DeSantis debate strategy memo urges him to defend Trump whenever Chris Christie attacks the former president

• The first GOP presidential debate is scheduled for August 23.
• A group close to Ron DeSantis' super PAC legally released hundreds of documents online giving him campaign advice.
• A strategy memo suggests DeSantis should defend Trump following any attacks from Gov. Chris Christie.

Debate strategy advice from a group close to the super PAC supporting Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' presidential campaign urges him to defend former President Donald Trump from any personal attacks by fellow candidate Chris Christie.

On Thursday, the New York Times reported that Axiom Strategies, a company owned by the Never Back Down campaign's chief strategist, hosted a tranche of hundreds of documents on its website detailing strategies DeSantis can use in his campaign, polling numbers, and more. 

Among the documents included on the site was a debate memo giving DeSantis and his campaign general advice about how to approach the first Republican presidential debate. It advises him to "go after Joe Biden and the media 3-5 times," share his "positive vision," and "hammer Vivek Ramaswamy in a response."

And while Trump has repeatedly suggested he won't attend the debate on August 23, saying he'd instead watch it to see whom he "MIGHT consider for Vice President," the debate strategy memo hosted by Axiom Strategies urges DeSantis to defend the former president against inevitable attacks against him by Christie.

"Trump isn't here so let's just leave him alone," the memo suggests DeSantis could say in response. "He's too weak to defend himself here."

The memo also notes DeSantis could deflect an attack on Trump from Christie by trying to pit the the other candidates against the former governor of New Jersey.

"We're all running against him," the document suggests he could say. "I don't think we want to join forces with someone on this stage who's auditioning for a show on MSNBC."

Christie's campaign did not respond to Insider's request for comment.

While on the campaign trail, Christie has been the loudest voice against Trump in the GOP presidential race, appearing on television show after television show to boost his campaign by putting down the 45th president.

Christie's strategy appears to be working to some degree: According to a recent poll out of New Hampshire, Christie just surpassed DeSantis in support for the GOP primary.

The firm's advice for DeSantis to act as a bodyguard of sorts for Trump on the debate stage comes as Trump holds a commanding lead in GOP primary polling. According to an average of national polls deemed "major" by FiveThirtyEight, Trump holds a 38.8 percentage point lead over DeSantis, who's sitting in second place with an average of 15% total support.