--- ---  # Watch the Most Awkward Debate Introductions Ever by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Feb 7, 2016 1:53 AM UTC  Candidates arrive for a Republican presidential debate on Feb. 6, 2016 at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, N.H. From left are: John Kasich, Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio, Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, Ben Carson, and Chris Christie. Candidates arrive for a Republican presidential debate on Feb. 6, 2016 at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, N.H. From left are: John Kasich, Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio, Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, Ben Carson, and Chris Christie.Jewel Samad—AFP/Getty Images by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Feb 7, 2016 1:53 AM UTC The Republican presidential debate started in the most awkward way on Saturday. Candidates from Ben Carson to former Ohio Gov. John Kasich seemed to have been forgotten by the moderators at the ABC debate on Saturday evening, as the candidates were welcomed to the main stage. Carson, Kasich and businessman Donald Trump sat idly by as their opponents stood waiting for their personal introductions at Saturday night’s debate in New Hampshire. Saturday’s debate was the first since the Iowa caucuses, which Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas won. Trump returned to the debate stage on Saturday after opting out of the debate that preceded the Iowa caucus last week. Republican Debate: Watch the Most Awkward Introductions Ever ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4210933/republican-debate-awkward-introductions-ben-carson/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4210933/republican-debate-awkward-introductions-ben-carson/"},"headline":"Watch the Most Awkward Debate Introductions Ever","datePublished":"2016-02-07T01:53:47.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T14:50:28.975Z","description":"Things got a little weird.","url":"https://time.com/4210933/republican-debate-awkward-introductions-ben-carson/","keywords":["Debates","2016 Election topic","Donald Trump","john kasich","Dr. Benjamin S. Carson"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt275f89283d0da92e/69887c7aab6d77ffb86a84e6/timepol-gop-republican-debate-new-hampsire-01.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Maya Rhodan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt275f89283d0da92e/69887c7aab6d77ffb86a84e6/timepol-gop-republican-debate-new-hampsire-01.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"election-vote-Republicans-politics","caption":"Candidates arrive for a Republican presidential debate on Feb. 6, 2016 at St. Anselm's College in Manchester, N.H. From left are: John Kasich, Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio, Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, Ben Carson, and Chris Christie.","creditText":"Jewel Samad—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/debates/","name":"Debates"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4210933/republican-debate-awkward-introductions-ben-carson/","name":"Watch the Most Awkward Debate Introductions Ever"}}]}] ```