Chris Christie, once an ardent supporter of former President Donald Trump, slammed him for being "Putin's puppet" after Trump dodged a question on whether he wants Ukraine or Russia to win the war.
"Donald Trump refused to say tonight that he wanted Ukraine to win the war with Russia," he wrote in a tweet that has been viewed over 367,000 times as of press time. "More proof that he continues to be Putin's puppet."
At a town hall organized by CNN in New Hampshire on Wednesday, host Kaitlan Collins pressed Trump to pick a side in the war.
Trump responded: "I don't think in terms of winning and losing. I think in terms of getting it settled, so we stop killing all these people."
Collins also asked Trump if he believed that Putin was a "war criminal" because he was "responsible for the deaths of thousands of men and women and civilians."
Trump responded, saying that "It's something that should be discussed later."
"If you say he's a war criminal, it's going to be a lot tougher to make a deal to get this thing stopped," Trump added.
Trump has complimented Russian leader Vladimir Putin on various occasions.
He praised Putin for being "savvy" and "genius" over the news of Russia's impending invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The same month, he also called Putin "smart."
Christie ran against Trump in 2016, but later became an ally and a close advisor to Trump. Even in 2021, he still said he would give Trump's presidency an overall "A" grade.
However, he has distanced himself from Trump since the January 6 Capitol riot, and is now a vocal Trump critic. In March, Christie said in an interview with Axios that he "just can't" support Trump for his 2024 presidential run, calling him "old" and "out of touch."
Christie's comments come as he is mulling his own 2024 presidential bid. He told Fox News on March 23 that he will "probably make a decision in the next 60 days on what to do or not to do."
In response to a request for comment on Christie, a Trump spokesperson replied with one word: "Who?"
Representatives for Christie did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment sent outside regular business hours.