Chris Christie claims the real reason Donald Trump is threatening to skip the 2024 Republican presidential primary debates is because he’s “afraid.”
Trump hinted at the prospect of forgoing the debates on his Truth Social media platform.
“When you’re leading by seemingly insurmountable numbers, and you have hostile Networks with angry, TRUMP & MAGA hating anchors asking the ‘questions,’ why subject yourself to being libeled and abused?” he wrote.
The New York Times cited several sources indicating he is likely to avoid at least one of the first two debates because he’s “up by too many points.”
Make sure and check out my interview with @kylenabecker for @TPInsidr where we discuss if Fox News self destructed by firing Tucker, If 24 hour Cable News has outlived it's usefulness, What Trump gains by skipping the debates and much more. https://t.co/JCml1Ud85Q pic.twitter.com/MpQ0iHTaZo
— Brett R. Smith (@BrettRSmith76) May 3, 2023
Chris Christie, who himself is considering a presidential run, believes there is a different reason Trump is looking to avoid the debates.
Conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt recently interviewed Christie and pointed out that Trump has a point in that, why mess with such a huge lead in most polls?
“Because this is about letting the American people decide who’s best prepared to be president,” the former New Jersey governor insisted.
“This is not running for student body president. And if he really cares about the country, and I have deep questions about that … then he’s going to get up there, and he shouldn’t be afraid.”
Christie to Hewitt on Trump suggesting he won’t debate in the first few GOP debates: pic.twitter.com/oEkqE82Jkb
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) May 3, 2023
Christie, who definitely isn’t afraid of “Beach Closed” signs, reiterated the suggestion that Trump is a coward.
“I’m sorry to see that Donald Trump feels like if he gets on the stage, he’s at risk of losing his lead,” he added. “But obviously, he’s afraid.”
In fact, Christie felt as if he had stumbled upon such a perfect taunt for the former President that he used the word ‘afraid’ seven times in his response.
Keep in mind, the man Christie is referring to is probably the man who most relishes clashes with others. Or was Christie not paying attention to the debates in 2016 and 2020?
Debates that Trump relished so much, at least two lasting nicknames came out of them: Lil’ Marco Rubio, and Low Energy Jeb Bush.
If Trump skips a debate as frontrunner, that sets the perception of the candidates who participate as the '2nd tier'
— Jack Poso 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) May 2, 2023
Chris Christie calling anybody else ‘afraid’ is utterly hilarious. He is well known for having been terrified of former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.
He was consistently rumored to have held unwritten truces between him and Cuomo for their mutual political benefit. Because he didn’t want Cuomo talking about Bridgegate.
And as chairman of the Republican Governors Association in 2014, Christie refused to back GOP gubernatorial candidate Rob Astorino, prompting writer Bill Kristol to ask, “Is Christie intimidated by Cuomo?”
Astorino lost by 14 points, which is a relatively close margin in New York, especially considering the RGA refused to invest in his campaign.
Trump hammered Christie a few months ago after he claimed the former President couldn’t beat Biden. Trump referred to him as “sloppy” and the “failed former Governor of New Jersey.”
President Trump SAVAGES Chris Christie, whom he chose to hire as head of his transition planning team, and Chris Wray, whom he chose to hire as FBI director.
President Trump concludes by saying that he never wanted to hire the people that he hired. pic.twitter.com/9jr0zjaZLC
— Whistleblower Max (@MaxNordau) February 5, 2023
Christie was one of Trump’s earliest supporters in the 2016 campaign, serving as an attack dog to help take down Marco Rubio during the debates.
And few remember that Christie was actually Trump’s first choice for Vice President in 2016, prior to being convinced otherwise by his inner circle.
In his interview with Hewitt, Christie said he would make a decision on his own potential campaign for President in the next two weeks.
via magatribute
