GOP presidential candidate Chris Christie went after former President Trump for suggesting the Republican National Committee (RNC) nix remaining primary debates, claiming Trump is scared of the competition.
“He wants to end these things for purely selfish reasons because he doesn’t want to give exposure to the candidates who are challenging him out there,” Christie, the former governor of New Jersey, said in a CNN interview Friday.
Trump chose to skip the first two primary debates and will likely skip the third, arguing that they are not necessary given his large polling lead. Christie has repeatedly called out Trump’s lack of attendance.
“He has no legitimacy to his point he is making.” Christie said that Trump was ducking the debates. It’s wrong, and it’s disrespectful of Republican voters. That’s why I will continue to push these debates forward.” “We don’t have a primary.” To the former governor’s disappointment, only a few candidates made jabs at Trump. Few other candidates made jabs at Trump, to the former governor’s disappointment.
“I don’t understand what they’re doing, because if you want to go beat, you have to go beat him,” he said.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis — seen as Trump’s closest competition in the 2024 race — and former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley also criticized the former president for his decision.
“Donald Trump is missing in action,” DeSantis said Wednesday during the second GOP debate in California. He should be here tonight. Haley told Fox News in an interview on Thursday that “you can’t win by being absent.” The next GOP primary debate will take place in Miami on Nov. 8. Christie does not believe that the Republican leadership is going to get rid of debates anytime soon. “