Former New Jersey governor Chris Christie attacked Florida governor Ron DeSantis during the fourth GOP presidential debate Wednesday night for refusing to say explicitly whether former president Donald Trump is fit to serve a second term.
Asked whether he thinks Trump is mentally fit to be president given his age and disposition, the governor suggested that a new generation of leaders should take over, but declined to criticize Trump directly.
“We have an opportunity to do a next generation of leaders and really be able to move the country forward, but we also need a president that can serve two terms.”
If Trump returns to the White House come January 2025, he will be older on day one of his second term than President Joe Biden was at his own inauguration. Biden is now 81 years old, while Trump is 77.
Christie, who’s been highly critical of Trump throughout the 2024 race, wasn’t pleased with DeSantis’s response.
“Just answer the question,” Christie said. “The question was very direct. Is he fit to be president or isn’t he? The rest of the speech is interesting, but completely nonresponsive. And if we were in a courtroom, they’d strike the answer.”
The exchange quickly devolved into a shouting match between the two candidates, with Christie repeatedly saying, “Is he fit, Ron?”
DeSantis proceeded to clarify his views on the issue. “Look, Father Time is undefeated,” he said. “I don’t know how [Trump] would score on a test, but I know this. We have an opportunity to nominate someone and elect someone for two terms who’s going to be spitting nails on day one.”
Still not satisfied, Christie claimed DeSantis was afraid to give a direct answer so that he didn’t offend Trump. The former governor then said America needs a leader who won’t be afraid to offend Vladimir Putin or Xi Jinping.
DeSantis ultimately conceded that Trump’s age makes him a less than ideal candidate to hold the highest office in the land.
“It’s about pointing out: Do you want to elect somebody who will be older than Biden was when he won in 2021?” DeSantis asked. “I don’t think he’s as bad as Biden was at all, but I do think that over a four-year period, it is not a job for somebody that’s pushing 80. We need somebody that’s younger. We need somebody that’s going to be able to go in there and clean house on day one and do it for two terms.”
Trump was not among the four candidates in attendance at the fourth GOP debate in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy also participated.