NEW YORK CITY, NEW CITY: The GOP Primary debate is only a few days away and Republican candidates are gearing up for it.
Meanwhile, former president Donald Trump faces his fourth indictment and his presence at the debate remains a question mark.
Former governor of New Jersey and Republican candidate Chris Christie appeared on ‘Morning Joe’ to discuss the GOP primary debate and has claimed that Trump is scared of him, believing that he will not show up for the debate.
After Christie’s appearance on ‘Morning Joe’ and his conversation with host Joe Scarborough, the candidate faced backlash on the internet due to his claims against Trump.
Chris Christie claims Donald Trump is ‘scared’ of him
As soon as Joe Scarborough introduced Chris Christie on ‘Morning Joe’, the very first question he asked the Republican candidate was, “Is Donald Trump scared of you?”
Christie responded, “Apparently yes, that’s all we can conclude. He apparently is very scared of me because it doesn’t look like he is going to show up on Wednesday. And given the memo I read, I don’t think he’s scared of Ron DeSantis.”
MSNBC posted a clip from the morning show, quoting Christie in the caption. They wrote, “"Show up on Wednesday night. And stop being such a coward."”
They further added in the caption, “@GovChristie tells @Morning_Joe that if Trump truly believes he should be the 2024 GOP nominee, he should show up to next week's GOP primary debate. Trump's indicated he may not attend the event.”
Scarborough also doubled down on Christie's claims, reassuring him that Trump is indeed “scared to show up on stage” and debate Christie.
Christie also said, “If he believes he is the best person to go against Joe Biden, then show up on Wednesday night, and stop being such a coward.”
While Christie and ‘Morning Joe’ host Scarborough might have been on the same page about Trump, the internet did not seem to agree.
Chris Christie faces backlash after his statement on ‘Morning Joe’
The internet mocked Chris Christie for his statement against Donald Trump. One person wrote, “Trump would crush Christie in a debate… But Christie is way behind, so why give Christie the stage?”
Another wrote, “Why would Trump debate Christie who has zero chance of winning? There is an argument to be made that Trump should debate DeSantis, maybe.”
Some have even resorted to fat-shaming the former governor as one person tweeted, “No matter how hard the left pushes Fatboy nobody is listening to him.”
Trump supporters have gathered to slam Christie as one tweeted, “Donald Trump! Donald Trump! Donald Trump! Christie would like to think Trump is scared of him so that he can feel better about himself.”
The person further added, “The honest truth is that Trump probably does not give him a second thought. Christie is no threat and not even a legitimate challenger.”
People have also pointed out Christie’s current poll numbers as he runs far behind Trump, stating, “Christie might have to buy a ticket to get in.”
People have continued to mock Christie as one person also tweeted, “Trump shouldn't waste his time with these clowns!”
