Former President Trump admitted that it was a "mistake" to put Christopher Wray in charge of the FBI, blaming it on 2024 GOP presidential candidate Chris Christie.
During an interview on Fox News, Trump acknowledged his poor judgment of Wray, claiming he only appointed Wray as a director based on strong urging from Christie.
"Yeah, sadly. It probably was [a mistake]," Trump said. "It was recommended very strongly by Chris Christie, who was, you know, a sad case. I mean, I watch him. He's a sad case."
Trump criticized Christie on his low poll numbers in the GOP presidential primary, who has spent much of his time on the campaign trail attacking the former president.
He topped the “never vote” list in a New Hampshire poll, which found that 46 percent of likely GOP primary voters “would never vote … under any circumstances” for the former New Jersey governor.
"You know how he's doing. He's at one percent, and he probably won't even make the debate stage," Trump said. "Now, Chris is a … he's sad. I mean, I watched him the other day. He said I built 47 miles of wall. I've built over 500 miles of wall. And that's homeland security statements. I had the safest border in the history of our country. I built massive miles of wall and would put up another 200 miles. Everything was built. They just had to erect [it],"
On the contrary, Christie has repeatedly defended Wray— who has led the FBI since 2017— claiming he has done a "very good job" while at the agency and that he would not fire him, unlike many Republicans who say they would on day one in office if elected.
Not only defending Wray, Christie also called the House Judiciary Committee's hearings on the FBI "theater."
The FBI has recently faced backlash after it launched a politically motivated witch hunt against Trump, starting with a raid at the former president's Mar-a-Lago home as part of an investigation into his handling of classified documents following his exit from the White House.
This week, the FBI was in the spotlight over its failure to prevent the January 6 protests and allegations the bureau has been protecting the Biden family from shady, overseas business dealings.