Topline
Former President Donald Trump and his allies are insulting his ex-friend-turned-2024 presidential rival Chris Christie with jabs about the former New Jersey governor’s weight—after Christie launched his campaign for the GOP nomination with a barrage of attacks on Trump, setting himself apart from a candidate field that has largely shied away from rebuking the GOP frontrunner.
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie speaks at a town-hall-style event at the New Hampshire … [+]
Key Facts
Trump reposted a video to his Truth Social account on Tuesday of Christie delivering his campaign announcement speech from New Hampshire, edited to show the former New Jersey governor at a buffet and holding a plate of food.
In the post, Trump asked “how many times did Chris Christie use the word SMALL? Does he have a psychological problem with SIZE?” a reference to Christie’s speech in which he spoke about “leaders who have led us to being small . . . by their example” and “the way they conduct themselves.”
Donald Trump Jr. also took a jab at Christie’s weight, tweeting a photo of the Krispy Kreme Doughnuts logo edited to say “Chris Krispie,” which Trump Jr. captioned “New Chris Christie for President logo just dropped.”
The MAGA Inc. super PAC backing Trump also made a veiled reference to Christie’s stature in a statement from spokesperson Karoline Leavitt that said he “will waste no time eating [Florida Gov. Ron] DeSantis’ lunch.”
Key Background
Christie, who broke his decades-long alliance with Trump when the former president contested the results of the 2020 election, announced his second run for the White House on Tuesday, hours after filing Federal Election Commission paperwork declaring his candidacy. In his announcement speech, Christie rebuked Trump as a “bitter, angry . . . lonely, self-consumed, self-serving mirror hog” and compared him to “Voldemort,” the villain from the Harry Potter series. Christie, who is polling at around 1% in hypothetical GOP primary matchups, has cast himself as the only candidate who is willing to combat Trump head-on. Others in the field have largely shied away from criticizing the former president out of what politicos observe is a fear of deterring voters who are still loyal to Trump. Christie has addressed concerns about his weight in the past, telling ABC News’ Barbara Walters in a 2012 interview that suggestions his size and health disqualify him from being president are “ridiculous. I don’t know what the basis for that is,” while acknowledging he was “more than a little” overweight.
Tangent
In addition to Christie, former Vice President Mike Pence and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum also announced they are challenging Trump for the GOP’s 2024 nomination. Trump’s campaign reportedly views the growing candidate field as a boon to Trump and competition for DeSantis.
Further Reading
Trump Responds to Chris Christie Attacks With … Fat Jokes (Rolling Stone)
Mike Pence Calls For ‘Different Leadership’ In Presidential Campaign Launch: Here’s The Full 2024 GOP List (Forbes)
Chris Christie Applauded For Trump Digs—Here Are The Other GOP Leaders Who Have Strayed From Trump After Midterm Losses (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2023/06/07/trump-and-allies-ridicule-chris-christies-weight-as-he-launches-2024-campaign/