The worse Donald Trump gets, the better his poll numbers get. Once again, he owns the national political debate because he goes where no one else dares to go. And when you go where even Dick Cheney and the South Carolina Republican Party chair won’t go, you’ve left the gravitational pull of Earth.

It’s time for one of the major Republican presidential candidates to take on Trump.

This is a job for Chris Christie.

Trump is a brawler, and his followers love that. When an opponent throws a punch at Trump, he throws a flurry of haymakers at them. He has his rivals cowed.

There’s room in the ring for one other candidate: the anti-Trump. A character just as big, just as boastful and just as much a blowhard.

It’s the role Christie was born to play. He’s the Tony Soprano of the GOP. He’s the one guy you can see standing toe-to-toe and trading punches with the champ.

Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz won’t do it. They hope to coast in on Trump’s wake.

Ben Carson? He’s knocked himself out of contention.

Jeb Bush? He couldn’t even take on Rubio.

John Kasich and Lindsay Graham have given it their best shots, but nobody’s paying attention to them. And Carley Fiorina disappeared after her one tussle with Trump.

We first met Christie when we was shouting down teachers and state employees in town halls. It’s time to see whether he’s big enough and tough enough to take on – and take down – Trump.