The Republican presidential debate on Thursday turned awkward right from the beginning with some apparent confusion over the introduction order and stage timing.
When the candidates were called by the moderators one-by-one to take the stage, it started with Chris Christie and then followed with Ben Carson.
But while Christie took the stage, Carson stayed at the side of the stage. He was out of view of the live audience, but a cameraman for the event stayed trained on him so watchers at home could see him waiting.
Carson, who apparently hadn’t heard his name called, stayed even as additional candidates were called and they passed him to take their respective podiums.
The same issue struck front-runner Donald Trump. His name was called but he stayed behind with Carson, allowing other candidates to pass him as they took the stage.
The moderators eventually called for Trump and Carson again, who came out.
ABC News’ Martha Raddatz, one of the moderators, said it was an issue with applause noise from the audience drowning out the names as they were initially called.
Carson, a few minutes into the debate, was called on for a question and he joked about the mixup, saying maybe the moderators thought he had dropped out of the race.
The debate is the final one before the New Hampshire primary on Tuesday.
