Virginia Senate hopeful Corey Stewart tried to claim President Donald Trump was “standing up to the Russians.” It did not go over well.

It all happened during a debate on Saturday with incumbent US Senator and former Hillary Clinton running mate Tim Kaine.

The contentious debate was full of barbs including one where Stewart said this about Kaine: “He was noticeably silent when the Russians shot down a Malaysian airliner when President [Barack] Obama was in office. He was noticeably silent when the Russians invaded the Crimea when President Obama was in office.”

Stewart then added, “We have a president who is standing up to the Russians…”

The audience broke out in laughter, as captured in the tweet below:

Neo-confederate Republican Corey Stewart gets laughed at by Tim Kaine and the entire audience at the #VASen debate after his embarrassing claim that Donald Trump "is standing up to the Russians." pic.twitter.com/DzfF0agRHK — Adam Best (@adamcbest) July 21, 2018

PBS News Hour also noted it was not the only raucous moment of the debate.

“The first debate for the Virginia Senate race was held before a rowdy audience who laughed when Stewart said, ‘We have a president who is standing up to the Russians,’ booed when Kaine called Stewart a liar and broke out in applause when Kaine praised his father-in-law as a model Virginian for supporting a ‘nation and Commonwealth for all,'” PBS News Hour reported on the debate, which was moderated by PBS NewsHour anchor and managing editor Judy Woodruff.

Watch above, via PBS News Hour

[image via screengrab]

Have a tip we should know? [email protected]