Chris Christie stares into camera and tells Trump: ‘we’re going to call you Donald DUCK’
Chris Christie became the first candidate to take the stage Wednesday night to roast Donald Trump for skipping the debate — even before Ron DeSantis launched his “missing in action” attack on his rival.
The former New Jersey governor stared straight into the camera and then punched.
“Donald, I know you’re watching. You can’t help yourself. I know you’re watching, okay?’ said Christie, a former Trump adviser who is now denouncing the former president. It was the second time he brought up Trump’s absence.
“And you’re not here tonight – not because of polls, and not because of your charges. You’re not here tonight because you’re afraid to stand on the podium and defend your record.
Chris Christie stared into the camera and told Trump ‘we’re going to call you Donald Duck’ in a direct attack on the former president
“You avoid these things. And let me tell you what’s going to happen. Keep doing that – no one here will call you Donald Trump anymore. We’re going to call you Donald Duck,” he said.
Christie’s attacks came minutes after the former president visited a non-union auto plant in Detroit and criticized President Biden for his own meeting with striking UAW workers.
“Donald Trump, he is hiding behind the walls of his golf clubs and will not show up here to answer questions that all of us… answer,” Christie said in his earlier slam.
Christie’s attacks on Trump are not new, but they did provide a slight jump for DeSantis, who in his own comments called Trump “missing in action” for skipping the televised broadcast.
Christie is at about 3 percent in national polls, but is doing better in New Hampshire, having surpassed 50 percent in several polls. He also blasted Trump for adding more than $7 trillion in new national debt during his administration.
Christie made headlines for slamming Sen. Marco Rubio on the debate stage in New Hampshire in 2016, but hasn’t had the chance to use his debate skills against Trump, who skipped the first two presidential debates.
“Donald, I know you’re watching. There’s nothing you can do about it,” Christie said.
DeSantis caught fire at the start of the second Republican presidential debate by attacking rival Donald Trump and accusing him of “missing in action.”
On a pivotal night in his race for the White House, Florida’s governor compared the former president to Joe Biden and asked why he wasn’t on stage with the rest of the candidates in California.
‘Donald Trump is missing in action. He should be on this stage tonight,” DeSantis said.
But it was a near repeat of the attacks former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie leveled against Trump just a second earlier.
But it was a near repeat of the attacks former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie leveled against Trump just a second earlier. Later in the debate, Christie took a moment directly to the camera to call out the ex-president and accuse him of being afraid to defend his own record in a debate with them.
Trump skipped the second debate – again – and instead made remarks near Detroit, Michigan, against auto industry workers who were on strike while their union negotiated terms.