without the U.S., U.N. or EU second-guessing its decisions,” he said.

Ramaswamy, who is often faulted for his lack of foreign policy experience, then turned the focus to Haley.

“Foreign policy experience is not the same as foreign policy wisdom,” he said. After Ramaswamy repeatedly railed against Haley for what he characterized as her inability to name some of Ukraine’s provinces, Christie called Haley “a smart accomplished woman” and said Ramaswamy “should stop insulting her.”

Christie also said Ramaswamy would be voted “the most obnoxious blowhard in America.”

Christie and Haley were both elected governors of their respective states in 2010 and were friends during Christie’s time chairing the Republican Governors Association. Haley turned to Christie and seemingly uttered a “thank you” when he defended her.

As in past debates, Christie was the first to target Trump, calling him a “dictator” and a “bully” who “doesn’t have the guts to show up and stand here.”

“The fact of the matter is that he is unfit to be president,” Christie said. The former New Jersey governor called out his competitors for ignoring “he who shall not be named.”

“These three are acting as if the race is between the four of us,” he said. “It’s often very difficult to be the only person on stage who’s telling the truth.”

Early in the debate, moderator Megyn Kelly asked Haley, “Aren’t you too tight with the banks and the billionaires to win over the GOP’s working-class base, which mostly wants to break the system, not elect someone beholden to it?”

She then challenged Christie: “How could you possibly be the nominee of a party that does not appear to like you very much?"

Ramaswamy used his first question of the debate to go directly after Haley, criticizing her for being “bankrupt” when she stepped down as United Nations ambassador and then going on to serve on the board of aerospace giant Boeing.

In response, Haley defended her 10-month service on Boeing’s board, noting she left during a dispute over COVID-19 bailout funds.

DeSantis joined in to criticize Haley, who he said “caves any time the left comes after her, anytime the media comes after her.” Haley said her opponents were “just jealous” of the attention she’s been getting from donors.

The first debate question went to DeSantis, who was asked whether he should drop out of the race as his candidacy has failed to close in on Trump’s large polling despite his campaign and super PAC spending large amounts of money.

The Florida governor gave an impassioned and defiant answer, declaring, “I’m sick of hearing about these polls.” DeSantis said he will win the Republican nomination and he’s been underestimated before.

The debate is the last scheduled debate before the Iowa caucuses kick off the nominating process in January.