Trump brands Chris Christie a ‘savage maniac’ and ‘lunatic’ in brutal Tucker attack

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox

Get our free Inside Washington email

Please enter a valid email address

Please enter a valid email address

SIGN UP

I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy

Donald Trump branded his Republican rival and former associate Chris Christie a “savage maniac” and a “lunatic” in a brutal attack in his Tucker Carlson interview.

The former president immediately went on the front foot to diminish his 2024 GOP competitors, singling out the former governor of New Jersey for fierce criticism.

“A guy left with an eight per cent approval in New Jersey, think about it, and now he is running for president and he runs solely on the basis of oh, let’s get Trump,” scoffed Mr Trump.

“He’s like a savage maniac, he’s like a lunatic. And that’s all he talks about. His poll numbers are very, very low, about two per cent.”

The four-times-indicted former president, who will hand himself in for arrest on the Georgia election interference case on Thursday 24 August, was then asked by Carlson what Mr Christie was like.

“I’ve been friendly with him over the years but I couldn’t give him a job, because I just never trusted him very much. I was just never one of his people who really trusted him. I never gave him the job. And that’s one of the reasons he feels so hurt and so betrayed.

“And I understand that. I really do, I understand that. I never gave him, you know he wanted to be different things, he was looking at different elements of the administration and we decided, I decided, we just didn’t want to do it. And now I’m glad I did. “

Mr Trump went on to call his former Attorney General Bill Barr “terrible” and branded him one of the “Bushies.”

“I say that with respect to the Bush family, but they were Bushies and it just doesn’t work out for us.”

Mr Trump also bashed Asa Hutchinson, whom he called “Ada”, whom he called “weak and pathetic” before saying he had no idea how he was ever the governor of Arkansas.

“He is nasty always, and has been,” he said.