The fourth GOP presidential debate in Alabama kicked off with a distinct elephant in the room: former President Donald Trump, who is still leading every candidate and, like the previous three debates, decided to skip out.
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie came out of the gate swinging 17 minutes into the debate, attacking not just Trump, but his rival candidates for being too afraid to mention him themselves.
"I'm usually not somebody that gets missed, but okay, let's go," said Christie.
"You endorsed Donald Trump in 2016 and 2020," said moderator Megyn Kelly. "You gave him an A for his first term. Since then, however, you've turned on him, calling him a liar, a loser, a con man, and someone who cannot win. You've even said you got into this race just to stop President Trump. His approval rating is currently at 81 percent. Yours is at 25. Your best state is New Hampshire and even there, two-thirds of GOP voters would be angry and disappointed if you won. Respectfully, Governor, you have not stopped Mr. Trump, and voters may wonder how you could possibly become the nominee of a party that does not appear to like you very much."
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"Well look, Megyn, it is often very difficult to be the only person on stage who is telling the truth and the only person who is taking on what needs to be taken on," said Christie. "I look at my watch now. We're 17 minutes into this debate, and except for your little speech in the beginning, we've had these three acting as if the race is between the four of us. The fifth guy who doesn't have the guts to show up and stand here, he's the one as you just put it is way ahead in the polls. Yet I've got these three guys who are all seeming to compete with Voldemort, He Who Shall Not Be Named. They don't want to talk about it. The fact is when you go and say the truth about somebody who is a dictator, a bully, who has taken shots at everybody, whether they have given great service or not over time, who dares to disagree with him, then I understand why they're timid to say anything about it. Maybe they have future aspirations. Maybe those future aspirations are now or maybe four years from now. But the fact of the matter is the truth needs to be told."
"For us to go 17 minutes without discussing the guy with all those numbers you talked about is ridiculous," Christie continued. "I'm in this race because the truth needs to be spoken. This is a guy who said this past week he wants to use the Department of Justice to go after his enemies when he gets in there. The fact of the matter is he's unfit to be president. There's no bigger issue in this race than Donald Trump and those numbers prove it."
Later in the debate, Christie also went hard after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for refusing to answer whether or not Trump is unfit for office.
"I'm a simple guy," said Christie. "I hear the question and I answer it. Is he fit or isn't he? I'll concede you're fit, Ron. You're new generation ... is he fit or isn't he? And this is the problem with my three colleagues. they're afraid to offend."
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Chris Christie torches rivals for refusing to talk about Trumpwww.youtube.com
