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The Republican National Committee is now targeting some of its own candidates for reportedly violating pledges.

Reporting shows that the RNC threatened to ban former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and tech investor Vivek Ramaswamy from the party’s third scheduled presidential debate. This came after both men said they would be sitting down for their own televised discussion on Fox News.

Each candidate promoted their discussion on X, which was scheduled Wednesday evening on Bret Baier’s “Special Report.”

Chris Christie said: “Voters deserve to hear from the candidates, and unlike others, I’m not afraid to show up.” Ramaswamy agreed, saying: “The GOP needs more actual argument on substance, not fake one-liners.”

But they ran into an issue with their party. The RNC said this breaches a pledge both candidates made to only participate in debates sanctioned by the commission. As such, the debate was shut down, much to the dismay of both candidates.

Again taking to X, Christie blasted the RNC for its decision, saying it was concerning. He said:

Voters need more information not less. Our Party needs more debates and in-depth discussions not less. This is common sense and the bedrock of our Republic. When the RNC stops conversations between candidates from happening that is real cause for concern.

He complimented Ramaswamy’s willingness to engage in a conversation and added:

It is very disappointing that we were threatened with exclusion from the Miami debate and future debates for trying to have a more complete dialogue with each other and the voters. Every campaign was offered that opportunity by Fox News and they have now been effectively banned by the RNC.

Ramaswamy, also on X, took a similar stance as Christie. He blasted not only the decision, but the way the RNC has handled debating overall. He said:

Last week’s RNC debate was a disgrace, and I’m starting to believe that was by design. This is what a brokered and rigged nomination process looks like.

Instead of allowing open dialogue and the airing of ideas to give primary voters a real choice, the Establishment would rather cut backroom deals and offer up phony debates, including candidates with no viable path and questions that no voter would ever ask.

It’s pathetic that the Super PAC puppet masters have now ‘summoned’ their favored Establishment puppets to broker a path to defeating Trump instead of allowing GOP voters to make a real choice on their own by hearing directly from candidates. Republican voters deserve better than this broken process.

The whole event opened a new discussion over how much control the RNC has in the debate process. Many social media users on X agreed with both candidates for their takes on how poorly the debate process within the RNC is handled.

Even Elon Musk chimed in suggesting a debate on the X platform. Ramaswamy responded by saying, “The RNC won’t let the GOP candidates do it” but gave his blessing to debate with a “smart Democrat.”

It appears as though the RNC has not issued an official statement after these criticisms.