Republican debate: Trump slams Chris Christie as ‘savage maniac’
Mabinty Quarshie
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Former President Donald Trump attacked one of his most virulent opponents in the Republican presidential primary race, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, during an interview with ousted Fox News host Tucker Carlson on Wednesday night.
“He runs solely on the basis of ‘Let’s get Trump. He’s like a savage maniac. He’s like a lunatic,” Trump said of Christie. “And that’s all he talks about. His poll numbers are very, very low.”
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Christie has run as one of the most vocal anti-Trump candidates in the 2024 cycle, which hasn’t helped his poll numbers, which the former president noted.
Trump told Carlson Christie polls are “very, very low,” claiming he’s at 2% in the polls. But in actuality, Christie currently has 3% support in a RealClearPolitics poll average. Trump, in comparison, polls at 55.4% ahead of all other challengers, not just the former New Jersey governor.
“I’ve been friendly with him over the years. But I couldn’t give him a job because I just never trusted him very much,” Trump said. “That’s one of the reasons he feels so hurt and so betrayed. And I understand that I really do.”
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Although Christie endorsed Trump’s 2016 presidential run, helped prep Trump during debate practices, and served as head of his transition team, Christie didn’t serve as Trump’s attorney general or vice president, jobs he had coveted. Christie wouldn’t break with Trump until after the 2020 election and the subsequent Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
Trump’s interview with Carlson aired at the same time as the Republican National Committee‘s first primary debate Wednesday night in a bid to steal attention away from his rivals in a snub to the RNC and Fox News.