Carly Fiorina was always going to win last night's debate, griped rival Scott Walker, whose own performance at last night's Republican debate was panned by political pundits.

'I think going in, we knew the narrative, no matter what was going to happen, was that they were going to say Carly had a big night, no matter what, and obviously they said that,' Walker said Thursday on Glenn Beck's radio show, blaming the political media for making the call and crowning Fiorina the winner.

While the Wisconsin governor had once been considered a top-tier GOP pick, Fiorina was among the pack's longshots, though has been surging in the polls in recent weeks.

FRENEMIES? Scott Walker (left) said 'no matter what' Carly Fiorina was going to be declared the GOP debate's winner by the political media

Carly Fiorina almost wasn't allowed at the primetime Republican debate because of the way CNN's eligibility rules were structured, but the network changed them allowing the former CEO to play

So much, in fact, that the original debate rules would have kept Fiorina off stage, as CNN was averaging polls taken before the first debate, when she was relatively unknown, and up until the second to establish eligibility.

However, as the network explained, not enough polls were taken between the two debates and so Fiorina's bounce – inspired by her 'win' at the first kids' table debate – wouldn't be enough to propel her onto the big kids' stage.

Fiorina's campaign complained and even had supporters sign a petition, and so CNN changed the rules, allowing the inclusion of the former Hewlett-Packard as debate participant No. 11.

The only female Republican candidate provided some of the biggest moments of the night.

She ripped Planned Parenthood, gave her plan for Iran, talked about her step-daughter's death from drug addiction, in one of the debate's more somber moments, and gave a blank-faced stare to Donald Trump when he complimented her looks.

In the spin room, Scott Walker hung around and talked to reporters, saying again that the country didn't need an 'apprentice' in the White House

Overall she got 13 minutes and 30 seconds of air time, according to NPR, while Walker only received eight minutes and 29 seconds.

His most memorable zinger was aimed at the Donald.

'We don't need an "Apprentice" in the White House,' Walker said, referring to Donald Trump's former TV show. 'We have one right now.'

After the debate, Walker headed to the spin room and gave reporters the same line several times.

'I hope people see the clear contrast and that is, I pointed out if you want an apprentice, we had a mistake with an apprentice back in 2008, somebody who didn't know what they were doing,' Walker told reporters.

Asked if he was bummed about the amount of time he was given, Walker shrugged.

'It's not just the time you get, it's what you do with it,' he said.