Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie laid into Donald Trump in a CNN town hall Monday night, calling the former president “angry” and “vengeful” and accusing him of “vanity run amok” within the event’s opening minutes.
His comments set the tone for the night and made clear that Christie – who leaned into his own record as a former federal prosecutor – sees his role in the 2024 Republican presidential primary as being the chief critic of Trump, willing to take on the front-runner while most other contenders duck confrontation.
He also made a case for his own candidacy, pointing to his past experience and laying out his stance on a variety of issues from abortion, to the southern border and the war in Ukraine.
Here are some of the key takeaways:
The indictment of Donald Trump: Christie began the town hall by slamming Trump for the alleged behavior spelled out in the federal indictment against the former president. He said the “nature of the documents” that Trump is accused of unlawfully retaining after leaving office was particularly damning. That trove is believed to include plans for war with Iran, details about US nuclear weapons and daily security briefings from his time in office.
After that, Christie pointed to the implication in the indictment that Trump lied and tried to involve his personal lawyer, who eventually ended up being made to turn over documents to prosecutors. He said the simple fact that Trump is “voluntarily putting our country through this.”
“This is all (Trump) saying … ‘I’m more important than the country,'” he said.
Selling his own candidacy: Christie – who made his name nationally through force of personality during his near-decade leading New Jersey – spun through some of his accomplishments in dealing with Democratic legislative leaders in the heavily Democratic state, including lowering property taxes and backing charter schools.
Christie also pushed back on an audience member’s concern that he would be too willing to compromise with Democrats, saying he’s ready now to go to Washington and “make it work for Republican values in the right way.”
Russia’s war in Ukraine: Christie defended US support for Ukraine’s military in that country’s conflict with Russia, describing it as “a proxy war with China” and pointing out that Beijing is buying Russian oil and supplying Iran with drones.
He said that while US involvement in the war is unpleasant, “the alternative is for the Chinese to take over, the Russians, the Iranians and the North Koreans – a bad foursome.”
The US southern border: The former governor said that he would send the National Guard to the US-Mexico border to deal with issues involving large influxes of migrants. He criticized former President Donald Trump’s border policy and said his inability to pass immigration reform despite having a Republican-controlled Congress for two years was an “abject failure.”
“He took temporary steps, but the minute he left office, someone else could change. You know what that is? A bad executive,” he said.
Abortion: Christie said he believes each state should decide its own abortion laws.
On the federal government’s role in the abortion issue, he said that he believes “Roe was unconstitutional,” which he said conservatives have been arguing for 50 years. He said that the federal government should “not be involved unless — and until — there’s consensus around the country” from all the states on what the abortion law should be.
