LOSER! Chris Christie tells GOP Governors: Voters “REJECTED CRAZY” — and Donald Trump
At a meeting of Republican Governors, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie said that Donald Trump had weighed the party down, resulting in losses across the last three election cycles. He’s criticized the former president before, though he’s bounced back to praise and support each time.
The Republican Party has spent the past two years oscillating between a decision to move on and leave Trump behind, or throw full support behind him. Now his support of untenable candidates has been a factor in the GOP losing the Senate yet again and failing to gain the expected hefty majority predicted in the House.
Christie told the gathered group that the 2022 elections — in which election deniers were denied a number of Secretary of State seats, and MAGA candidates overall failed or did more poorly than expected — was evidence that voters “rejected crazy.” The sentiment was reportedly appreciated with a round of applause.
He also said that the decrease in the number of Republican Governors — down to 26, from 31 in 2014 — was due to Trump endorsing candidates based solely on their loyalty to him, rather than fitness to govern, and that the group was wise not to invest in some Trump-endorsed candidates.
From Axios:
“Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, whose rising profile as a potential 2024 challenger has divided the party and infuriated Trump, was not in the room. Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker and New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu were among those in attendance.”
In August, Christie tweeted out a declaration that the midterm elections must be a referendum on President Joe Biden, and suggested that if the focus stayed on Trump, there would be a repeat of “the 2020 loss.”
Democrats want to talk about Donald Trump because they know how divisive & motivating he is with general election voters. They want the 2020 loss again—a referendum on Donald Trump. Joe Biden is President now. The 2022 election must be a referendum on him and his failed policies.
— Chris Christie (@GovChristie) August 29, 2022
In previous bashings, Christie has postulated that Trump stole documents from the White House so he could feel important by showing them to Mar-a-Lago guests, and said Trump is to blame for January 6th.
On the other hand, even after the January 6th attack, he’s still said he’d “give the [ex]president an A,” and said that he would vote for Trump if he ran again.
Hannity: How would you grade Trump as president?
Christie: Overall, I’d give the president an A pic.twitter.com/6gKpRQmcvj— Acyn (@Acyn) May 1, 2021
Despite his statements at the Republican Governor’s Association meeting, Christie hasn’t gone so far as to state whether he’s changed his mind about that.
Steph Bazzle covers politics and theocracy, always aiming for a world free from extremism and authoritarianism. Follow Steph on Twitter @imjustasteph.
