- Chris Christie says Trump's "act" and fixation on past grievances is getting old.
- Christie commented on ABC about Trump's rambling, post-arrest speech at Mar-a-Lago.
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie says former President Donald Trump's fixation on the past is getting tired and overblown.
During an April 9 appearance on ABC's "This Week," Christie commented on Trump's post-arrest speech at Mar-a-Lago — a defiant, 27-minute, campaign-style address to rally the MAGA faithful.
"And so, what's going to happen here with Trump is that his act is going to remain the same," Christie said of the speech. "That sounded to me like a guy that you'd encounter in a bar who you'd wind up sitting next to, and he's griping to you about his bad divorce."
Christie added that Trump's biggest problem is that elections "are won or lost on the future" — a significant stumbling block for Trump, who can't move on from the past.
"And that is going to be his problem when the primary comes because the smart primary candidate will be talking about the future and ignoring Donald Trump, except for when he pops up," Christie said. "And then, like whack-a-mole, you hit him down."
Christie then weighed in on the current slate of 2024 presidential candidates, predicting that if President Joe Biden were to run, Trump would be the only GOP candidate he could beat.
"I don't think he could beat any other Republican that could get nominated," Christie said of Biden. "But the economy will still be the thing that determines this, and I think we have more bumps ahead."
Christie is a former Trump ally. He distanced himself from Trump after the Capitol riot and has since become a vocal Trump critic.
In November, Christie slammed other GOP politicians for being too scared to disavow Trump.
"There's a number of people who are considering running for president who still treat him like Voldemort, like 'He Who Shall Not Be Named,'" Christie told the Washington Examiner in November. "You're going to run against him? Say his name. You think he did something wrong? Say his name."
And in March, Christie vowed not to support Trump in 2024.
"I can't help him. No way," Christie told Axios.
There's a chance Christie might launch a 2024 presidential bid of his own — which would pit him against Trump, the current GOP frontrunner. Christie told Fox News on March 23 that he will "probably make a decision in the next 60 days on what to do or not to do."
Representatives for Christie and Trump did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment sent outside regular business hours.