Former President Donald Trump bashed fellow 2024 Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie as someone with "a lot of hatred."
Trump made the comments about Christie while also bashing him as someone he "never trusted" on America First with Sebastian Gorka on Thursday.
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"He made some recommendations that weren’t exactly great recommendations. I listened to Chris. I got along with him. He endorsed me like crazy," Trump said.
Trump then discussed Christie's 2016 presidential campaign and mentioned how Christie endorsed Trump in the 2016 GOP primary after the then-New Jersey governor dropped out.
"But I didn’t trust Chris, I never trusted him, I could never really feel like I could trust him, so I didn’t use him, so he’s got a lot of hatred. I didn’t put him in the administration — I didn’t want to, so he’s got a lot of hatred," Trump said.
The former president then said Christie was "wasting his time" and decried Christie's tenure as governor of New Jersey, noting his low approval rating when he left office in 2018. Christie had a 19% approval rating in January 2018, per a Rutgers-Eagleton poll, despite Trump claiming he had a 9% approval at the time.
"So I used to listen to Chris. He would give me advice on things, but I found it to be quite unreliable," Trump said.
Christie bashed Trump's refusal to participate in the Republican primary debates earlier Thursday on Fox News's Fox and Friends.
“The guy who wants to be the president of the United States, the guy who says he’s the toughest person to lead this country, doesn’t want to get up in front of Republican primary voters and defend his record and make a case for the future of America,” Christie said.
The former New Jersey governor later threw another jab at the former president by tweeting that "Crybabies and losers say life isn’t fair. Trump is both. Want to be President? Then get in the ring pal."
The first Republican primary debate is scheduled for Aug. 23 in Milwaukee and is set to be broadcast on Fox News.
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Trump leads the GOP presidential field, with Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) in second place, per the RealClearPolitics polling average. Christie is currently in a distant sixth place, according to the average.
Despite having a significant lead over the Republican field, recent polls have shown Trump's advantage may be beginning to fade.