Chris Christie

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Kushner Sought Christie’s Advice on Outside Counsel

May 24, 2017 at 10:53 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) has told people that Jared Kushner asked him if Trump should hire a lawyer to deal with the ramifications of the Russia investigation, Vanity Fair reports.

“A spokesman for Christie, who was responsible for prosecuting Kushner’s father, denied that the governor talked to Kushner about anything related to seeking outside counsel. An administration source said that the conversation about retaining counsel ‘simply did not happen.’ Both sides confirmed that a phone call between them took place, as the two talk frequently.”

Christie Says He Warned Trump About Flynn

May 22, 2017 at 4:08 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) said that if it were up to him, retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn never would have had a White House job, CNN reports.

Said Christie: “I think it’s safe to say that General Flynn and I didn’t see eye-to eye. I didn’t think that he was someone who would bring benefit to the President or to the administration, and I made that very clear to candidate Trump, and I made it very clear to President-elect Trump.”

Christie Vows to Referee Election to Replace Him

April 28, 2017 at 7:18 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Charles Stile: “Outgoing governors tend to fade into the background as they round the final lap of their tenure. And as a general rule, they tend to lend at least tacit support for the next standard bearer of their own party or refrain from making overt criticism.”

“Not Christie so far. The self-anointed truth teller is vowing to suit up in a referee’s zebra stripes and call out the candidates if he believes they are trying to ‘hoodwink’ the public with reckless or unrealistic promises.”

Said Christie: “I’m going to referee this stuff and if people are making irresponsible claims, I’m going to let the public know what to expect as a result.”

Christie Angling for a Comeback

April 17, 2017 at 5:00 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Politico: “The New Jersey governor remains one of the country’s most unpopular executives, after a dismal year in which two allies were sentenced to prison, the state’s credit rating continued to drop, and his White House dreams were conspicuously dashed by Donald Trump.”

“But Christie, entering into the last eight months in office, often seems happier and more focused than at any point since the Bridgegate scandal broke, several people close to him say. He is again taking on an ambitious agenda in New Jersey, trying to buttress and shape his once-enviable legacy.”

“And he is enjoying significant influence in Trump’s world, spearheading a new national anti-addiction effort, talking to the president several times per week, and recently spending much of two days in the Oval Office advising Trump.”

Trump Can’t Quit Christie

March 3, 2017 at 7:28 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Politico: “Trump’s aides and advisers have declared that New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is not that close to the president and has lost clout since he was unceremoniously ousted from leading the transition team shortly after the Nov. 8 election. But Trump frequently calls Christie to ask his opinion on the administration’s performance, and to kibbitz about New York or whatever is happening that day, according to several people close to Trump with knowledge of the conversations.”

“The president also sought to appoint Christie as labor secretary after Trump’s first nominee, Andrew Puzder, dropped out, even though some of his top advisers disapproved of the move. Christie declined the offer.”

Quote of the Day

February 26, 2017 at 12:36 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Welcome to the real world of responsibility. The fact is that, right now, the heat is on the Republicans. It’s on us… We now have two-thirds of the statehouses in America. We have the House. We have the Senate. We have the White House. It’s now on us to produce results.”

— Gov. Chris Christie (R), quoted by the Washington Post.

Christie Could Land Sports Talk Radio Job

February 22, 2017 at 3:59 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie could soon be in contention as host of a sports talk radio show “that would keep him in the public eye with a megaphone in the country’s largest media market,” the Bergen Record reports.

“The same attributes that catapulted Christie to national fame in his first term – unabashed volubility and acerbic reflexes – translate well to sports talk radio, radio industry experts say, and those qualities may soon serve him in a second act that is potentially far more lucrative and certainly less consequential.”

Christie Tells Staff He’s Taking White House Job

February 19, 2017 at 8:34 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) is telling friends and staff he is taking a role with the Trump administration, the New York Post reports.

“The GOP governor’s position has not been worked out, but he would not replace Reince Preibus as the president’s chief-of-staff, the source said.”

Trump Made Christie Order the Meatloaf

February 17, 2017 at 5:30 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) says President Trump made him order meatloaf when they dined together at the White House this week, the AP reports.

Christie said while guest hosting a New York sports talk radio show that Trump pointed out the menu and told people to get whatever they want. Then he said he and Christie were going to have the meatloaf.

Said Christie: “This is what it’s like to be with Trump. He says, ‘There’s the menu, you guys order whatever you want.’ And then he says, ‘Chris, you and I are going to have the meatloaf.'”

Christie Summoned to White House

February 13, 2017 at 10:53 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is scheduled to have a lunch meeting with President Trump in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, the Newark Star Ledger reports.

“The meeting comes as speculation intensifies that President Trump has grown unhappy with several members of his inner circle and their performance in the first month of the administration…. Christie, a fellow Republican who has been a longtime friend and confidant to Trump, is expected to discuss a broad range of topics with the president.”

Christie Hits Flynn for Conversations with Russia

February 12, 2017 at 12:00 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) criticized President Trump’s national security adviser Michael Flynn, “saying he needs to clear up questions about whether he discussed sanctions in his pre-inauguration conversations with the Russian ambassador to the United States,” CNN reports.

Said Christie: “That’s a conversation he is going to need to have with the President and the vice president to clear that up, so that the White House can make sure that they are completely accurate about what went on.”

Christie’s Approval Sinks to 17%

January 31, 2017 at 1:14 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

A new Quinnipiac poll in New Jersey finds Gov. Chris Christie with a dismal 17% to 78% approval rate.

Abandoned Christie Still Sees a Path to Trump

December 27, 2016 at 8:49 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

New York Times: “Once considered the Republican Party’s best hope to win the White House, Mr. Christie has endured months of humiliation after he dropped out of the presidential race and endorsed Mr. Trump — who mocked him as they campaigned together for eating too many Oreos, and passed him over as the vice-presidential nominee. Now, Mr. Christie has returned to New Jersey a lame duck in his last year to discover voters angry over his absences and a Legislature suddenly unwilling to go along with his agenda.”

“Mr. Christie still believes he has a political future nationally. He wants to write a book and his friends have been telling people in New Jersey that the governor expects Mr. Trump to eventually come around to him. According to their scenario, the White House management team of Jared Kushner, Stephen K. Bannon and Reince Priebus will be a disaster and Mr. Christie will be tapped as the skilled manager, like David Gergen, the former aide to Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan who swooped in to steady Bill Clinton’s administration after a raucous first year.”

Christie Turned Down Several Job Offers

December 11, 2016 at 1:44 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

President-elect Donald Trump offered Gov. Chris Christie numerous positions in his incoming administration, “but the New Jersey governor turned them down,” the Newark Star Ledger reports.

“The sources said those jobs included Cabinet-level posts like Homeland Security secretary and Veterans Affairs secretary, as well as other posts, like a White House advisory role and U.S. ambassador to Italy. But the sources noted Christie, a longtime Trump friend and adviser, was not offered the role of U.S. attorney general — a post the governor reportedly coveted.”

Big Majority Think Christie Should Have Stood Trial

December 6, 2016 at 7:45 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

A new Fairleigh Dickinson University’s PublicMind poll finds that 71% of New Jersey voters believe Gov. Chris Christie (R) should have been a defendant in the recently concluded Bridgegate trial.

Just 18% of voters approve of Christie’s job performance, while 73% disapprove.

Said pollster Krista Jenkins: “Christie has been abandoned by virtually everyone, which is a far cry from where he once sat atop a field of aspiring presidential candidates who cut a more polarizing figure than he did.”

A new Quinnipiac poll finds just 19% approve of Christie’s performance while 77% disapprove — the lowest for any governor in 20 years.

Why Kushner Got Payback Against Christie

December 5, 2016 at 6:15 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Vanity Fair looks at why Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, is believed to have sunk Gov. Chris Christie’s chances at a job in the new administration:

Much has been made of Kushner’s familial loyalty even within the Trump campaign, as reports swirled that he convinced his father-in-law to pass over New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, first as the vice-presidential pick, and again, when he got ousted last month as head of the White House transition team. Christie, as U.S. Attorney, was responsible for putting Charlie Kushner behind bars. A source close to the campaign told me recently that there was a major sticking point in the Christie relationship that Jared could not let go of, and that’s what led him to convince Trump to bypass him.

According to the source, Charlie Kushner was going to be released 28 days early from his sentence. The family was ready, eager, anticipating his arrival home. But he ended up finishing out the time. This source claims that Jared Kushner believes that Christie made sure that Charlie Kushner stayed behind bars for the full sentence, even though the family had already started preparing for his early release. “That really sort of twisted the knife in and he just couldn’t let go of that part of it,” the source said. A source close to Kushner confirmed that this is true.

Christie Passed Over Again?

December 5, 2016 at 12:04 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Gov. Chris Christie “may be pressing his own candidacy to be the next chairman of the Republican National Committee, but Mr. Trump, who has the final say, appears to have other ideas,” the New York Times reports.

“A person close to Mr. Trump said the president-elect’s allies are coalescing around Nick Ayers, a member of the transition team, to be the party’s chairman. Mercedes Schlapp, another Republican operative, is being considered for a role as co-chairwoman.”

Christie Would Like to Be RNC Chairman

December 1, 2016 at 1:21 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is expressing interest in becoming chairman of the Republican National Committee, Politico reports.

“On Thursday morning, Christie told senior members of Donald Trump’s presidential transition team that he is interested in the post… The governor, a longtime supporter of Trump, has lately had a rocky relationship with the president-elect’s transition team. Christie had been overseeing the transition but was booted from the post last month in favor of Vice President-elect Mike Pence.”