Christie ‘tired’ of hearing Trump grievances

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) said he is “tired” of hearing former President Trump’s grievances in his latest media appearance this week.

“I think that no leader who is backward looking is a leader who can be victorious,” Christie said on “The Hugh Hewitt Show” on Thursday when asked about Trump. “And I’m tired of hearing about his grievances.”

Christie, once a friend and former ally to Trump, has kicked his attacks against the former president into high gear this week as he considers a potential bid for the White House. He also said during the Thursday appearance that Trump’s first official 2024 campaign rally in Waco, Texas, was a “snoozer,” noting that his “act is getting very old.”

Hewitt additionally asked Christie what his thoughts were on claims that those who are jailed due to their involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol are “political prisoners.”

Christie rejected that characterization, saying “the idea that somehow this is a political action is just, to me, wrong.”

He continued: “The idea somehow that this is a group of people who are praiseworthy, who were participating in the violence, you know, doesn’t make any sense to me at all.”

When asked if some Republicans were trying to “legitimize” the Jan. 6 riot, Christie responded that Trump was attempting to do so.

“Well, I think Donald Trump’s trying to do that,” Christie said. “And I think that the more oxygen he’s given on this issue, the more he tries to mainstream his particular point of view.”

The former governor also told Hewitt that he no longer considers himself as a friend to Trump, adding that he has not talked to the former president since December 2020.

Christie made an unsuccessful run for the GOP nomination in 2016. He went on to lead Trump’s 2016 transition team but was fired over bad blood with Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner. The former governor was later a contender to become Trump’s chief of staff in 2018 before he took himself out of the running; he again aided Trump’s campaign in 2020, helping him with debate prep.

Christie has become a full-blown critic of Trump since the former president left office, however, and he told Axios this week that he “just can’t” back Trump for the presidency again.

Christie, along with other potential candidates for the 2024 Republican nomination, made a trip to New Hampshire this week to speak at Saint Anselm College on Monday. He said to students there that whoever runs against Trump needs the “skill” to debate the former president on stage, pointing to himself as an example.

“You better have somebody on that stage who can do to him what I did to Marco [Rubio] because that’s the only thing that’s gonna defeat Donald Trump,” he said.

Christie said earlier this week that he would decide on whether he will run for president within the next 60 days.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.