(Patriot.Buzz) – Underscoring former President Donald Trump’s supremacy over longshot primary candidates, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie sharply criticized Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for his evasive response to a question about Trump’s fitness for a second presidential term.
During the fourth GOP presidential debate, DeSantis avoided directly addressing Trump’s mental fitness while suggesting the need for a younger generation of leadership, stating, “We have an opportunity to do a next generation of leaders and really be able to move the country forward, but we also need a president that can serve two terms.”
If Trump were to be re-elected, he would be older on the first day of his second term than Joe Biden was at his inauguration. Currently, Biden is 81, and Trump is 77.
Christie, a vocal critic of Trump in the 2024 race, expressed frustration with DeSantis’ indirect answer, insisting, “Just answer the question. The question was very direct. Is he fit to be president or isn’t he? The rest of the speech is interesting, but completely nonresponsive. And if we were in a courtroom, they’d strike the answer.”
The debate escalated into a heated exchange, with Christie repeatedly pressing DeSantis, “Is he fit, Ron?” DeSantis later elaborated, acknowledging the inevitable challenges of aging: “Look, Father Time is undefeated. I don’t know how [Trump] would score on a test, but I know this. We have an opportunity to nominate someone and elect someone for two terms who’s going to be spitting nails on day one.”
Christie accused DeSantis of avoiding a straightforward response to avoid offending Trump, emphasizing the need for a leader capable of confronting global adversaries like Vladimir Putin or Xi Jinping.
DeSantis eventually acknowledged concerns regarding Trump’s age, questioning the wisdom of electing someone “older than Biden was when he won in 2021.”
He added, “I don’t think he’s as bad as Biden was at all, but I do think that over a four-year period, it is not a job for somebody that’s pushing 80. We need somebody that’s younger. We need somebody that’s going to be able to go in there and clean house on day one and do it for two terms.”
Trump was absent from the debate in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, also featuring former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.
