New Jersey Governor Chris Christie criticized fellow Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump for skipping the Fox News debate on Thursday.
“I think Donald Trump is making a big mistake,” Christie said in an interview on Boston Herald Radio. “I am glad he is not coming from my perspective, it’s more time for the rest of us on the stage,” he added.
Christie suggested that Trump’s decision would turn off undecided voters in Iowa and elsewhere by refusing to debate.
“America wants a fighter who is not going to walk away from a fight but will walk into one,” he said. “And I think that that’s what they are going to conclude is what kind of judgement does this guy have that he’s willing to walk away. How thin skinned is he that he can’t take any criticism and how will that impact his ability to be president?”
Christie was asked to react to MSNBC’s Chris Mathews saying that no one would want to watch a Republican debate with only “two Cuban guys” on the stage – referring to candidates Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz.
“Chris Matthews says that kind of stuff all the time, and because he’s a liberal, he doesn’t get criticized,” Christie said. “I’m certain that this is not the kind of comment that helps his wife’s campaign for Congress this year as well. I’m certain he’s getting a talking to this morning from Mrs. Matthews about watching his words on television.”