Chris Christie Used The GOP Debate To Bestow Upon Trump A Kind Of Weird Nickname That’s Okay But No ‘Meatball Ron’

On Wednesday, Donald Trump spoke to auto workers at a non-union factory. Also there was another GOP debate. The former president has skipped two of the events thus far, allegedly because he’s already crushing the polls, so why waste his time? His most critical rival, Chris Christie, doesn’t think that’s the real reason. He’s called him a “coward,” but he’s also gone a step further, saying he knows he can’t defend his poor presidential record. Christie repeated those accusations during the second debate, while giving him a kind of weird nickname that might not stick.

The former New Jersey governor — who’s made torching his old pal the center focus of his campaign — spent part of the night talking about bringing “law and order back to this country.” He meant “everywhere,” including in D.C. He, of course, was referring to the guy facing 91 criminal charges.

“And Donald Trump should be here to answer for that,” Christie thundered. “But he’s not. And I want to look at that camera right now. Tell you, Donald, I know you’re watching. You can’t help yourself. I know you’re watching.”

He continued, “You’re not here tonight, not because of polls and not because of your indictments. You’re not here tonight because you’re afraid of being on the stage and defending your record,” he said. “You’re ducking these things. And let me tell you what’s going to happen. You keep doing that. No one up here is going to call you Donald Trump anymore. We’re going to call you Donald Duck.”

The line drew some gasps and some applause but also boos from a crowd that probably still thinks Trump is the bee’s knees. Was it a good nickname? Eh, maybe, maybe not. It certainly pales in comparison to some of Trump’s names for others, including one he claims he didn’t dream up and refuses to use, even though it’s one of his best, if it is his.

It wasn’t the only time Trump lit into the elephant not in the room. “You know, during the Trump administration, they added $7 trillion. Seven trillion dollars in national debt,” he railed at another point during the debate. “He should be in this room to answer those questions for the people you talk about who are suffering. And if the government closes, it is to the blame of everyone in Washington, D.C. who has failed to do their job and just plays to the grandstand.

Christie also got in a pretty good zinger about another issue Trump “failed” on as well: “He said he was going to a wall across the whole border. He built 52 miles of wall and then said Mexico would pay for it. Guess what? I think if Mexico knew he was only gonna build 52 miles, they might’ve paid for the 52 miles.”

Apart from Christie, all the other GOP candidates have been afraid to dump on Trump, or even say anything even lightly critical of him. But Ron DeSantis, who desperately needed this second debate to shine, did so…by ripping off stuff Chris Christie had said before him.

“Where’s Joe Biden? He’s completely missing in action from leadership,” DeSantis told the crowd. But he was just teeing up for a segue. “And you know who else is missing in action? Donald Trump is missing in action. He should be on this stage tonight. He owes it to you to defend his record, where they added $7.8 trillion to the debt, that set the stage for the inflation that we have.”

Well, at least two GOP candidates weren’t afraid to slam the guy who’s clobbering them all at the polls.