Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie told Newsmax on Thursday he expects former President Donald Trump to attend the first Republican presidential primary debate Aug. 23 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Trump, the clear front-runner for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, has been coy about agreeing to share the debate stage with candidates who trail him by such large margins in the polls, including Christie.
The RealClearPolitics latest polling average shows Trump at 54.2%, followed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (15%), and multimillionaire entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy (6.1%). Christie, who has shown no love for the former president, sits seventh at 2.6%.
Trump told Newsmax on Wednesday night he will announce his decision next week.
"I think he'll be there," Christie told "Eric Bolling The Balance." "He will show up because he likes that situation. He loves being center-stage and having the spotlight on him, and he'll have it on him, and I think he will be there to talk about the issues.
"He owes it to the voters of the Republican Party. He owes it to people to go in there and earn the nomination. Nobody gets it given to them."
Christie said it would be much more trouble for Trump if he did not show up.
"The risk is that the voters will look at him and say, 'Why won't you show up? Do you not respect us? Do you not believe you have to earn it?'" Christie said. "It's always a risk not to show up."
Christie said despite Trump's healthy lead in the polls, "There haven't been any votes yet. And these polls are just a snapshot at the moment."
Eight candidates, including Trump, DeSantis, Ramaswamy and Christie, have met Republican National Committee criteria to qualify for the first debate. Christie said if Trump doesn't attend, "I suspect there'll be seven of us up there, and we'll discuss the issues that the voters of our party care about, and I'm sure his name will come up.
"I doubt that I'll miss an opportunity to bring his name up, especially if he decides to chicken out and not show up," Christie said.
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Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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