Christie says Americans should question Trump's 'psychological capacity' to be president

• Chris Christie questioned former President Donald Trump's mental capacity.
• "[W]hat he was saying yesterday is just so odd and disturbing," Christie told Hugh Hewitt.

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie blasted Donald Trump on Thursday after the former president took his former ally to task and called him a "very sloppy" and "disturbed person."

"I think anybody who looks at what his objective actions have been over the course of his relationship with me, and what he said yesterday, they know what he was saying yesterday is just so odd and disturbing that it should make everybody question whether this guy really has the psychological capacity to be a candidate for president, let alone president again," Christie told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt.

Christie and Trump have repeatedly gone after each other amid the 2024 Republican presidential campaign.

Christie, who once led Trump's transition and repeatedly defended him over the course of his administration, has argued that the former president's actions to try to overturn the election illustrated why he is unfit to hold the high office again.

"Look, he's a slob. I call him sloppy Chris," Trump told Hewitt on Wednesday. "He left the governorship of New Jersey when an 8% approval rating. He couldn't run for dog catcher." (Trump may exaggerate but it is abundantly clear that after his Bridgegate and his first failed presidential run, Christie left office as the least popular governor in his state's history.)

Trump also pushed back when Hewitt suggested that his refusal to participate in the GOP presidential debates is because he's afraid of responding to his ally's harsh criticisms.

"I couldn't care less. I think he's not a very smart person," the former president said. "I think he's a very disturbed person. He and maybe Deranged Jack Smith should get together for dinner."

For the moment, Trump continues to hold a commanding lead over the rest of the GOP presidential field. According to FiveThirtyEight's weighted tracker, Trump has a more than 37-point lead nationally over Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, his best-positioned primary foe. Christie has argued that it is still early in the race and that he is polling much better in New Hampshire, home to the first GOP presidential primary.

"I think the idea that any of us at this moment who are doing some impressive things on the campaign trail should drop out is kind of ridiculous," Christie said.