WASHINGTON – In his quest for the 2024 presidential race, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie ridiculed the idea of a second term for former President Donald Trump, asserting that Trump is notorious for not completing what he starts.
Speaking on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Christie questioned Trump’s ability to accomplish more in a second term, given the company he keeps. Christie referred to Trump’s inner circle as a “clowns and rogues gallery.”
Christie pointed to multiple unfulfilled promises made by Trump during his first term, such as building a wall across the U.S.-Mexico border and balancing the budget. He also noted Trump’s failure to bring peace to the Middle East.
Although Christie claims that the Trump administration added 52 miles of border wall, this figure has been disputed. While the U.S. Customs and Border Protection data suggests a total of 458 miles, many of these additions replaced existing barriers.
PolitiFact reported in August that the border agency confirmed the construction of “52 miles of new primary wall systems and 33 miles of new secondary wall systems.”
Furthermore, Christie expressed doubts about the quality of Trump’s staff in a second term, suggesting that they would be individuals implicated in various legal troubles. He highlighted the indictment of several allies in Georgia over an alleged racketeering scheme to overturn the 2020 election.
Christie restated his belief that Trump would not win against President Joe Biden in a general election, pointing to the four sets of criminal charges Trump currently faces. The former president enjoys support from the majority of Republicans according to polling data, holding over 59% compared to Christie’s 2.4%.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: ‘Clowns’: Chris Christie scoffs at second Donald Trump administration