Primaries heat up, Christie to Trump: "Say it to my face"

The confrontation between Donald Trump and Chris Christie is experiencing a new escalation after the former governor of New Jersey responded to the former president's jokes about his weight at a rally in New Hampshire. Christie invited Trump, "if [he] had the guts," to "say it to my face" at the GOP debate. The former president joked that one of his supporters called his rival a "fat pig."

Christie, to Trump: "If you had the guts"

The events that sparked this latest controversy occurred during a Trump campaign rally in Windham, N.H., on Aug. 8. At one point, the former president addressed the audience saying that "Christie, he's eating right now, he can't be bothered," prompting laughter and comments from his supporters. Trump then pointed to one of the attendees, and addressed him saying: "Sir, please don't call him a fat pig. That is very disrespectful. I'm trying to be nice. Don't call him a fat pig. You can't do that."

Christie quickly responded to Trump's words, saying that "if you had the guts, you would show up to the debate and say it to my face." The following day, far from calming down, Christie continued his challenges to the former president on social media, using screenshots of Trump's posts on Truth Social and accusing him of being a coward. The former governor of New Jersey insisted on demanding Trump's presence in the first debate of the Republican Party candidates, something that Trump has yet to decide.

"I'll be in Milwaukee if Trump's got something to say"

Just in case, in a new tweet calling for a face-to-face with his arch nemesis, Christie told the former president that he will be at the GOP debate in Milwaukee "if Trump's got something to say."

The former president has not mentioned Christie again in his posts.