He continued the pre-planned quip with: “If you keep doing that, no one up here is going to call you Donald Trump anymore. They’re gonna call you Donald Duck.”
The joke fell flat. Trump told Fox News afterwards, “anybody that would come up with that nickname shouldn’t be running for president.”
Still, the former president, who’s known for giving his opponents creative nicknames, “knows what I said is true,” Christie said Thursday. “That’s why he spent most of his time last night in the debate reacting to the stuff I said and attacking me.”
As the GOP presidential frontrunner, Trump has strayed from participating in both debates with his opponents. Christie, who trails far behind in the polls, again called for him to appear on stage.
“What he should be doing is getting out on the debate stage and defending his record,” he said.
And when asked if it’s true that Christie, Trump’s former ally-turned-outspoken critic, wouldn’t accept an offer to be his vice president, the former New Jersey governor had a simple response: “No chance.”