Chris Christie mocked former President Trump as “Donald Duck” for skipping the second presidential debate — then criticized President Biden for “sleeping with a teacher union member.”
Christie was the first candidate on stage Wednesday night to denounce Trump for missing the throw in Simi Valley — 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 delivered the punch.
“Donald, I know you’re watching. You can’t help yourself. I know you’re watching, okay?’ said Christie, a former Trump adviser who now denounces the former president. It was the second time he brought up Trump’s absence.
“And you’re not here tonight – not because of the polls and not because of your charges.” You’re not here tonight because you’re afraid to stand on stage and defend your record.
Chris Christie stared into the camera and told Trump, “We call you Donald Duck,” in a direct attack on the former president
The Christie’s attacks came just minutes after the former president visited a non-union auto plant in Detroit and sharply criticized President Biden over his own meeting with striking UAW workers.
“Donald Trump, he’s hiding behind the walls of his golf clubs and he’s not going to show up here to answer questions that we all…answer,” Christie said in his earlier slam.
The competitors’ jokes are ineffective
Christie, who gained his political reputation as a thug in New Jersey, also went after Biden, whose wife Jill teaches at a community college and is a member of the powerful union.
“If the president of the United States sleeps with a member of the teachers’ union, there’s no chance you can take away his stranglehold,” Christie said.
Former Vice President Mike Pence later joined the campaign.
“I slept with a teacher for 38 years – full disclosure,” he quipped.
The pillow talk came days after the first lady declared during a speech in Chicago: “My name is Jill Biden.” I am the first lady of the United States. And I am a proud, volunteer union member.”
She told the powerful American Federation of Teachers at its Boston convention in 2022, “I will be with you every step of the way.” Her husband joined a strike line with UAW officials in Michigan on Tuesday, a day before Trump’s state visit. workers.
Christie’s attacks on Trump are nothing new, but his no-show comments sparked mild offense from DeSantis, who called Trump “missing in action” in his own comments for skipping the televised throw.
Christie is down about 3 percent in national polls, but is doing better in New Hampshire, while it has been above 50 percent in several polls. He also criticized Trump for accumulating more than $7 trillion in new national debt during his time in office.
Former President Donald Trump has scheduled a speech in Michigan on the evening of the second presidential debate. The runaway opinion leader also skipped the first debate in Iowa and scheduled a Twitter interview instead
“If the president of the United States sleeps with a member of the teachers’ union, there’s no chance they’ll take away his stranglehold,” Christie said, referring to first lady Jill Biden
At several crucial moments, he managed to take the microphone and call on the US to confront Russia and continue to support Ukraine. He warned that NATO ally Poland could be the next country to come under fire from Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Christie made headlines for bashing Sen. Marco Rubio on the debate stage in New Hampshire in 2016, but didn’t get a chance to use his debate skills against Trump, who skipped the first two presidential debates.
DeSantis appeared sharp at the start of the second Republican presidential debate, attacking his rival and accusing him of being “missing in action.”
On a crucial night in his White House bid, the Florida governor compared the former president to Joe Biden and asked why he wasn’t on stage with the other candidates in California.
Where is Trump during the debate?
“Where is Joe Biden? He’s completely out of control in leadership,” DeSantis said as the Fox and Univision co-hosts asked about the economy and the prospects of a government shutdown.
“And do you know who else is missing in action?” the governor added. “Donald Trump is missing in action. He should be on stage tonight.”
“He owes it to you to defend his record,” he said. they added. 7.8 trillion euros for the debt that laid the foundation for the inflation we have now.”
The Biden-Harris presidential campaign pushed out the DeSantis clip on the website formerly known as Twitter.
Moderators finally ask a Trump question — using a “Survivor” tactic
It took until the last question of the evening for the moderators to get around to asking about the missing Trump, who sits at 57 percent on the RealClearPolitics average after an extraordinary consolidation over the summer despite mounting criminal charges.
“I have never heard of the word accusation. “Now I get impeached every three days,” Trump quipped in Michigan before the debate began.
Fox host and former White House press secretary Dana Perino asked each candidate on stage to write down which competitors they would choose “off-island.”
“I think this is disrespectful to my fellow competitors,” said DeSantis, who himself has seen his public support decline. His comment seemed to derail the exercise.
That prompted Perino to ask the Florida governor about his own mathematical “path forward.”
“Polls don’t elect presidents.” “Voters do,” DeSantis shot back.
Perino then told Christie she saw him write something down in response to her “survival” question, which he denied.
“I would vote for Donald Trump off the island in a heartbeat,” Christie said.
“Everyone on that stage showed respect for Republican voters,” he continued.
“I have respect for every man and woman on this stage,” he said. He then turned his comment back to Trump.
“This guy didn’t just divide our party. “He has divided families across the country,” Christie said. He said at Thanksgiving dinner families “can no longer have a conversation” amid disagreements over Trump.
“He needs to be voted off the island and he needs to be removed from this process,” he said.