Chris Christie says Donald Trump’s ego won’t let him skip debates and naysayers need to stop siding with the Republican frontrunner and start bashing the former president
- “His ego won’t allow him not to be on this stage,” Chris Christie said on Sunday.
- The former New Jersey governor also had advice for Trump opponents
- ‘You can’t beat Donald Trump playing pool,’ he told ABC’s ‘This Week’
Former New Jersey Governor and possible 2024 nominee Chris Christie said Sunday he doesn’t believe Donald Trump will follow through on his threat to avoid the GOP debates.
“His ego won’t allow him not to be on this stage,” he said.
Trump is the clear favorite in the race for the nomination and has said there will be no advantage in participating.
He filed similar complaints in 2016 and 2020 and skipped the final GOP debate before the Iowa caucuses in his first run.
Two Republican presidential debates are scheduled for this year, the first in Milwaukee in August
Former New Jersey Governor and possible 2024 nominee Chris Christie said Sunday he doesn’t believe Donald Trump will follow through on his threat to avoid GOP debates
Christie and Trump in happier times. Christie groomed Trump for debates in 2016 and 2020. He debated against him in 2016 before dropping out and giving his support to Trump’s campaign.
“I see everyone talking about the Republican debates, but no one got my approval, or the approval of the Trump campaign, before announcing them,” Trump said in a recent post on his Truth Social platform.
He said his polls were so high he didn’t need to worry about it.
“When you’re leading by seemingly insurmountable numbers and have hostile networks with angry TRUMP & MAGA hate anchors asking the ‘questions,’ why subject yourself to defamation and abuse?”
This is nonsense, Christie said during an appearance on ABC’s “This Week.”
“I can tell you this for being the guy who set him up for debates in 16 and 20,” he said.
“He thinks he’ll win every debate he’s in and that part of his ego will keep him from jumping.”
Christie brushed off questions from other panelists about when or if he would announce a race, but he had harsh words for the other candidates.
“They’re getting a little closer to him,” he said. They hope he implodes, and that if they’re nice to him, they’ll inherit his voters.
“It all sounds like the political science class theory they’re engaged in, which I think is a losing proposition for any of these candidates.”
Christie helped end Senator Marco Rubio’s campaign in 2016 on a debate stage in New Hampshire. They also appeared in South Carolina (shown here)
He suggested that they should face it head-on, accepting the risk that entailed.
“You can’t beat Donald Trump by playing pool and hitting him on three cushions and hoping he goes in. If he goes in the hole,” he said.
“That’s not how it works.”
Trump’s reluctance to join GOP debates has sparked speculation that he may appear with Tucker Carlson, the former Fox News anchor.
“He could go straight to the candidates, broadcast it live, invite the networks but still be in control of the process,” a source said. The Washington Posted recently.
