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Chris Christie says he and President Trump "were friends for 17 years." Maybe the former New Jersey governor should reconsider.

For starters, Trump surrounds himself with "a revolving door of deeply flawed individuals—amateurs, grifters, weaklings, convicted and unconvicted felons," Christie writes in his new book Let Me Finish: Trump, the Kushners, Bannon, New Jersey, and the Power of In-Your-Face Politics. That's because Trump pays the most attention to "people who he doesn't perceive as loyal," Christie told The Atlantic in an interview published Thursday. That's why Trump's staff ends up full of "bad people and stupid people [who] lie for no reason," Christie said. Trump also "hires on impulse," like the time he "offered secretary of state to Rex Tillerson the first time he met him," Christie continued.

But Christie is sure to point out that "the president doesn't always get it wrong." After all, he almost picked Christie as his running mate, he acknowledged to The Atlantic. The two "went out to dinner ... three or four times a year for 15 years," Christie said, adding that "before [Trump] ran for office, this was a really fun guy." Trump was "funny, conversational," and was "the first guy to tell me I should get a Lap-Band" surgery, Christie said. "You gotta look better to be able to win" elections, Trump told him, per Patch.

That blunt suggestion didn't seem to be a breaking point in Christie and Trump's relationship. Still, it's hard not to notice the past tense Christie uses to describe his longtime friend. Read more from Christie at The Atlantic.