Chris Christie fires back at Donald Trump as the Republican race heats up in New Hampshire

“If he had any guts, he’d get on the debate stage,” Christie said, adding that the former president was hiding behind his “failed” Truth Social site.

In a series of Truth Social posts that went up late Wednesday, Trump accused Christie of being a “grifter” and pointed to issues with his tenure as New Jersey governor, noting Christie’s low approval rating at the end of his two terms. Trump’s posts also included the now-infamous pictures of Christie sitting at a New Jersey beach in 2017 during a time when such spaces were closed due to the state’s government shutdown.

Christie has generally trailed in the 2024 presidential polling, but has been making a strong effort to establish himself in New Hampshire, a key early state.

According to a recent CNN/University of New Hampshire poll, Trump still leads in the state by a wide margin (39%), but Christie (11%) is essentially in a four-way tie with tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy (13%), former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (12%) and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (10%) for second place. DeSantis had been considered Trump’s closest rival in the state, but he’s seen his poll numbers drop considerably of late.

Christie said on CNN that his rise in New Hampshire has likely prompted Trump’s recent accusations.

“He has stopped attacking Ron DeSantis and he started attacking me,” Christie said.

Christie also jokingly questioned if Trump’s late-Wednesday Truth Social posts were a result of indigestion.

“Maybe he had some bad Chinese food or something,” Christie said.