Chris Christie knocks Trump for refusal to participate in primary debates

David Zimmermann

June 22, 01:03 PM June 22, 01:21 PM

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Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie criticized former President Donald Trump’s refusal to participate in the GOP primary debates for the 2024 presidential election.

Christie called Trump’s refusal to debate other contenders “not fair to the Republican Party voters” and plainly “disrespectful” during an interview with Fox and Friends host Brian Kilmeade on Thursday.

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“The guy who wants to be the president of the United States, the guy who says he’s the toughest person to lead this country, doesn’t want to get up in front of Republican primary voters and defend his record and make a case for the future of America,” Christie said.

Christie’s comments come after Trump’s interview with Fox News’s Bret Baier earlier this week, in which the former president said he doesn’t “think it’s fair” to debate against Republican candidates who have low polling numbers.

“Every Republican primary voter should have the opportunity to see all those people who qualified up on the stage, debating with each other,” Christie said.

Christie later took to Twitter to attack Trump over his refusal to participate, calling on Trump to “get in the ring.”

“Crybabies and losers say life isn’t fair,” wrote Christie. “Trump is both. Want to be President? Then get in the ring pal.”

Trump holds a significant lead of 47% over the other GOP primary candidates, with Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) at 26% and former Vice President Mike Pence at 9%, per the most recent Fox News poll shown earlier in Thursday’s interview. Christie is 3% ahead of entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson.

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The first GOP presidential primary debate, to be hosted by Fox News, is set for Aug. 23 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Christie has yet to qualify for the debate.

Former Texas Republican Rep. Will Hurd launched his 2024 presidential bid on Thursday morning.