Chris Christie calls out Trump for premature victory claim: 'He has undercut his own credibility'
Chris Christie isn't happy with President Trump's premature claim of victory in the 2020 election.
The former New Jersey governor on Wednesday criticized Trump after he prematurely claimed victory in the presidential race while baselessly alleging a "major fraud on our nation" as votes in key states continued to be counted and no candidate had collected 270 electoral votes.
"There's just no basis to make that argument tonight," Christie told ABC News. "There just isn't. All these votes have to be counted that are in now."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Christie went on to say that "I disagree with what" Trump did, adding that the president must "let the process play itself out" before claiming it to be "flawed" as he did in his speech.
"I think by prematurely doing this, if there is a flaw in it later, he has undercut his own credibility in calling attention to that flaw," Christie said. "So I think it's a bad strategic decision, it's a bad political decision, and it's not the kind of decision you would expect someone to make tonight who holds the position he holds."
Christie, who recently helped Trump with 2020 debate prep, was among the Republicans calling out Trump's premature victory speech. Former Republican Senator Rick Santorum said he was "distressed" by Trump's remarks, while former National Security Adviser John Bolton said the comments were a "disgrace" and "some of the most irresponsible comments that a president of the United States has ever made." Brendan Morrow
