‘He’s let us down because he’s unwilling – he’s unwilling – to take responsibility for any of the mistakes that were made,’ the former New Jersey governor said. ‘And that is not leadership, everybody. That is a failure of leadership.’
Presidential hopeful Chris Christie bashed Donald Trump on Friday at a Washington, D.C., conference, while other Republicans eyeing the nomination generally shied away from mentioning the former president to an audience of his supporters.
“Beware, everybody, of a leader who has no faults. Beware of a leader who says that when something goes wrong, it’s everybody else’s fault,” Christie said at the Faith & Freedom Coalition conference, teasing what would become harsh and pointed criticisms of the former president.
The former New Jersey governor, who had otherwise evoked little reaction from the crowd, received a warm round of applause at the mention that he was the first candidate to endorse Trump in 2016, when he bowed out of the primary early in the race. But that applause was quickly followed by intense booing as his conclusion became clear.
“I’m running because he let us down,” Christie said, referring to Trump. “He’s let us down because he’s unwilling – he’s unwilling – to take responsibility for any of the mistakes that were made and any of the faults that he has with any of the things that he’s done. And that is not leadership, everybody. That is a failure of leadership.”
Christie described how Trump has “belittled” him and called him names, as a consequence of his disagreement with the former president as the crowd interrupted, shouting, “We love Trump.”
“You can love him all you want,” Christie said. “But I will tell you, I will tell you that doing those kinds of things makes our country smaller.”
Christie’s comments come as Trump is set to headline the event with a speech on Saturday and as other Republicans running for president generally danced around the former president in their remarks earlier in the day. Christie has been a reliable critic of Trump, along with former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, as the two have become the only GOP primary candidates who regularly and aggressively take on the former president.
Trump, who leads the pack for the GOP nomination, has appeared to maintain his hold on a large portion of the party, even as some Republicans expressed a need for the GOP to move forward after a disappointing showing in the midterm elections. Even so, members of the ever-expanding Republican presidential field are eyeing an opening, as the former president’s legal woes begin to stack up against him.
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