Chris Christie ramped up his spat with potential 2024 rival Donald Trump on Thursday by taunting him over his election defeat to Joe Biden.
The former two-term New Jersey governor told Axios on HBO that he's not interested in getting 'into a back-and-forth' with Trump - before mocking him for losing reelection to Joe Biden in 2020.
'I'm not gonna get into a back-and-forth with Donald Trump,' Christie said. 'But what I will say is this: When I ran for reelection in 2013, I got 60 percent of the vote.'
'When he ran for reelection, he lost to Joe Biden. I'm happy to have that comparison stand up, because that's the one that really matters.'
Over the weekend Christie spoke at an event for the Republican Jewish Coalition in Las Vegas where he urged his party to move past Trump's 2020 election fraud claims to win in future elections.
Without mentioning the former president by name Christie told his audience of top GOP donors that Republicans' election victory in Virginia and strong showing in New Jersey proved the party could 'take our eyes off the rearview mirror,' even if that meant leaving the de facto leader of the party behind.
On Monday a furious Trump claimed Christie was 'absolutely massacred' for his pleas to move on.
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Christie is fueling 2024 rumors by ramping up his public engagements and taking public jabs at Donald Trump
'Chris Christie, who just made a speech at the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) in Las Vegas, was just absolutely massacred by his statements that Republicans have to move on from the past, meaning the 2020 Election Fraud,' Trump said in a statement.
'Everybody remembers that Chris left New Jersey with a less than 9% approval rating—a record low, and they didn’t want to hear this from him!'
But Christie, who in fact left office with a still-dismal 19 percent approval rating, stood by his sentiments on Thursday.
Trump said Christie was 'massacred' over his speech to GOP donors urging Republicans to move on from the ex-president (pictured at a rally in Georgia in September)
'I've made the conscious decision that I want to spend my time combating the policies of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, and trying to help Republicans win governorships and the House and the Senate in 2022,' he said.
'This is not an argument that I'll walk away from.'
The two had been allies after a biting 2016 primary, but Christie soured on Trump after the January 6 Capitol riot.
Christie was among a number of top Republicans who have been floated as 2024 candidates to speak at the weekend event in Nevada - also including former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and even
