AP/Julio Cortez
Mitt Romney speaks at Chris Christie's birthday party.
Two-time GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney once tried to give New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) a large amount of food only to discover Christie couldn't eat it because he "just had an operation."
Romney recalled the tale at a fund-raising bash for Christie on Wednesday night. On stage at the event, Romney said he brought big plates of Italian food with high expectations for his one-on-one dinner with Christie.
"The other night I had him for dinner at my house - and this was, I don't know, four or five months ago. And him coming to the house, I went to the best Italian restaurant that exists in my state of Massachusetts. And I said, 'Look, I got Chris Christie coming. ... Just he and I. And I want lasagna. And I want ravioli. And I want a lot of salad,'" Romney said to laughs. "I had enough to feed - well, Ann and I are still eating the food."
But Christie, who underwent lap band stomach surgery in 2013 in order to reduce his weight, didn't embrace the feast.
"So I have all this food. And I put it out in front of the table. And Chris sat there and picked at a couple pieces of lettuce. I said, 'How in the world?'" Romney continued. "I found out later he had just had an operation."
Romney said the story demonstrated Christie was "willing to do whatever it takes" for the people of New Jersey.
View Romney's full remarks below.