Trump rips 2024 challengers: ‘Christie dead as his stomach band’

Former President Trump ripped some of his challengers for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination Thursday, as he continues to enjoy a wide polling lead over the crowded field.

“Vivek Ramaswamy is now beating DeSanctimonious,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. “Christie dead as his stomach band. ‘Aida’ Hutchinson a solid minus 1%. I’m up 44 points!!! MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN.”

Trump did not cite a specific poll, but a Kaplan Strategies poll released Thursday showed the former president leading with 48 percent support among likely Republican voters, and conservative entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy tied with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for second place, with 12 percent support.

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie garnered 5 percent support in the poll, alongside South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott and former Vice President Mike Pence, while former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley received 3 percent and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson came in at 1 percent.

Trump has repeatedly mocked Christie for his weight, with Christie firing back last month: “Oh, like he’s some Adonis?”

“Here’s my message to him,” Christie told Fox News’s Howard Kurtz. “I don’t care what he says about me, and I don’t care what he thinks about me. And he should take a look in the mirror every once in a while. Maybe he dropped the weight thing off of his list of criticisms.”

While DeSantis has struggled to make up ground on Trump since launching his campaign in May, he maintains a sizable lead over the other Republican challengers.

A polling average from FiveThirtyEight shows the Florida governor with an average of 20 percent support, followed by Pence with almost 7 percent and Ramaswamy with almost 6 percent.