Fox News anchor apologizes for joke about Chris Christie’s weight

Fox News anchor John Roberts issued an apology after making a joke about former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's weight during a newscast on Tuesday.

Following a panel discussion on Christie jumping into the growing GOP primary field for president, Roberts offered an analogy that ended with a quip about the Republican's physical appearance.

"We wonder about the net effect on the race, and to use a modification of a metaphor that we were using on the panel earlier today, it's like, you have two milkshakes, right. 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, sparking nervous smiles from other members of the panel on "America Reports."

Roberts continued, saying "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 that milkshake if he wanted to. But you’re not affecting the Donald Trump milkshake, you’re just affecting the other part."

Later in the broadcast, Roberts apologized for the joke.

"I just want to take a moment to address something, because I really do feel terrible about it," Roberts 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."

Christie, a vocal critic of former President Trump, on Tuesday joined a long list of Republicans seeking to challenge him for the GOP nomination in 2024.