Former Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ), a candidate for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, said Monday on CNN’s “The Lead” that Donald Trump would like to be an “authoritarian leader.”
Christie said, “I think what we have is a Donald Trump problem. Right now, what’s gone on is that people view Donald Trump synonymously with the Republican Party and that if you oppose Trump, that’s somehow favoring Biden. Many Republicans don’t want to do that for very obvious reasons.”
He continued, “I think that that’s why we need to have this full debate and discussion that we just really started on Wednesday night, about who should be leading our party and who should be leading our country. And I’ve said very clearly on the authoritarian side of things, this is Donald Trump’s problem, not the Republican Party’s problem.”
He added, “He’s the guy who thinks that Vladimir Putin is an excellent leader and brilliant. He’s the guy who thinks that President Xi is straight out of Hollywood. He’s the guy who thinks Kim Jong Un is wonderful. I mean, these are things that he’s said about the authoritarian leader, and that is because Donald Trump would like to be one himself. He likes that.”
Christie concluded, “He doesn’t want to debate with anyone as he showed on Wednesday night. He doesn’t want anybody to disagree with him. And, look, that’s just not the way our system works. And I know that the truth is what matters the most. I’m going to continue to stand up for the truth.”
Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN