Chris Christie shares his debate woes with Jimmy Fallon
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said on NBC's "The Tonight Show" that during the first GOP debate, he went so long without getting a question that he and fellow candidate Florida Sen. Marco Rubio shared a moment of commiseration.
"I'm standing up there, standing next to Marco Rubio. We're looking at each other, going: 'Are we still here? Is this still on? Do our mics work?'" he said.
Christie said that at one point he went 20 questions in a row without getting one from the moderators. "That's hard," he said.
Host Jimmy Fallon asked why he didn't just jump in and start yelling at people.
"What am I, like Morton Downey Jr,?" Christie asked, referencing the former singer, songwriter and television talk show host. On a more serious note, he said that while a few people jumped in, "I didn't think that was appropriate."
He told the audience to stay tuned for the next debate 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 going to go 'Uh oh, he's going to go nuclear now.'"
The two talked about the combative nature of Donald Trump's campaign so far. "I thought that was going to be your thing, because I thought you're the guy, you go out and you yell and say stuff...or you do at least to me when you come on my show," he said.
"Life is a strange strange ride, Jimmy, and we'll just keep riding it. Fact is it doesn't really matter" Christie responded. "You just got to get used to the way that campaigns go back and forth and move around."
Fallon was also curious about the Fourth of July weekend Christie spent with Rubio and 2012 GOP nominee Mitt Romney at Romney's lake house in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire.
Christie told the story of an impromptu ice cream trip in Wolfeboro with Romney, Rubio, their wives, and some of the various children and grandchildren. When Fallon interrupted the story to suggest Christie might have been extra enthusiastic about an ice cream trip, Christie feigned being insulted and walked off the stage.
"If I ever leave public life," he told Fallon, "you're going to have to hire two writers just to replace the garbage you say about me." Christie picked up where he'd left off, saying that none of them had brought any money for ice cream, and Romney had just $20 in his wallet -- not enough to buy ice cream for the entire crowd.
Suddenly they heard a voice behind them.
"Don't worry, would-be presidents, I have it handled." It was Romney's wife, Ann.
Christie also insisted that Fallon allow him to do one of the lip sync competitions he's made famous on his show. Though Fallon wasn't planning on one, he allowed Christie to mouth a few bars of Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the USA" before declaring him the champion.