Chris Christie Takes First Shot at Trump Since Joining Race: ‘Lonely, Self-Consumed, Self-Serving Mirror Hog’

Christie made the comments the same day he announced his 2024 presidential bid, staying true on his promise to match Trump's attacks on the campaign trail

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie wasted no time going after his new 2024 rival on Tuesday, calling fellow Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump "a lonely, self-consumed, self-serving mirror hog" who "is not a leader."

Christie, 60, made the remarks at a two-hour town hall event at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics, where he made his official announcement that he is running for president, hours after filing paperwork with the Federal Election Commission.

“I am going to be very clear — I’m going out there to take out Donald Trump. But here’s why: I want to win, and I don’t want him to win,” Christie said. “There is one lane to the Republican nomination and he’s in front of it. And if you want to win, you better go right through him because let me guarantee something from knowing him for 22 years. He’s going to try to go through Ron [DeSantis] and Nikki [Haley] and Tim [Scott] and anyone else who stands in his way.”

Trump, seemingly proving Christie's point, immediately took to social media to make fun at Christie's weight following the town hall event.

Related: Chris Christie Enters 2024 Presidential Race with Pledge to Fight Back Against Trump

Christie, once a close ally of Trump, became a critic of the former president near the end of his term in the White House, particularly following the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot and Trump's refusal to accept defeat in the 2020 election.

Now, Christie is working to cast himself as the only Republican challenger capable of handling Trump's attacks on the campaign trail — and fighting back.

Related: Who Is Running for President in 2024? Confirmed and Rumored Republican and Democratic Candidates

Speaking to PEOPLE in a 2021 interview, Christie spoke openly about Trump's 2020 electoral loss, saying: "Someone needed to stand up and say, 'Look, we need to get real and we need to start getting the job done because if we don't, we won't have a role in this country moving forward.'"

He added that, while the two have gone back and forth in public since the election, Trump had not spoken to him privately in months.

"Look, I think Donald Trump and I have been friends for 20 years," he said at the time. "During that friendship, we've had our ups and our downs, but my view is: I'm going to be here to tell the truth as I see it."

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In announcing his 2024 bid, Christie joins a growing list of Republicans looking to take on the former president. Others include Trump's former Vice President Mike Pence, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum.

The Republican National Committee recently announced that its first 2024 presidential debate will be held Aug. 23, though it's unclear, at this point, whether all of the candidates will participate.

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