Tucker Carlson lashed out at GOP presidential candidate Chris Christie after the former New Jersey governor said during an interview on ABC News that the former Fox News host has “always been wrong” on the Ukraine issue.
Christie made the comments in response to a question from host George Stephanopoulos about how he would have answered Carlson if he had attended a Family Leadership Summit in Iowa. Carlson asked the six GOP candidates in attendance about the war in Ukraine, but Christie, former President Donald Trump, and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum were not there.
“I would have said, ‘You’ve always been wrong about this, Tucker, and you’re still wrong,'” Christie told Stephanopoulos. “That, in fact, what’s going on, George, is that this is a proxy war with China. The Chinese are funding the Russian war by buying Russian oil. They’re coordinating with the Iranians to provide lethal weapons to the Russian army. And we can decide when to have this conflict. Right now, the Ukrainians are willing to fight this fight for themselves if they have our support to be able to win it. If the Chinese watch us back away from Ukraine, as Tucker Carlson and others would advocate, believe me, the next move will be Taiwan."
“If the Chinese watch us back away from Ukraine as Tucker Carlson and others would advocate, believe me, the next move will be Taiwan," GOP presidential candidate Chris Christie tells @GStephanopoulos as some Republicans call for ending aid to Ukraine. https://t.co/KInxWHwCkT pic.twitter.com/zXS5BMGxai
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) July 16, 2023
But Carlson appeared to take issue with the fact that Christie was willing to respond to the question during media interviews, rather than face-to-face.
"Sounds like this could use a longer conversation. We just asked @GovChristie to sit down and explain his views on Ukraine. He refused," Carlson said on Twitter. "You hate to think that Chris Christie is a blustery coward who plays the tough guy with sycophants at ABC but won’t answer real questions, but who knows? We hope he reconsiders."
Sounds like this could use a longer conversation. We just asked @GovChristie to sit down and explain his views on Ukraine. He refused. You hate to think that Chris Christie is a blustery coward who plays the tough guy with sycophants at ABC but won’t answer real questions, but… pic.twitter.com/6khc5xi3Co
— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) July 16, 2023
As Matt reported, though many GOP contenders didn't have a shot at winning the nomination anyway, Tucker Carlson's interviews with many of them sealed that fate.