Chris Christie on Trump: ‘He’s not what he used to be’

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) on Sunday said former President Trump isn’t “what he used to be” after the former president touted his 2024 campaign in remarks to the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) the day before.

“Look, he is the front-runner. There’s no doubt, he’s essentially an incumbent president running for renomination — not reelection, but renomination — and so of course, he’s the front-runner right now and ahead in the polls. But there are lots of indicators here, that he’s not what he used to be,” Christie said on ABC’s “This Week.”

Trump at CPAC positioned himself to his Republican audience as “retribution,” saying that in 2016 he was “your voice,” but in this race he’s “your warrior.” 

Christie on Sunday said CPAC had become “TPAC,” or “Trump PAC,” and highlighted that the conference room was “half-full.” 

“The fact of what’s going on here is the reason, I think, the rallies are not going on … is not just because of the money, although I think that’s a factor, I don’t think the rallies would be nearly as big as they were,” Christie said.

“And you know, what got him upset on Jan. 6? The crowd size. What kind of upset on Jan. 20, 2017? The crowd size. He measures that as an example of his own power and his own authority and I don’t think he hasn’t anymore,” Christie said of Trump.

Trump kicked off his 2024 campaign back in November. Christie, who worked on Trump’s 2016 and 2020 campaign, has previously said he doesn’t think Trump could beat President Biden if the two ended up going against each other as party nominees in a 2024 rematch.