Republican New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie says reports that real estate mogul Donald Trump didn’t adequately prepare for his first presidential debate are wrong and he was actually well-prepped.
On Fox News Sunday, Christie mocked the reports that Trump was unfocused during debate prep sessions that were characterized as crowded and scattered by unnamed sources. When asked by host Chris Wallace if Trump plans to hold mock debates before the second debate, Christie scoffed.
“Donald Trump prepared well for his debate last time and he will decide how he prepares for the next debate,” he said.
The first debate was widely seen as a victory for Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, although Trump did have to fight through issues with his microphone in the debate hall. While Trump stuck to a game plan for the beginning of the debate, attacking Clinton on her record, he eventually went off into the free-wheeling style seen in his campaign rallies.
Trump has maintained that he was victorious in the debate, tweeting Saturday that all analysis stating Clinton won was just spin from a biased media.
Christie said the reports coming to from media leaking details on Trump’s debate prep, including those saying former Fox News CEO Roger Ailes ended up telling stories about his time in politics instead of prepping the candidate, were lies.
“None of those seven unnamed people were in the room during debate prep, and they speak, much of the time, because they’re jealous they weren’t in the room,” he said.
