Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said he reached the donor requirement to take part in the Aug. 23 Republican presidential debate in Milwaukee.
Christie said Wednesday that his campaign has received more than 40,000 donations, the threshold to qualify.
"After being in this race for only a month, we've received over 40k individual donations to our campaign and met all RNC requirements to reach the debate stage," Christie tweeted Wednesday. "Americans are ready for someone to stand up to Donald Trump, and that's exactly what I'm doing.
"Get your popcorn [emoji]."
Christie appeared on CNN and added: "There is a donor in every state in America, and we have over 200 donors in 36 states."
Christie must also get at least 1% support in three national polls. He already has reached 3% support in a Morning Consult poll released Wednesday.
The former governor, once a supporter of former President Donald Trump, has become a staunch critic.
Trump remains the clear front-runner in the GOP field. He leads all national polls by wide margins, with Christie lingering among candidates with low-single-digit support.
Per Republican National Committee rules, candidates who wish to appear in the August debate must also sign a loyalty pledge to support the eventual GOP nominee. Christie told CNN's Anderson Cooper that he will sign the pledge but not necessarily follow through.
"I'll take it every bit as seriously as Donald Trump took it in 2016. We all signed the pledge in 2016," Christie said. "At the next debate after we all signed the pledge, one of the questioners said, 'You all signed. Would you reaffirm by raising your hand?' And nine of us raised our hand, and Donald Trump didn't."
Trump, who has not announced if he will participate in the August debate, has slammed Christie on Truth Social.
"Page 2: Sloppy Chris Christie is thrashing about, doing and saying anything to stay relevant. He desperately wanted to join the Trump Administration, but I said 'NO!' In 2016, he spent most of his time away from New Jersey in order to campaign for President, much like Ron DeSanctimonious is doing now to Florida. Chris ended up getting run out of New Hampshire, where he had almost no vote or popularity. They knew him well - CHRIS CHRISTIE IS A TOTAL LOSER!" Trump posted Wednesday.
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