Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) called former President Trump as “Putin’s puppet” in a series of tweets Wednesday, slamming Trump’s comments on the Russia-Ukraine war during a town hall on CNN.
Trump claimed during the town hall that he would resolve the conflict between the countries in “24 hours” but evaded answering when host Kaitlan Collins asked whether he wanted Ukraine or Russia to win the war.
“I don’t think in terms of winning and losing,” Trump said. “I think in terms of getting it settled so we stop killing all these people… I want everybody to stop dying… Russians and Ukrainians.”
Christie, who has turned into a frequent Trump critic, said on Twitter that the former president was the “puppet” of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“Donald Trump refused to say tonight that he wanted Ukraine to win the war with Russia,” Christie said. “More proof that he continues to be Putin’s puppet.”
The conflict in Eastern Europe has become a dividing point amongst Republicans, as some continue to push for U.S. support of Ukraine while others have taken issue with the amount of money that the federal government has spent on the conflict.
Trump was asked whether he would continue to give weapons and funding to Ukraine, a question he also refused to answer.
“If I’m president, I will have that war settled in one day,” Trump said in response.
Christie jabbed at that claim in a different tweet.
“Despite how ridiculous that is to say, I suspect he would try to do it by turning Ukraine over to Putin and Russia,” Christie said.
Christie, who endorsed Trump in 2016 after briefly challenging him for the nomination, has transformed into an anti-Trump Republican. He is considering jumping into the 2024 Republican primary, a decision he said he will make in the coming weeks.