Chris Christie bashed Jeb Bush Sunday for calling Donald Trump a jerk, in a latest instance of GOP presidential hopefuls forming a circular firing squad.
“I stood right next to him at the debate and he said, ‘You can’t insult your way to the presidency,'” Christie said of the former Florida governor while campaigning Sunday in New Hampshire. The New Jersey governor was responding to Bush saying Saturday that “Donald Trump is a jerk.”
The potshot, implying Bush is a hypocrite, highlights the problem faced by Republicans eager to unify behind a mainstream GOP candidate to unite party faithful against Donald Trump, and, down the road, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas.
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., Christie, Bush, and Ohio Gov. John Kasich are still fighting to be that unifying establishment candidate. They hope to knock each other out of the race, then consolidate backing to beat Trump or Cruz. That entails first attacking each other, Bloomberg Politics’ Mark Halperin noted Sunday.
A Bush campaign aide, David Kochel, fired back at Christie Sunday, noting Christie’s penchant for angry attacks.
“How does he say this with a straight face?” Kochel asked on Twitter. “This is laughable. Christie needs to watch his own YouTube channel.”
