Donald Trump claimed that he has already decided on his vice presidential pick as he dodged the latest GOP presidential debate to take part in a Fox Newstown hall.
The former president appeared on stage in Des Moines on Wednesday night for an event to rival the CNN Republican presidential primary debate between fellow candidates Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis.
During the town hall, Mr Trump hinted that he has made his mind up about who to tap to be his running mate – but refused to spill the details to hosts Martha MacCallum and Bret Baier.
“I can’t tell you that really,” he said when asked about a potential vice president pick.
“I mean, I know who it’s going to be.”
When pressed for a name, the former president – who continues to lead his GOP rivals by a long shot – he refused to give anything away, teasing that “we’ll do another show sometime”.
He did however admit that he would be open to building bridges with his rival Republican presidential candidates.
“Oh, sure. I will, I will,” he said.
“I’ve already started to like Christie better,” he joked.
Rising to the joke, Ms MacCallum asked if Chris Christie – Mr Trump’s one-time close ally turned harshest critic – could be in the running.
“Christie for vice president?” she asked.
“I don’t see it. That would be an upset,” Mr Trump replied, laughing: “Christie for vice president.”
Hours before Mr Trump took to the stage, former New Jersey governor Mr Christie had dropped out of the Republican race – following dismal numbers in the polls.
His announcement was somewhat overshadowed when Mr Christie was caught on a hot mic trashing his GOP rivals Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley.
In the audio, Mr Christie was heard saying: “People don’t want to hear it, Wayne. We know we’re right. But they don’t want to hear it. We couldn’t have been any clearer.”
He added: “Who’s punching above their weight and who’s going getting a return on their investment?”
On Ms Haley, he said: “She’s gonna get smoked. You and I both know it, she’s not up to this.”
Meanwhile, he said Mr DeSantis had called him and “he’s petrified”.
In a rare moment of agreement, Mr Trump chimed in saying Mr Christie was “right” about his comments.
