Trump mocks Chris Christie's weight: 'Don't call him a fat pig'
JONATHAN ALLEN
Updated August 8, 2023 at 4:40 PM
MANCHESTER, N.H. — Former President Donald Trump mocked Chris Christie, one of his rivals for the Republican presidential nomination, over eating habits and weight Tuesday.
"Don't call him a fat pig," Trump playfully admonished an audience member who shouted out during a speech at a high school gym in Windham, N.H. "You can't do that."
Trump was apprising the audience of recent polls that show him leading when he first mentioned the former New Jersey governor, who was once one a close adviser.
"Christie, he’s eating right now," Trump said. "He can’t be bothered.”
That's when a man in the crowd shouted out to prod Trump.
“Sir, please do not call him a fat pig. I’m trying to be nice. Don’t call him a fat pig," Trump said. "You can’t do that.”
Christie, who pulled into a tie for second place in the state with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in a New Hampshire Journal poll released Tuesday, has been a sharp critic of Trump.
In a full-page ad in the Union Leader Tuesday, a super PAC supporting Christie accused Trump of being "afraid to debate" because the former president has not committed to competing in the first GOP debate in Milwaukee later this month.
Republican presidential candidate former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie lays flowers at the Wall of Remembrance to pay tribute to killed Ukrainian soldiers in Kyiv on Aug. 4, 2023. (Efrem Lukatsky / AP)
Christie aides did not reply to a request for comment about Trump's remarks. The former governor was due to campaign in the state Tuesday and Wednesday.
But in an interview on Fox News in June, Christie addressed Trump's previous comments about his weight with a quip.
"Oh, like he's some Adonis?" Christie said.
During Monday's rally in a gym that lacked air conditioning, Trump repeated his lie that the 2020 election was "rigged" and "stolen."
He also called the indictments against him — in New York, Florida and Washington, D.C. — "bulls---."
That prompted the supportive crowd to begin chanting the word.
Trump said that he was limited in his ability to campaign because he has had to sit in courtrooms. He faces federal charges related to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election and his retention of classified documents after he left the White House.
Image: Former President Donald Trump on stage before delivering remarks at Windham High School on Aug. 8, 2023 in Windham, N.H. (Scott Eisen / Getty Images)
In state court in New York, he has been charged with crimes related to his payment of hush money to Stormy Daniels, a pornographic-film actress and director whom he denies having had sex with.
Trump also addressed the federal government's request for a protective order from the judge in the 2020 election case. Prosecutors last week asked U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan to issue an order preventing Trump from publicizing material provided to his defense team through the legal process of discovery.
He said Tuesday that the government is "taking away my first amendment right." His lawyers have asked the judge to issue a less-restrictive protective order than the one proposed by the government.
