As the second presidential debate struggles to build on the success of the first, Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie is claiming former President Donald Trump, who leads in polling by a wide margin, is scared of the competition.
"He wants to end these things for purely selfish reasons because he doesn't want to give exposure to the candidates who are challenging him out there," Christie, the former New Jersey governor, told CNN Friday.
Trump chose to skip the first two primary debates, and it appears he will do so again for the third, according to The Hill.
"He has no validity to the point he's making. He's ducking these debates," Christie said. "It's wrong, and it's disrespectful to Republican voters. And that's why I'm going to continue to push for these debates to go forward."
One key focus of Christie's ire stems from his argument that national polls do not provide a comprehensive view of the primary campaign.
"I know all the media organizations pay for these national polls, and they are a monumental waste of time and money. We don't have a national primary."
Christie expressed disappointment that few other candidates criticized Trump for his absence.
"I don't understand what they're doing because if you want to go [win], you have to go beat him," Christie said.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, often viewed as Trump's primary competition in the 2024 race, and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, have also voiced their concerns over Trump's decision to abstain from the debates.
"Donald Trump is missing in action," DeSantis said during the second GOP debate in California, asserting the need for Trump's presence on the stage.
In a similar vein, Haley, in an interview with Fox News, said, "You can't win if you're absent. I think that, you know, he's got a lot of questions to answer to."
The next GOP primary debate is scheduled for Nov. 8 in Miami.
Nick Koutsobinas ✉
Nick Koutsobinas, a Newsmax writer, has years of news reporting experience. A graduate from Missouri State University’s philosophy program, he focuses on exposing corruption and censorship.
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