- Chris Christie thinks Trump is skipping the GOP primary debates because he’s scared of him.
- Trump is averaging 52.5% support in the 2024 Republican primary, according to FiveThirtyEight.
- Christie is averaging 3.5%.
Chris Christie thinks Donald Trump is afraid of him.
“He’s scared of me,” Christie, a former New Jersey governor and current 2024 Republican presidential candidate, said of Trump’s refusal to go to the first debate, according to Politico.
The former president is currently averaging 52.5% support in the Republican primary, per FiveThirtyEight’s weighted average. Christie is averaging 3.5%.
On Sunday night, Trump made it clear he will not be attending the first GOP primary debate in Milwaukee on Wednesday. Instead, he pre-recorded an interview with the former Fox News host Tucker Carlson.
“New CBS POLL, just out, has me leading the field by ‘legendary’ numbers,” Trump wrote on Truth Social over the weekend. “The public knows who I am & what a successful Presidency I had, with Energy Independence, Strong Borders & Military, Biggest EVER Tax & Regulation Cuts, No Inflation, Strongest Economy in History, & much more.”
“I WILL THEREFORE NOT BE DOING THE DEBATES!” he added.
Christie became a close confidant to Trump after losing to him in the 2016 GOP primaries. He also helped prepare Trump for the 2020 debates against Joe Biden, and may have nearly died as a result.
The former New Jersey governor has since called Trump a “grifter” and an “ugly, divisive, horrible figure.”
Trump responded by commenting on Christie’s weight.
“Christie, he’s eating right now, he can’t be bothered,” Trump recently said at a New Hampshire rally.
“Don’t call him a fat pig,” the former president said when an audience member shouted out during the rally.
