'Absurd': Chris Christie calls out Donald Trump's crowd size estimate at South Carolina rally

WASHINGTON — Here comes another argument about crowd sizes at former President Donald Trump's campaign rallies.

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Trump's most vocal critic in the 2024 Republican presidential race, says it's ridiculous to think that more than 50,000 people packed the tiny downtown of Pickens, S.C., to see Trump's rally on July 1.

Citing pictures of the event, Christie told "Fox News Sunday" that a 50,000-person estimate "is absurd." But he called the bigger point that Trump spends most of his time talking about his indictments and his political problems, rather than the needs of ordinary Americans.

"This is not somebody who's fighting for the American people and their future," Christie said Sunday.

Trump and his allies cited local law enforcement estimates that the Pickens crowd topped 50,000. Other news outlets cited Secret Service estimates putting the crowd at close to 15,000.

Still: The event drew a big crowd for a small, rural town.

The former president has not responded to Christie's criticism.

But this wouldn't be the first time opponents have contested the size of Trump's crowds, most famously over the inflation of attendance at his presidential inaugural ceremony in 2017.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Chris Christie calls Donald Trump rally crowd size estimate 'absurd'