In an interview on CNN’s “The Lead,” former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie minced no words, voicing concerns about former President Donald Trump’s aspirations of wielding authoritarian power and the potential consequences of his legal battles for the Republican Party’s 2024 presidential bid.
Taking center stage in a crowded GOP field for the 2024 nomination, Christie, a GOP 2024 presidential nomination hopeful delved into his perspective on the present landscape.
“I think what we have is a Donald Trump problem,” he emphasized, going on to note that many Republicans have become intertwined with Trump’s image, resulting in a perception that opposing him equates to favoring Biden. That perception, Christie believes, doesn’t hold up under scrutiny.
I think that that’s why we need to have this full debate and discussion that we just really started on Wednesday night, about who should be leading our party and who should be leading our country. And I’ve said very clearly on the authoritarian side of things, this is Donald Trump’s problem, not the Republican Party’s problem,” he asserted.
Christie continued his assessment by highlighting Trump’s vocal admiration for strongman leaders like Putin, Xi, and Kim Jong Un, suggesting that the former president would like the idea of being an authoritarian leader himself.
Chris Christie, a 2024 Republican presidential nominee, accuses Donald Trump of wanting to be an authoritarian leader. He believes that many Republicans are hesitant to oppose Trump because they don't want to be seen as favoring Biden. Christie argues… https://t.co/3pFqUObvsF
— AM1_NEWS (@am1_news) August 29, 2023
“He’s the guy who thinks that Vladimir Putin is an excellent leader and brilliant. He’s the guy who thinks that President Xi is straight out of Hollywood. He’s the guy who thinks Kim Jong Un is wonderful. I mean, these are things that he’s said about the authoritarian leader, and that is because Donald Trump would like to be one himself. He likes that,” he stated.
Questioning Trump’s willingness to engage in genuine debates, Christie noted the incompatibility of such an approach within the American system.
“He doesn’t want anybody to disagree with him. And, look, that’s just not the way our system works,” Christie argued passionately.
Formerly a staunch ally of Trump, Christie has pivoted to being a staunch Trump critic as he has said he is “unafraid to tell the truth” about the ex-president.
In a recent interview, he conveyed his conviction that Trump’s looming trial in the special counsel’s investigation into election interference, alongside other legal entanglements, could spell doom for the GOP’s 2024 White House ambitions.
Christie painted a vivid picture of the impending predicament, explaining how Trump could be preoccupied with his trials instead of focusing on the campaign trail.
“We simply cannot expect that someone who is facing this number of criminal trials, and, quite frankly, the conduct that underlies those charges, can be a viable fall election candidate against Joe Biden,” he warned.
Highlighting the significance of the March 4 date set for the GOP forerunner’s Jan. 6 trial, Christie expressed unwavering clarity, asserting that it “just makes it even clearer that he cannot be our nominee. If he is, we’re going to lose the election.”