Chris Christie fired back at Donald Trump after the former president taunted Christie about being overweight during a campaign event in New Hampshire.
Trump told a New Hampshire crowd, “Christie, he’s eating right now. He can’t be bothered.” He chided someone in the audience who apparently called Christie a “fat pig,” saying, “Sir, please do not call him a fat pig, that’s very disres–, don’t call him. See, I’m trying to be nice. Don’t call him a ‘fat pig.’ You can’t do it. You can’t do that. So, now because you’re not allowed to do that and therefore we’re not going to do it, okay? We want to be very civil, right?”
TRUMP: "Christie is eating right now, he can’t be bothered.." pic.twitter.com/6C9vEdrZ9V
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) August 8, 2023
Christie, referencing the fact that Trump has said he might skip the initial Republican presidential debate, responded, “If you had the guts you would show up to the debate and say it to my face.”
If you had the guts you would show up to the debate and say it to my face. pic.twitter.com/Zyuh6GVgVh
— Chris Christie (@GovChristie) August 9, 2023
Last month Christie reacted to Trump mocking his weight, pointing out he was not the only American who was overweight.
“As you know, there are tens of millions of Americans out there who struggle each and every day with their weight. And I’m one of them,” Christie said. “And I’ve been on all kinds of diets. I’ve had surgery and I’ve done much better than I did when I was governor. I lost a lot of weight when I was governor and I’ve kept most of that weight off, but I still have a lot more to go. I just look at him and think what a child, how small he is to be doing things like that.”
“Maybe he should look in the mirror, cause this guy ain’t Arnold Schwarzenegger,” he continued. “Okay. I’ve seen some of those pictures of him golfing. He doesn’t look like a Greek god to me.”
Christie has been targeting Trump this summer; in mid-July, Christie was asked by CNN’s “State of the Union” host Jake Tapper about Trump telling his supporters that he was “being indicted” for them, “Better me than you, right?”
“He’s a liar and a coward,” Christie said. “He’s not getting indicted for anyone other than because of his own conduct. There’s no other of the 200 million Americans he spoke about who illegally retained classified national secrets after being asked politely, quietly, and professionally for 18 months to voluntarily turn them back over after he left the White House.”
During the 2016 presidential race, Christie and Trump traded barbs publicly until Christie “shocked” political insiders by abruptly reversing course and endorsing Trump in February after Trump won a series of initial primaries. That same week, the two made headlines when Christie endorsed Trump at a rally in Arkansas and Trump promptly told him to “Get on the plane and go home.”
Related: Trump Torches Chris Christie While Campaigning In New Hampshire