Chris Christie: Trump's focus on election fraud claims 'certainly didn't help' GOP in Georgia
Is President Trump to blame for the GOP's disappointing showing in the Georgia Senate runoffs? His focus on baseless election fraud claims "certainly didn't help," former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) says.
Christie spoke on Wednesday morning with SiriusXM's Julie Mason about what he described as a "very disappointing" night for Republicans in the Georgia Senate runoffs, as Democrat Raphael Warnock was projected to defeat Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.), while Democrat Jon Ossoff leads Republican David Perdue in a race that hasn't been called.
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.
"The kind of singular focus of the president since Election Day, not on COVID vaccination distribution, not on the Georgia Senate races, but on his continued claims, without any basis in fact, of widespread election fraud in the country, certainly didn't help motivate Republican voters in Georgia, and certainly appears to have motivated Democratic voters," Christie said.
Christie, who said he last spoke with Trump about three weeks ago, also predicted that Trump will never concede the presidential election because he's not "capable of admitting that he lost," and he dismissed Trump's attempt to pressure Vice President Mike Pence to overturn the results despite his lack of authority to do so.
"Only someone who has no understanding of the law at all would think there's any pressure on Mike Pence," Christie said.
-
Is under-16s social media ban missing the point?Today’s Big Question Pressure is growing on Keir Starmer to follow Australia’s lead but sceptics say government should focus on tech companies and children’s offline lives
-
How does A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms compare to Game of Thrones?Talking Point George R.R. Martin prequel is more ‘fun’ but still has plenty of blood and guts
-
The Board of Peace: Donald Trump’s ‘alternative to the UN’The Explainer Body set up to oversee reconstruction of Gaza could have broader mandate to mediate other conflicts and create a ‘US-dominated alternative to the UN’
-
Why Greenland’s natural resources are nearly impossible to mineThe Explainer The country’s natural landscape makes the task extremely difficult
-
Iran cuts internet as protests escalateSpeed Reada Government buildings across the country have been set on fire
-
US nabs ‘shadow’ tanker claimed by RussiaSpeed Read The ship was one of two vessels seized by the US military
-
Maduro pleads not guilty in first US court hearingSpeed Read Deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores pleaded not guilty to cocaine trafficking and narco-terrorism conspiracy
-
Iran’s government rocked by protestsSpeed Read The death toll from protests sparked by the collapse of Iran’s currency has reached at least 19
-
Israel approves new West Bank settlementsSpeed Read The ‘Israeli onslaught has all but vanquished a free Palestinian existence in the West Bank’
-
US offers Ukraine NATO-like security pact, with caveatsSpeed Read The Trump administration has offered Ukraine security guarantees similar to those it would receive from NATO
-
Hong Kong court convicts democracy advocate LaiSpeed Read Former Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai was convicted in a landmark national security trial
