Christie, a former governor of New Jersey and a contributor to ABC appeared on "This Week" with Jonathan Karl to discuss his speech. He acknowledged that he "expected boos" from the predominantly Trump-supporting crowd but emphasized the importance of character in a President. "Character is the single most important element of a President of the United States," Christie said. "You can't know what every issue is going to come across the President's desk."
During his speech, Christie argued that he is running for President because Trump has "let us down" and is "unwilling to take responsibility for any of the mistakes that were made, any of the faults that he has and any of the things that he's done and that is not leadership." He received both boos and applause from the audience. Christie, who announced his 2024 presidential bid three weeks ago, claimed to be in third place in New Hampshire, just four points behind Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who he says is the "co-front-runner."
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On "This Week," Christie criticized Trump's recent speech, in which he claimed that he got indicted for the American people. "I don't know how it benefited the American people for him to take highly sensitive intelligence and secret documents out of the White House," Christie said. "Donald Trump says that's for us, and it's absurd the same way he has absurdly claimed in the last week that he still won the 2020 election."
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Christie went on to call Trump a "three-time loser" and emphasized the importance of winning the next presidential election. "We do not need our party to go to a fourth loss because Joe Biden, in my opinion, John, is an awful President, and we can't afford to have him from age 82 to 86 in the White House or even worse, have Kamala Harris assume the presidency," Christie said. "That's the stakes here. It's not about whether you think Donald Trump has been treated fairly or not by the media or by elements of the Justice Department."
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Christie's speech and subsequent appearance on "This Week" highlight the ongoing divide within the Republican Party between those who support Trump and those who do not. Christie's criticism of Trump and emphasis on character as a crucial aspect of presidential leadership suggest a more traditional conservative perspective. As the 2024 presidential race heats up, it remains to be seen how this divide will play out and who will ultimately emerge as the Republican nominee.
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