Chris Christie tells Jimmy Fallon he'll pull a Donald Trump, 'go nuclear' at next GOP debate

Chris Christie vows to &quot;go nuclear&quot; at the CNN debate in September

(Image credit: The Tonight Show)

published 1 September 2015

On Monday's Tonight Show, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) complained about being ignored at the first Republican presidential debate, saying the Fox News moderators went 20 questions without asking him one. Given Christie's pugilistic reputation, Jimmy Fallon asked the governor why he didn't just force his way into the debate. "What do you think, I'm like Morton Downey Jr.?" Christie asked, laughing. "What do you think I'm doing here?"

Fallon pressed the point, and Christie took a thinly veiled jab at Donald Trump. "No, you're not supposed to" jump in, he said, "but a few people did. But, you know, I didn't think that was appropriate for that night." Fallon had a pretty good rejoinder: "It seems to be working for whoever did it."

"Stay tuned: On Sept. 16, we may be changing tactics," Christie said. "If I get to, like, 15 questions in a row — count 'em at home — if I get to 15 in a row, they're gonna go, 'Uh oh, he's gonna go nuclear now!'" Fallon actually punched the air in excitement — and given that there will again be nine other candidates on stage, including Trump, there's a pretty good chance Christie will have to put his money where his mouth is. Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.

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