Chris Christie urged Republicans who are defending Donald Trump to stop going after the Department of Justice and start holding Mr Trump accountable during his town hall on CNN.

“We’re here and we’re in a situation where there are people in my own party who are blaming DOJ. How about, blame him?” Mr Christie said.

Several MAGA-aligned Republicans like Marjorie Taylor Greene and Kari Lake have viciously defended Mr Trump despite the federal indictment charging Mr Trump with 37 counts related to the retention of national defence information.

“He did it. He took documents he wasn’t supposed to take, he kept them when they asked him back for them, they got a grand jury subpoena, he refused to comply, they raided his home finally because he refused to comply – all those things were brought on himself as was this indictment,” Mr Christie added

Donald Trump clearly tuned into his one-time ally turned rival’s town hall on Monday night.

In a Truth Social statement, he claimed that Chris Christie fixated on the word “small” throughout the CNN interview.

“How many times did Chris Christie use the word SMALL? Does he have a psychological problem with SIZE? Actually, his speech was SMALL, and not very good,” he wrote.

“It rambled all over the place, and nobody had a clue of what he was talking about. Hard to watch, boring, but that’s what you get from a failed Governor (New Jersey) who left office with a 7% approval rating and then got run out of New Hampshire,” barked the former president. “This time, it won’t be any different!”

While Chris Christie pushed back on Donald Trump’s childish namecalling about his weight, he had his own nickname for the former president: Voldemort.

Chris Christie is one of the few well-known Republicans willing to admit that Donald Trump lost the 2020 election.

During his CNN town hall on Monday, the former New Jersey governor continued to call out Mr Trump’s conspiracies on the subject, telling the audience members, “There’s no evidence.”

Watch more of his take below.

The former New Jersey governor claimed that Mr Trump – who he compared to “Voldemort” – wanted to blame him for supposedly being the “Patient Zero” of a Covid-19 superspreader event.

The two men contracted the virus in 2020, with Mr Christie ending up in the ICU.

While allegedly seeking to pin the blame for the outbreak on Mr Christie, in reality, Mr Trump sought the former governor’s assurance that he would not blame him for infecting those present at a debate preparation session, Mr Christie said.

Mr Trump had tested positive for the virus on the morning of the session but did not disclose it.

Chris Christie may have harsh words for Donald Trump now, but the New Jersey governor was once one of the New York billionaire’s biggest backers.

Last week, the Democratic party put out an ad spotlighting some of the many times Mr Christie has voiced his support.

Former Trump administration official Anthony Scaramucci praised Chris Christie following the New Jersey governor’s CNN town hall on Monday.

“Chris Christie did an amazing job tonight on the CNN Townhall,” he wrote on Twitter on Monday. “I find it interesting that President Trump actually created the lane for Governor Christie. People wanted to see Trump a certain way but ultimately he is corrupt. We are hungry for straight talk and common sense and for a unification. The governor delivered all of those things tonight and more.”

What did Chris Christie have to say during his CNN town hall on Monday.

Catch up with John Bowden’s full story from our DC desk.

As of late Monday evening, Donald Trump did not comment publicly on Chris Christie’s CNN town hall, where the former New Jersey governor tore into his 2024 rival.

Instead, Mr Trump continued to bang the drum on various Joe Biden conspiracy theories and posted a campaign ad attacking the various indictments against him.

Chris Christie accused both Donald Trump and Joe Biden of being past their “sell-by” dates.

During a Monday town hall event on CNN, the former New Jersey governor and current 2024 hopeful warned that Mr Biden wouldn’t be able to handle future crises.

Here’s our reporting on how age could define the coming debates in US politics.