GOP presidential candidate Chris Christie provided a pointy private assault on former President Donald Trump and his household, blasting his one-time ally as a “unhealthy particular person” and evaluating Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner to Hunter Biden, in an unique sitdown with The Submit.
Kushner netted billions of {dollars} in funding from Saudi Arabia simply weeks after leaving the White Home — drawing comparisons from Christie to the disgraced first son.
“I feel that clearly buying and selling on the affect of a member of your loved ones is the one space the place it looks as if there are some similarities,” former NJ Gov. Christie stated.
Charles Kushner, 69, spent 14 months in federal jail on prices of tax evasion, witness tampering and making unlawful marketing campaign contributions.
The fees sprung from an investigation by Christie — then serving because the U.S. Legal professional in New Jersey.
Dangerous emotions lingered between the youthful Kushner and Christie, at the same time as each males grew to become key Trump advisors, Christie stated.
“He tried to make it as awkward as he may. He simply wished to criticize me for my prosecution of his father in entrance of his father-in-law,” Christie recalled.
Christie stated Jared Kushner and spouse Ivanka Trump sought to undermine him “on an on a regular basis foundation” — and that Kushner persistently had the president’s ear and was the true energy within the White Home.
“Jared was the chief of employees for all 4 years. No matter who had the title, Jared was the chief of employees,” Christie stated, discounting the 4 males who truly served within the submit throughout Trump’s presidency.
When requested if he thought Trump was a very good particular person, Christie advised The Submit “no.” When requested if he would need his son to develop as much as be like Trump, Christie stated “no.”
In his second stab on the White Home, Christie is charting an analogous course to his politically-incorrect take-no-prisoners 2016 main marketing campaign — a lane by which Trump finally outflanked him.
Different GOP contenders have handled the previous president gingerly, however Christie has gone for the jugular, blasting Trump as a “lonely self-consumed, self-serving, mirror hog” in his marketing campaign launch the place he additionally savaged “the grift” of the Trump household.
Christie stated he hasn’t spoken to the youthful Kushner since earlier than the 2020 election — apart from an opportunity encounter at Ristorante MV in Bernardsville, N.J., in the summertime of 2021 or 2022. Kushner despatched him some wine.
For Christie, his broadsides in opposition to Trump carry him again full circle to the 2016 marketing campaign, when he commonly savaged the billionaire — earlier than dropping out of the race and giving him a important endorsement earlier than Tremendous Tuesday.
He later served as chairman of Trump’s transition group.
“There is no such thing as a one higher ready to offer America with the sturdy management that it wants each at residence and world wide than Donald Trump,” he gushed on the time.
Christie stated he didn’t remorse these phrases — however promised there wouldn’t be a 2024 redux.
If Trump emerged because the 2024 nominee, Christie stated he wouldn’t assist him — or anybody.
“I most likely simply wouldn’t vote,” he stated.
Like all Republicans, he had sharp phrases for President Biden, who he stated was “out of his depth,” and raised questions on his psychological health.
“He can’t do the job. Now, whether or not or not he’s acquired dementia or he’s acquired Alzheimer’s or what he’s acquired, I’m not a physician and I can’t diagnose it,” Christie stated. “However I can simply inform you that we’re saying that Vladimir Putin is shedding the warfare in Iraq, you already know, that tells me that there’s there’s some issues there. And definitely he’s not match to serve one other time period.”
Christie is significantly slimmer than when he was elected governor in 2010 thanks in-part to gastric bypass surgical procedure he underwent in 2013. At one level he was estimated to weigh greater than 320 kilos.
“I nonetheless have stored off 60% of the burden that I misplaced on the time. So given my historical past with gaining and shedding weight, that’s a win,” he stated — declining to get into specifics.
“I don’t speak about numbers. Me and my spouse are the one two folks to speak about that. You recognize, she sleeps with me. She has a proper to know. No one else does,” he stated.
As president, Christie stated his first precedence could be the nation’s overdose disaster — addressing the circulation of unlawful medication on the border and creating higher avenues for therapy.
The previous governor sought to chart a extra reasonable course on a number of hot-button GOP points than among the conservative fire-breathers within the race.
He stated he opposed legal guidelines that will outlaw gender reassignment surgical procedure for minors and that whereas he believed Hunter Biden was “undercharged,” he wouldn’t promise to nominate an Legal professional Normal who would empower a Particular Counsel to probe additional.He has pledged to maintain the much-maligned FBI Director Christopher Wray on the job.
Christie stated it was “almost definitely,” that coronavirus was man-made and escaped from a laboratory, however he demurred on whether or not he would search to outlaw the engineering of equally lethal viruses.
In a recreation of phrase affiliation, Christie branded China as “evil,” and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as “loopy.”
Christie referred to as Bridgegate — a scandal that concerned prime Christie aides allegedly colluding to create visitors jams on the George Washington Bridge as political payback — a “mistake.” Election fraud? “Nonexistent in 2020.”
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