Chris Christie's 'Donald Duck' jab turns off debate viewers: 'Wincing so hard'
The former New Jersey governor attacked Donald Trump for missing the debates
Former N.J. Gov. Chris Christie discusses how he would handle the countrys crime surge and rips former President Trump's absence at the debate.
Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie’s attack against Donald Trump fell flat on social media during the Republican primary debate Wednesday.
Christie attacked the former president for once again refusing to take part in primary debates and mocked him as a coward.
"We’ve got to bring law and order back to this country and not just in our cities, but we need to bring order back everywhere. We need law and order back in our suburbs, people are threatened. We need law and order in our rural areas, people feel threatened there and we need it in Washington, D.C. also. And Donald Trump should be here to answer for that. But he’s not," Christie said.
Republican presidential candidate former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie delivers remarks during the FOX Business Republican Primary Debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library on September 27, 2023 in Simi Valley, California. (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images)
He added, "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. Okay. 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.
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"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," he closed.
The "Donald Duck" comment quickly trended online with many people mocking the "terrible punch line."
Journalist Ian Miles Cheong remarked, "How many times did Chris Christie practice his Donald Duck speech in the mirror this morning?"
The second Republican presidential debate at the Reagan Library in Simi Valley, California. (Fox News / Fox News)
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"Christie having a solid moment but ending it with his ‘Donald Duck’ line," Republican communicator Matt Whitlock commented, with a GIF of a football player fumbling at the goal line.
Combat veteran Johnny "Joey" Jones joked, "Imagine running for President, looking down at a list of pre-written insults and going ‘Donald Duck I’m definitely using that one!’"
FOX Business host Charles Payne commented, "Good wind-up...but terrible punch line: ‘Donald Duck?’ hard to believe Christie is from Jersey."
"That Christie attack against Trump was great until he ended it with ‘Donald Duck,’" Washington Examiner contributor Kimberly Ross agreed, with a cringe emoji.
"Chris Christie just said Of Donald Trump ‘we're going to be calling you Donald Duck’ with a mic drop flair and I'm wincing so hard," The Federalist columnist Eddie Scarry wrote.
"I cannot get past the Donald Duck line. It's in the disaster category of ‘I'm not a witch,’" District Media Group president Beverly Hallberg commented.
Former Governor of New Jersey Chris Christie looks on during the second Republican presidential primary debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, on September 27, 2023. (Photo by ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images) (Getty Images)
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Christie was among the seven Republican candidates who debated at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library Simi Valley, California.