Christie vows to 'follow' Trump if he skips the next GOP debates: 'Wherever he goes, I’ll go'
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie vowed that if former President Donald Trump does not participate in future Republican debates, he’ll change his campaign schedule in an effort to set up his own faceoff with the former president.
Christie, Trump’s most vocal critic in the crowded field of Republican presidential hopefuls, has long criticized the former president’s refusal to attend GOP primary debates. Trump skipped the first Republican debate last month, and he is not expected to show up at the second debate later this month at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute in Simi Valley, California.
“Did Trump diffuse your strategy of going toe-to-toe with him by staying off the debate stage?” Fox News’ “MediaBuzz” host Howard Kurtz asked Christie in an interview that aired Sunday.
“I’m sure he’s not coming to the Reagan debate. We’ll give him another chance in Alabama,” Christie said, referencing the yet-to-be scheduled third GOP debate expected later this year.
“But if he doesn’t come there, then I’m going to follow him around the country,” Christie said. “Wherever he goes, I’ll go. And we’ll wind up talking to each other one way or another.”
Kurtz asked the former New Jersey governor whether he would change his presidential campaign's schedule “to go where Trump goes, just so I’m clear.”
“You bet,” Christie replied.
Christie has long criticized Trump for skipping and threatening to skip the Republican events, calling him a crybaby, loser and other taunts. The former president has defended the choice, saying he’s so far ahead in Republican polls that he doesn’t want to give rivals a free chance to take shots at him in person.