Joe Scarborough from MSNBC said Wednesday that Donald Trump is unlikely to participate in the initial Republican presidential debate due to his fear about facing one of his fellow contenders: Chris Christie.
During an appearance on “Morning Joe,” conservative columnist Matt Lewis suggested that Trump should use his upcoming indictment on January 6 charges as an opportunity to demonstrate strength by surrendering to Georgia authorities, as legally required, and then proceeding directly to the August 23 debate in Milwaukee.
Lewis expressed the view that if Trump were to attend the debate, it would be a significant show of strength to turn himself in before appearing. He noted that such an action would underscore Trump’s ability to handle multiple tasks simultaneously and at the same time fulfill his insatiable need for attention.
However, Scarborough offered a differing perspective, indicating that he believes the former president’s hesitation stems from concerns about Chris Christie’s participation in the debate.
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Scarborough asserted that Trump likely fears Christie’s intent to confront him during the debate and recalls the way Christie challenged Marco Rubio in a previous debate. Scarborough highlighted Christie’s history as a relentless prosecutor who successfully handled cases like that of Jared Kushner’s father. Given Christie’s aggressive approach and Trump’s past reliance on disruptive tactics, Scarborough speculated that Trump sees Christie as a formidable opponent who could potentially undermine his strategy.
Ultimately, Scarborough concluded that Trump is likely “terrified” of facing Chris Christie and lacks the courage and confidence to share the stage with him at any event.
“I do think he’s scared of Chris Christie,” Scarborough began. “He saw what Chris Christie did to Marco Rubio when Chris Christie went into a debate with one thing in mind. He knows Chris Christie put Jared Kushner’s father in jail for a very long time. He knows he’s a prosecutor who’s ruthless and knows how to push his case, and he also knows that his secret sauce in 2016 was being the disrupter, right, shaking Hillary Clinton up on the debate stage, shaking everybody else up on the debate stage.”
He added: “That gig is like eight years old, right? That’s Elvis in ’77 now, and I think Chris Christie’s got his number, and he knows, hey, Donald Trump has a gut instinct, his political gut instinct is second to none, like, he sees it coming.”
Take a look at the segment below:
