Chris Christie Wednesday slammed former President Donald Trump as a “failed leader” after his historic arraigment on federal criminal charges in the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case.
The former New Jersey governor derided Trump for failing to enact Republican priorities when he had the chance and leading the GOP to three straight election defeats.
“He’s a failure. He’s a failed leader. We gave him a Republican House, a Republican Senate, and he failed,” Christie told Fox News. “he failed us by losing the House, by losing the Senate, and by turning over the White House to Joe Biden.”
Christie, who jumped into the crowded GOP presidential race last week, said Trump has only himself to blame for his legal woes and is too self-centered to focus on anything other than himself.
“Do we need Donald Trump whining, moaning, and making everything about him?” Christie said. “He doesn’t care about the American people … he’s putting himself first.”
Christie is one of the only Republican presidential candidates to openly and harshly criticize Trump, especially since the ex-president was indicted on serious federal charges.
Christie is polling in the low single digits but insists that will change once he gets on the debate stage with Trump and others.
Trump’s main rival in polls, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, has trained his fire on prosecutors for charging Trump, repeating the MAGA talking point that his actions were no different than those of Biden or Hillary Clinton.
Former Vice President Mike Pence, who has begun to gingerly criticize Trump over the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, has also said the feds should have let Trump skate on the documents case, although he walked that back by saying he “cannot defend” his ex-boss’ alleged conduct.
Christie warned Republican voters that Trump would seek to make the rest of the campaign all about himself instead of a discussion about what is best for the nation and the best way to beat Biden.
“Is that the show we want to watch? Is that the rerun of The Apprentice we want?” Christie said. ”It’s not what I want..”
Christie is hoping to win enough support in polls and from individual donors to qualify for the first presidential debate in August.
Trump has said he may boycott that clash, telling aides that he doesn’t see the point of giving his opponents a forum to attack him.
Polls show Trump only gaining strength with GOP voters even as he endures legal setbacks, suggesting that many loyal supporters buy his argument that he is the victim of a partisan witch hunt aimed at preventing him from returning to the White House.