President Barack Obama speaks at the Richard Rodgers Theatre in New York. AP Photo/Susan Walsh President Barack Obama gleefully pointed to the recent spate of Republican debate complaints while he spoke Monday night at a fundraiser in New York City.

At the event, Obama wondered how the GOP presidential candidates would handle foreign adversaries if they couldn't handle CNBC debate moderators.

"They say, 'Obama's weak.' ... They say, 'When I talk to Putin, he's going to straighten out,'" Obama said.

"And then it turns out they can't handle a bunch of CNBC moderators," the president added. "If you can't handle those guys, then I don't think the Chinese and the Russians are going to be too worried about you."

The Republican presidential field and the Republican National Committee fiercely criticized CNBC for how it conducted itself during Wednesday night's primary debate. Among other things, they accused the moderators of asking biased questions in pursuit of a liberal agenda.

The candidates even went so far as to band together in an attempt to pressure future debate formats into being more favorable, while the RNC went as far as to suspend its coming debate with NBC News, CNBC's sister network, in retribution.

Watch Obama's remarks below: