Chris Christie says ‘TV tough guy’ Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley are ‘running against each other for second place’

Image via Jesse Scheckner.

Chris Christie thinks Gov. Ron DeSantis and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley only have their eyes on the silver medal.

He believes the pair are afraid to take on Donald Trump, the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination.

And Trump, in turn, is afraid of him, he told MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell.

“Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis seem to be running against each other for second place. Good for them,” he said. “But you know, when Nikki Haley stands on the stage … and says Donald Trump was the right President for the right time — when Ron DeSantis continues to defend Donald Trump — you cannot beat someone unless you run against them.

“The only path to the Republican nomination for President is not around Donald Trump or next to Donald Trump. It is through Donald Trump. And the fact is I’m the only person who’s willing to do that. I’m the only person with the guts and the experience to be able to do it, and you and I both know why Donald Trump’s not on that debate stage. It’s because I am.”

It might also be because Trump is polling nationally at more than 59%, according to FiveThirtyEight, while DeSantis and Haley hold 14.1% and 9.4%, respectively, among likely voters.

Christie, meanwhile, sits at 2.5%.

The former New Jersey Governor also sat down Wednesday with Fox News’ John Roberts and Sandra Smith to further lambaste DeSantis as a “TV tough guy” who won’t follow through on his campaign promises.

DeSantis’ statements, he said, “are not serious” — or original.

“When you say that we’re going to shoot (drug cartel members) stone cold dead at the border, the fact is that most people know that’s not what’s going to happen,” he said. “Remember Ron DeSantis also saying he’s going to build the wall and Mexico is going to pay for it? We’ve heard that before, John.

“Are we going to be fooled a second time by people who give TV tough guy talk, but in the end don’t deliver? That’s what we’re talking about. Look, there are no more serious times that we’ve been in this country in decades. With the war in Ukraine, with the attack on Israel, we need people who are going to talk about this stuff in a serious way, make promises that can be kept based both upon what they’re saying and their history.”

Christie may have a chance to share his thoughts with DeSantis and Haley next month during a fourth Republican presidential debate, though heightened polling requirements might bar him from doing so.

The debate is set for Dec. 6 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, with Megyn Kelly, NewsNation’s Elizabeth Vargas and the Washington Free Beacon’s Eliana Johnson moderating.