Christie rebukes Trump: ‘It is time to stop whispering… It is time to stop being afraid of any one person’

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) on Saturday urged the Republican Party to move on from Donald Trump, just days after the former president announced his third bid for office.

“It is time to stop whispering,” Christie said at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual leadership meeting. “It is time to stop being afraid of any one person. It is time to stand up for the principles and the beliefs that we have founded this party on and this country on.”

Christie, who ran against Trump in the 2016 presidential election, is considering another run for president in 2024.

The former New Jersey governor noted on Saturday that he was the first candidate to drop out and endorse Trump in February 2016, after a disappointing performance in the early primary states.

“I was there early, I was there faithfully, and I was there all the way — until election night 2020,” he said.

Christie has since become a vocal opponent of the former president and has been particularly outspoken in the wake of the GOP’s disappointing midterm election performance. 

Since Republicans fell short of delivering the anticipated “red wave” in the midterms earlier this month, the party has looked for where to place the blame. Many, including Christie, are pointing the finger at Trump.

“We keep losing and losing and losing,” Christie said on Saturday. “And the fact of the matter is the reason we’re losing is because Donald Trump has put himself before everyone else.”

Trump announced his 2024 campaign for president on Tuesday despite major pushback from within his own party.