Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is running for President on the “bring down Trump anti-MAGA” wing of the GOP, of which there are so far very few vocal members.
Still, Christie has stayed in his lonely lane, so far distinguishing himself from most of the GOP primary contenders by being 100% anti-Trump 100% of the time, calling the former President (and Christie’s former friend) a liar and a coward, to name a few choice epithets.
The latest Donald Trump indictment — the third this year and second by a federal prosecutor — charges Trump with conspiracy to defraud the United States. The indictment is a virtual invitation for more GOP candidates — if not MAGA adherents — to justify a break with the frontrunner Trump, as Mike Pence has timidly done in wake of the new charges.
Christie, of course, is already out in front of what could be a leak in support for Trump. A former federal prosecutor himself, Christie harshly called out the conduct described in the indictment as a “stain on our country’s history & a disgrace to the people who participated.”
The events around the White House from election night forward are a stain on our country’s history & a disgrace to the people who participated. This disgrace falls the most on Donald Trump. He swore an oath to the Constitution, violated his oath & brought shame to his presidency.
— Chris Christie (@GovChristie) August 2, 2023
Without specifically mentioning the indictment itself — a subtle move — Christie’s post also asserts: “This disgrace falls the most on Donald Trump. He swore an oath to the Constitution, violated his oath & brought shame to his presidency.”
Christie has previously defended Special Counsel Jack Smith from Trump’s attacks, especially when the former President said Smith looked like a “crackhead.”
At the time Christie said Jack Smith was just “doing his job.” Christie said about the name-calling episode: “This is what makes Donald Trump an unacceptable nominee for our party because he says things like this without any regard for truth or falsity…without any regard for the propriety of it.”
