Whoa! Chris! Dude! (image source below)



Coming under the heading of …Whoa! WTF!

Multiple news sources are reporting that Chris Christie, formerly a big fan of Donald Ptomaine tRump, has denounced the Orange One in no uncertain terms (see sources below). Apparently, the ex-governor of NJ gave a speech to fellow Republicans at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in which he did not name Trump directly, but in which he implied that the former president had betrayed his office and the nation as a whole. 

Christie also, apparently, rejected “the Big Lie,” that Trump won the 2020 election but that it was “stolen” by the Democrats. Moreover, he seems to have said some harsh things about Republicans who seek out European and other Authoritarian leaders as models for their own party. This would have been a not too subtle dig at people like Tucker Carlson, who have recently expressed warm regards for Hungary’s populist despot, Viktor Orbán. 

Of course, this is not the first time Christie has said harsh things about Trump. He expressed a rather negative view of the man in his book, Let Me Finish. That said, the former governor is being remarkably forthright in his opinions, and making it very clear that the GOP must turn away from Trump, conspiracy theories (read “QAnon,”), and the Trumpian cult of personality.

Given that Christie was once very close to Trump, this is an amazing development. It may be the end of Christie’s career, but it was rather brave on his part. Let us hope that more and more Republicans follow his lead. 


~mjt



Sources follow:


“Chris Christie — a possible 2024 presidential contender — takes direct aim at Trump, by Jon Ward, Chief National Correspondent, Yahoo News, Fri, September 10, 2021, 11:18 AM, https://news.yahoo.com/chris-christie-a-possible-2024-presidential-contender-takes-direct-aim-at-trump-161839996.html

*”Chris Christie says it is time for GOP to 'face the realities of the 2020 election’: by Michael Warren and David Wright, CNN, Sep 9, 2021, https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/09/politics/chris-christie-gop-2020-election-reality/index.html

* “In speech taking on Trump, Christie calls on Republicans to renounce conspiracy theories and discredit extremists "in our midst”, by Musadiq Bidar  September 10, 2021 / 11:46 AM / CBS News, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/chris-christie-republicans-2020-election-conspiracies/

Image source: Bob Jagendorf from Manalapan, NJ, USA [CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

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