Christie tries to shame Trump into GOP debate

• "If what he were saying were true, which is that he's got this great record as president and that he's so far ahead, why wouldn't you come on to the stage and take a victory lap," he said on MSNBC.

Trump, who has not yet said publicly whether he will participate in the Aug. 23 debate, wrote on his Truth Social late Thursday: "People know my Record, one of the BEST EVER, so why would I Debate?"

• Trump said last week that he would announce this week whether he'll attend the first debate, but he has not yet done so.
• A spokesperson for Trump's campaign did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.

The big picture: Christie, once a close Trump ally, has sparred repeatedly with the former president and they have both lobbed insults at one another throughout the campaign.

• Nine Republican presidential candidates have appeared to hit the polling requirement and donor threshold to qualify for next week's debate.

Go deeper: 5 burning questions for the first Republican debate