Chris Christie calls Trump 'Donald Duck'
Chris Christie calls Trump ‘Donald Duck’ for skipping the debate and attacks Biden for ‘SLEEPING with member of the teacher’s union’ Jill in wild debate start
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- Christie told Trump: ‘I know you’re watching’
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Chris Christie mocked former president Trump as ‘Donald Duck’ for skipping the second presidential debate – then slammed President Biden for ‘sleeping with a member of the teacher’s union’
Christie was the first candidate on stage Wednesday night to roast Trump for missing the throw down in Simi Valley – even before Ron DeSantis launched his ‘missing in action’ attack on his rival.
The former New Jersey governor stared straight at the camera and then delivered the blow.
‘Donald, I know you’re watching. You can’t help yourself. I know you’re watching, okay?’ said Christie, a former Trump advisor 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 polls, and not because of your indictments. You’re not here tonight, because you’re afraid of being on the stage and defending your record.
Chris Christie stared into the camera and told Trump ‘we’re going to call you Donald Duck’ in a direct attack on the former president
Christie’s attacks came minutes after the former president visited a non-unionized auto plant in Detroit and blasted President Biden for his own meeting with striking UAW workers.
‘Donald Trump, he hides behind the walls of his golf clubs and won’t show up here to answer questions that all of us … answer,’ Christie said in his earlier slam.
Contenders’ jokes fall flat
Christie, who earned his political reputation as a brawler in New Jersey, also tore into Biden, whose wife Jill teaches at a community college and is a member of the powerful union.
‘When you have the president of the United States sleeping with a member of the teacher’s union, there is no chance that you could take the stranglehold away,’ Christie said.
Later, former Vice President Mike Pence got in on the action.
‘I’ve been sleeping with a teacher for 38 years – full disclosure,’ he quipped.
The pillow talk came days after the first lady during a Chicago speech declared: ‘My name is Jill Biden. I am the First Lady of the United States. And I’m a proud, card-carrying union member.’
The first lady is a member of the National Education Association.
She told the powerful American Federation of Teachers at their Boston convention in 2022, ‘I’ll be there beside you, every step of the way.’ Her husband joined a picket line with UAW workers Tuesday in Michigan, a day before Trump’s visit to the state.
Christie’s attacks on Trump aren’t new, but his no-show comments did get a slight jump on DeSantis, who in his own comments called Trump ‘missing in action’ for skipping the televised throw down.
Christie is down at about 3 per cent in national polls but doing better in New Hampshire, while has topped 50 per cent in multiple polls. He also blasted Trump for adding more than $7 trillion in new public debt during his administration.
Former President Donald Trump scheduled a speech in Michigan on the night of the second presidential debate. The runaway poll leader skipped the first debate in Iowa as well, instead scheduling a Twitter interview
‘When you have the president of the United States sleeping with a member of the teacher’s union, there is no chance that you could take the stranglehold away,’ Christie said, referencing first lady Jill Biden
He managed to seize the microphone during several key moments, also calling for the U.S. to confront Russia and keep backing Ukraine, warning that NATO ally Poland could be the next country to come under fire by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Christie grabbed headlines for bludgeoning Sen. Marco Rubio on the New Hampshire debate stage in 2016, but hasn’t had the chance to use his debate skills against Trump, who skipped the first two presidential debates.
DeSantis came out firing at the start of the second Republican presidential debate by attacking his rival and accusing him of being ‘missing in action’.
On a decisive night in his White House race, the Florida Governor compared the former president to Joe Biden and asked why he wasn’t on stage with the rest of the candidates in California.
Where’s Trump during the debate?
‘Where’s Joe Biden, he’s completely missing in action from leadership,’ DeSantis said when Fox and Univision co-moderators asked about the economy and prospects of a government shutdown.
‘And you know who else is missing in action?’ the governor added. ‘Donald Trump is missing in action. He should be on the stage tonight.’
‘He owes it to you to defend his record,’ he said. ‘They added. 7.8 trillion to the debt that set the stage for the inflation we have now.’
The Biden-Harris presidential campaign pushed out the DeSantis clip on the site formerly known as Twitter.
Moderators finally ask a Trump question – with a ‘Survivor’ tactic
It took until the last question of the night for moderators to get around to asking about the missing Trump, who is at 57 per cent in the RealClearPolitics average after an extraordinary summer consolidation even while racking up criminal charges.
‘I never heard of the word indictment. Now I get indicted like every three days,’ Trump quipped in Michigan before the debate got started.
Fox host and former White House Press Secretary Dana Perino asked each candidate on stage to write down which competitors they would ‘vote off the island.’
‘I think that that’s disrespectful of my fellow competitors,’ said DeSantis, who has himself seen his public support drop. His comment appeared to scuttle 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 ‘Survivor’ question, something he denied doing.
‘Look, I think I’ve been the only one on the stage has been clear about this. I’d vote Donald Trump off the island right now,’ said Christie.
‘Every person on this stage has showed respect for Republican voters,’ he continued.
‘I have respect for every man and woman on this stage,’ he said. Then he turned his commentary back to Trump.
‘This guy has not only divided our party. He’s divided families all over this country,’ Christie said.
‘I’ve spoken to people – and I know everyone else has – who have sat at Thanksgiving dinner or at a birthday party and can’t have a conversation anymore if they disagree with Donald Trump.’
‘He needs to be voted off the island and he needs to be taken out of this process,’ he said.
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