Christie: ‘I don’t believe that Republican voters penalize people who criticize Trump’

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R), who is mulling a White House campaign in 2024, said criticism of former President Trump is not a damaging tactic in a primary fight.

“I don’t believe that Republican voters penalize people who criticize Trump,” Christie, a one-time Trump ally, told Politico. “If you think you’re a better person to be president than Donald Trump, then you better make that case.”

Christie is considering making that case for himself. The former two-term New Jersey governor, who ran for president in 2016, has been a frequent Trump critic after initially endorsing then-candidate Trump. An ABC political commentator, Christie’s voice has been one of the prominent GOP critics of Trump.

Christie has said he will decide on a potential presidential campaign by sometime in May, and has made a number of visits to early nominating states in the Republican primary process. 

Christie convened members of his political network in Washington this week, according to Politico, to ask them advice on a potential 2024 campaign and whether he has a path to defeating Trump.

Declared and prospective Republican candidates for president in 2024 have largely steered clear of clashing with Trump. It’s a tactic that Christie, who has stood on the debate stage with Trump before, does not think will work in the GOP primary, saying Trump “needs to be called out and it needs to be called out by somebody who knows him.”

“Nobody knows Donald Trump better than I do,” Christie said.

Christie has also been critical of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), who is seen as the main rival to Trump for the 2024 nomination, dinging DeSantis on his feud with Disney in the state.

“I don’t think Ron DeSantis is a conservative based on his actions towards Disney,” Christie said in an interview with Semafor Principals. 

Still, popular support for a Christie run seems thin, with the former New Jersey governor receiving zero percent support in a Quinnipiac poll earlier this year.