GOP underdog George Pataki punched up at front-runner Donald Trump during the Republican primary debate, saying that if the businessman can’t run successful casinos in Atlantic City, then he could never run a country.
All questions in the first 10 minutes of the four-candidate debate focused on the non-present front-runner, with the hosts pressing the four lower-tier Republican candidates on the outrageous language and oftentimes aggressive policies.
When it was Pataki’s turn to talk about Trump, he pointed to the businessman’s failed exploits in Atlantic City. Specifically, when the real estate developer built four casinos, and each of the casinos subsequently went bankrupt, leaving more than 5,000 Americans unemployed.
“He says ‘Make America Great Again!’… He essentially said I’m going to ‘Make Atlantic City Great Again,’ but all those casinos went bankrupt.”
Pataki added, “[Trump] didn’t lose anything. He will do for America what he did to Atlantic City and that’s not someone we will nominate.”
Debate host Hugh Hewitt contested that Pataki broke his former pledge to support whoever the eventual Republican nominee would be, as the former New York governor tweeted that he would never support Trump.
“I have not broken the pledge. He’s not going to be the nominee,” Pataki replied. “But let me say this flat out, Donald Trump is unfit to be POTUS or the Republican nominee.”
