Christie on imaginary MMA fight with Trump: ‘I’d kick his a**’

Christie says he’d easily beat Trump in an actual fight

Christie and Trump have been trading verbal jabs

Unclear whether Trump will show for 1st GOP presidential debate

Former Gov. Chris Christie reacted with confidence, when asked by TV host Piers Morgan who would win if he got “in the octagon” with Donald Trump.

“C’mon, the guy is 78 years old. I’d kick his a**.”

Christie continued “Look, I’ll fight Donald Trump anywhere he wants, in any arena he wants — whether it’s on a debate stage or in the octagon.”

There has been growing skepticism about whether Trump will show up to the first GOP presidential candidate debate, set for Aug. 23.

The debate will be held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which also will be the site of the party’s nominating convention next year, the Republican National Committee recently announced.

Christie has been on a brisk offensive against the former president, in his second go-round as a Republican presidential hopeful.

During the interview, Morgan had prefaced the fight question by noting Trump’s longtime support of MMA competitive fighting.

Dana White, President of Ultimate Fighting Championship, has repeatedly referred to the former president as a “dear friend.”

Trump showed up at a recent UFC fight night with White, prompting cheers from the Las Vegas crowd as the duo sat “cage-side."

Morgan also pointed to Christie’s longtime support of Trump throughout his presidency and asked about the tipping point to “turn on Trump.”

“Election Day 2020,” Christie answered, adding “When he said the election had been stolen without any evidence."

He separately said of Trump, “He told me one time the White House was the most luxurious place he’d lived in his life and he didn’t want to leave.”

“How do you defend yourself against the charge ‘well you should have stood up against him much earlier’,” Morgan asked Christie.

“I have no regrets of helping Donald Trump get elected in 2016, because I think Hillary Clinton would have been a monumentally worse president than Donald Trump," Christie answered.

This time around, Christie said he would not vote for Trump, nor would he vote to re-elect President Joe Biden to a second term, if those were the nominees in the 2024 election.

He would instead, “Go on vacation.”

Christie said if Trump were to win a second term, the rest of the world would look at us and think “Why would you want someone of that awful character and that mediocre performance to be your president?”

Of his own best qualities, Christie said “I’m honest, I’m direct and I care.”

Among his “worst” attributes, Christie said “Sometimes you say things that should have stayed in your mouth” and “Sometimes I’m too quick to judge.”

During the interview, Morgan also brought up Christie's previous experience as a successful U.S. prosecutor — including in a case that sent Jared Kushner's father, NJ developer Charles Kushner, to prison.

Charles Kushner, then of Livingston, served a nearly two year sentence more than a decade ago after being convicted of 16 counts, including tax fraud and witness retaliation.

He was granted a full pardon by Trump, during his final days in the White House.

Ahead of the GOP debate next month, a pledge to support the eventual Republican presidential nominee was announced among criteria for candidates to qualify for the stage.

With a strong lead in primary polls, Trump has also publicly questioned why he would take part in the first face-off next month.

TMZ Sports has shared video of Trump and White at UFC 290, as posted to Youtube:

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