Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R), who announced his 2024 presidential bid Tuesday, called former President Trump a “spoiled baby” in response to a video Trump posted mocking Christie for his weight.
“When I saw it, Jake,” Christie said in an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper, “it just renewed in my own mind what a child he is. He’s a baby.”
“Whenever you want to criticize him in any way, that’s the way he responds. And you and I are both lucky enough to be parents. And if we had a child who conducted themselves like that, we’d send them to their room, not to the White House,” Christie continued during an appearance on “The Lead.”
“It’s so childish. It’s so juvenile. He is such a spoiled baby,” he said. “Beyond that, what can you even say about something like that, that’s that ridiculous?
The video, posted by Trump on Truth Social on Tuesday, is a 15-second clip of Christie, taken out of context, in which the former governor makes a reference to size. The clip has been digitally altered to include a background of trays of food, as well as a plate in Christie’s hand.
Along with the video, Trump blasted Christie’s speech launching his 2024 campaign, writing, “How many times did Chris Christie use the word SMALL? Does he have a psychological problem with SIZE? Actually, his speech was SMALL, and not very good. It rambled all over the place, and nobody had a clue of what he was talking about. Hard to watch, boring, but that’s what you get from a failed Governor (New Jersey) who left office with a 7% approval rating and then got run out of New Hampshire. This time, it won’t be any different!”
Christie, formerly a close Trump ally, has positioned himself as Trump’s chief antagonist in the presidential race and is not mincing words in criticizing the former president.
In the interview Wednesday, Christie said, “if we want to break news here today, I have struggled with my weight for about 20 years, like tens of millions of Americans.”