Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) fired back at former President Donald Trump over comments he made about his approval rating.
During an interview with “Axios on HBO,” host Mike Allen mentioned remarks Christie made about elections for Republicans needing to be about the future, not the past.
“Donald Trump put out a statement, saying you gotten absolutely massacred” by the statements.
Christie replied, “I’ve made the conscious decision, Mike, that I want to spend my time combating the policies of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris and trying to help Republicans win governorships and the House and the Senate in 2022.”
He continued, “This is not an argument that I’ll walk away from.”
Allen then pointed out Trump took a swipe at Christie’s approval rating.
He asked Christie, “What do you make of him saying you had a less than 9% approval rating?”
The former governor explained, “I’m not gonna get into a back-and-forth with Donald Trump.”
He added, “But what I will say is this: When I ran for reelection in 2013, I got 60% of the vote. When he ran for reelection, he lost to Joe Biden. I’m happy to have that comparison stand up, because that’s the one that really matters.”
Watch Christie’s comments below:
Christie told Republicans over the weekend every minute “we spend talking about 2020 — while we’re wasting time doing that, Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer are laying ruin to this country. We better focus on that and take our eyes off the rearview mirror and start looking through the windshield again.”
He told CNN Trump can be a “very positive force for Republican candidates” in 2022 if he starts “talking about the future and tell the truth about the election and move on.”
Christie also told the outlet his decision about whether to run in 2024 will not be based on the former president’s decision.
“Absolutely not. My decision will never be based on anybody else’s candidacy,” he said, adding, “It will be based on whether I believe I have the talent, the skill and the ability to be able to win. And anybody who says that they’ll step aside for anybody else, I’d say to you, doesn’t belong being president. If you don’t believe in yourself enough to stand up to anyone, then you can’t possibly stand up for everyone.”
