Donald Trump, who has been involved in an ongoing feud with Jon Huntsman, on Wednesday asserted that contrary to Huntsman’s version of events, he said “no” to a meeting with the former GOP presidential candidate.
“Jon Huntsman called to see me,” Trump tweeted. “I said no, he gave away our country to China!”
Huntsman was previously President Obama's U.S. ambassador to China.
In an appearance on “The Tonight Show” with Jay Leno on Tuesday evening, Huntsman said that unlike many of the other Republican candidates, he refused to meet with Trump or court his endorsement.
"I said 'No, hell no.' I'm not going to do those things. I'm just not going to show up for Donald Trump," Huntsman said. He also accused the real estate mogul of trying to “control” politics from the outside.
“I just don't have any respect for people who try to do that,” he said. “If you want influence in politics, get in the arena, become a candidate. Get out there and fight and slug it out instead of trying to control it from the outside.”
Trump, who flirted with jumping into the Republican race or running as an independent candidate, invited a number of candidates to meet with him in New York City ahead of his endorsement of Mitt Romney. Trump said he refused to meet with Huntsman because as a candidate he had “no shot” at winning.
Huntsman later refused to participate in a debate that Trump was set to moderate, saying he didn’t kowtow to Trump by kissing his ring “or any other part of his anatomy.” Several other candidates also turned it down, and the debate was ultimately canceled.
—This post was updated at 4:01 p.m.
