Chris Christie Claps Back at 'Spoiled Baby' Trump

Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie snapped back at the digs from former President Donald Trump regarding his weight, telling CNN that the ex-president conducts himself like a "child."

Trump had a list of insults for Christie after the former governor announced his 2024 presidential bid Tuesday night. Both men, who were once allies, will be fighting amongst a crowded candidate pool for the next GOP nomination.

Among the former president's attacks posted to his Truth Social account were about Christie's weight, including a video of the former governor that had been edited in front of a buffet and made to look like Christie was holding a plate full of food.

Christie spoke about Trump's insults with CNN's Jake Tapper the following day, telling the host that the mocking "just renewed in my own mind, 'what a child.'"

"Whenever you want to criticize him, in any way, that's the way he responds," Christie told Tapper. "And you and I are both lucky enough to be parents. And if we had a child who conducted themselves like that, we send them to their room, not to the White House."

During his town hall, Christie blamed Trump for making the country "smaller by dividing us" and warned that the U.S. was "getting smaller in every way." He also took his own dig at the former president, saying Trump is "obsessed with the mirror."

"I think character is destiny for this country, and we've got to make a decision about what the character of the person should be who sits behind the desk in the Oval Office," Christie continued in his interview Wednesday. "And if they're going to do that kind of stuff. I mean, it ... it's so childish. It's so juvenile. He is such a spoiled baby."

Newsweek has reached out to Trump's press team for comment.

When a spoiled baby misbehaves, you send them to their room, not the White House. At his advanced age, it is time to give up hope that Trump will ever grow up. We need a leader, not a child. pic.twitter.com/IayYMRSujI

Christie, who reposted a clip of the interview on his own Twitter account Wednesday, also wrote in a following tweet, "Breaking news ... I have struggled with my weight for 20 years. What I haven't struggled with is my character. I'll put that up against Donald Trump's any day."

Trump has a history of attacking his critics for their weight, despite the fact that physical exams have found that the former president is obese himself. He also has used his Truth Social account to relentlessly dig into other GOP candidates ahead of the 2024 election, such as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, whom Trump has mockingly nicknamed "DeSanctimonious."

Christie previously ran in the 2016 GOP primaries, but later gave his endorsement to Trump after dropping out of the race. Prior to announcing his 2024 bid on Tuesday, the former governor held around 1 percent of support from Republican voters, according to polling conducted by Echelon Insights in May.

Trump has stayed consistently high in preliminary polls ahead of the crowded GOP primary lineup. In the same Echelon Insights survey, 49 percent of voters said they'd support the former president, with DeSantis earning the second-highest approval rating at 19 percent.