Fox News Anchor Apologizes for Joke About Chris Christie's Weight

Fox News host John Roberts has apologized to presidential candidate Chris Christie after he made a "hurtful" joke about his weight. The apology, issued Tuesday, came after Roberts made the comments during a discussion about the former New Jersey governor's entry into the 2024 presidential race on America Reports. Speaking about Christie's chances against fellow Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, Roberts compared the two candidates to milkshakes.

"If the Republican Party is two milkshakes, and this one representing almost half the party because that's what the polling shows has got one straw in it, and that's Donald Trump's straw," Roberts said, per The Hill. "And the other milkshake, which represents the non-Donald Trump part of the Republican Party, has how many straws in it now? And now we're gonna have Chris Christie's straw in there, and judging by Chris Christie's physical stature, he could drink a lot of the milkshake if he wanted to. But you're not affecting the Donald Trump milkshake."

As Roberts made the remarks, correspondent Gillian Turner could be heard saying "ouch" live on air. Before the broadcast ended, however, Roberts addressed his "hurtful" comments and apologized to Christie live on-air.

"I just want to take a moment to address something because I really do feel terrible about it," he said. "Earlier on the show, I was making an analogy to describe the Republican voter pool, and I made a comment that I meant to be light-hearted but immediately realized was hurtful toward Governor Chris Christie. I should not have said what I said. I deeply regret it, and I sincerely apologize to the governor."

The on-air remarks came just after Christie announced Tuesday that he is running for president. He formally filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission during a two-hour town hall event at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics earlier that day, saying at the event, "I am going to be very clear – I'm going out there to take out Donald Trump. But here's why: I want to win, and I don't want him to win." Christie added, "There is one lane to the Republican nomination, and he's in front of it. And if you want to win, you better go right through him because let me guarantee something from knowing him for 22 years. He's going to try to go through Ron [DeSantis] and Nikki [Haley] and Tim [Scott] and anyone else who stands in his way."

Christie is the latest candidate to enter the Republican primary. Nikki Haley, the former governor of South Carolina and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under Trump, former biotech executive Vivek Ramaswamy, conservative talk radio host Larry Elder, former governor of Arkansas Asa Hutchinson, Senator Tim Scott, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, and Goud Burgum have also entered the race.