A long-time critic of former President Donald Trump has some advice for his GOP opponent who knocked him out of the water.
Failed 2024 Republican candidate Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ) is calling on Trump to lead the party in a "new direction" following Saturday’s assassination attempt on the former president.
In a New York Times op-ed, Christie appeared to turn a new leaf, saying that Trump has one of the greatest opportunities to “rein in some of the worst rhetorical impulses of the Republican Party.”
He praised the former president for admitting that it may not be possible to unite the nation but still make an effort to do so anyway. He also applauded Trump for writing a new speech for his Republican National Convention (RNC) speech following the assassination attempt against him.
“Mr. Trump, however, can demonstrate the will to change not just how we speak to one another but also how we act. This moment can confirm that our country is greater than any political party, but only if we work for it,” he wrote. “He can point the party and its leadership in a new direction in the wake of the assassination attempt against him.”
However, the praises stopped there. Christie criticized Trump for picking Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) as his 2024 running mate, arguing that Vance is not the face of unity.
Vance claimed the Biden campaign’s ongoing attacks against Trump attributed to the would-be assassination of the GOP nominee.
“The central premise of the Biden campaign is that President Donald Trump is an authoritarian fascist who must be stopped at all costs,” Vance wrote on Saturday. “That rhetoric led directly to President Trump’s attempted assassination.”
However, the former governor argued that Vance’s comments were pulled from a “flawed playbook.”
“Too many of the loudest voices in our national discourse are now incentivized to paint their opponents as not just wrong but also out to destroy all we hold dear,” Christie said.
Despite endorsing Trump for president in 2016 and 2020, Christie wrote that Trump has “become a victim of a culture that he manifestly contributed to making worse with his inflammatory and irresponsible language and actions."