Christie dismisses boos at debate, saying ‘not every Republican primary voter’ was there

Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie dismissed the boos he received at the first GOP debate Wednesday night.

Asked on “CNN This Morning” why he received boos after his criticism of former President Trump, Christie said, “Well, because not every Republican primary voter in America was in the arena.” 

“And because you can’t be looking to play to the grandstands,” he added.

Christie did not raise his hand when asked whether he would still support Trump as the Republican nominee despite his legal troubles. Instead, the former New Jersey governor criticized Trumps’s conduct, prompting boos from the audience. 

He defended his comments at the debate, however, calling out other candidates for their lack of pushback against Trump — who has received four criminal indictments since April. Christie has made attacks on the former president a large focus of his presidential campaign.

“If you’re not going to talk about that, then then then why bother running?” Christie said. “You should just cede the race to Donald Trump, which is what a lot of those people did on the stage last night.”

“Am I out after Trump? I am out to beat Donald Trump,” Christie continued. “And because I think he deserves to be beaten.”

Trump, who did not attend the debate, instead sat for an interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, where he went after Christie for his attacks. 

“He runs solely on the basis of, ‘Let’s get Trump,’” Trump said. “He’s like a savage maniac. He’s like a lunatic. And that’s all he talks about.”