Our conversation is below.
Cillizza: Christie said he voted for Trump twice and even now, won’t change his 2020 ballot. Does that surprise you?
Bash: I’m just amazed that he spends so much time in his new book systematically tearing apart the conspiracies the former president propagated and detailing clearly the ways in which lies That destroys American discourse.
Christie argued that his ideological differences with Joe Biden were so great that he could never vote for Biden. What I told him that I don’t understand, and still don’t understand, is how he can argue that Trump’s lies are a danger to democracy and not think that it replaces everyone. others? Isn’t it a luxury to argue about ideals? Something that only people in a working democracy have a chance to argue about? He argues the answer is “no.” A lot of people are vehemently opposed – including fellow Republicans who, like him, are trying to find a post-Trump path for themselves and the GOP in general.
Cillizza: He rejects the idea – despite being the first major politician to endorse Trump in 2016 – that he is a supporter of the former president. Did he express regret at any point in the interview for his role in Trump’s rise?
Bash: It’s interesting – there are many times Christie bluntly said he made a mistake, including the infamous photo of him on a closed beach at the end of his term as governor while he was fighting. budget competition with the Democratic legislature.
But Christie expressed no regrets for helping Trump. I asked him about being an enactor – about helping Trump get to the point where he’s powerful enough to not only be President but to use his perch to try to overturn the election. which he lost in 2020. Christie made the point that in 2016 he is the one who wants to be president. As his own candidacy stalled, he saw Trump on his way to the nomination and in Christie’s opinion Trump is still better than Hillary Clinton so he wants to use his long-term relationship with Trump. to help him.
However, in his book, Christie details one example after another where he tried, and failed, to turn the Trump train around. Christie told me, “I thought the presidency might change him, but it didn’t change him one bit.
Cillizza: The two men have not spoken since Christie criticized Trump in January. Does Christie still consider Trump a friend?
Bash: Christie still considers Trump a friend. They’ve been in a relationship for about 20 years now and he says they’ve had other times where they haven’t talked in a long time.
But let’s be clear – nothing this high profile or this consequential has happened between them before. Christie is saying Trump has lost, which in Trump’s mind means Christie is calling him a failure. Anyone who knows Trump will tell you that’s the worst thing you can say about him – that’s the whole reason the former president never gave in and is pulling the country through his mess. conspiracies about the 2020 election.
Cillizza: Christie has repeatedly described herself as a “shrewd” person and a truth-teller. Will that locator run in 2024?
Bash: Christie is positioning himself to run in 2024. He argues that the reason he wrote a Republican roadmap to rescue himself from Trump’s lies is not just because he loves his party. himself, but because he won’t have a GOP to join unless it changes. He wants to be president. We know that. He ran once. The question is whether 2024 is the year for him. Remember this time before the 2016 presidential cycle, he had just been re-elected in a landslide election in a blue state. Then Bridgegate happened. He has first-hand experience of how things can change rapidly in politics.
Cillizza: End this sentence: “In 2024, Chris Christie will __________.” Now, explain.
Bash: “Be a key voice for the GOP.”
Whether he’s a candidate himself or a supporter of others, he’s a political animal who loves to be in it and, as he put it bluntly, naturally gets attention and arouses interest. passionate for whatever he’s doing – the good, the ugly and the ugly.
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