Ken Cuccinelli: Christie Needs to 'Take One for the Team'

Former Virginia Attorney General and Republican gubernatorial candidate Ken Cuccinelli said Republican New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie should “take one for the team” and resign as Chairman of the Republican Governors Association (RGA) because his presence on the stump will do more harm than good this year.

Appearing on Breitbart News Sunday with Breitbart News Executive Chairman and host Stephen K. Bannon, Cuccinelli said that governors in tight races will be wary of inviting Christie to campaign for them during crunch time. He emphasized that until the “dust settles” on the investigations into Christie’s scandals, Christie cannot perform the “fundamental role of his position,” which he said is to “boost” other candidates. These scandals are the George Washington Bridge lane closures and allegations that he may have withheld Hurricane Sandy funds because a mayor allegedly did not approve of projects favored by his administration’s cronies.   

He also said Christie should “take one for the team,” “take a step back,” and “step down” because it is inevitable that his scandals will overshadow the news coverage wherever he goes. Cuccinelli said that the media circus that will accompany Christie “hurts” other governors, and they will not want Christie “dragging the New Jersey malarkey” into their states. 

He asserted that stepping down would make Christie “look as good as he can under the circumstances.” 

Otherwise, Cuccinelli said Christie’s presence just “clogs up the coverage.” This ultimately hurts candidates because it does not allow them to disseminate their message during crucial moments in the campaign cycle. As an example, Cuccinelli mentioned that Christie’s visit to Florida last week dwarfed Republican Gov. Rick Scott, and he said that if Christie “were candid about it, if that’s the kind of reporting that comes out of the circumstance, [then] that’s a problem.” 

Ken Cuccinelli made waves last week in a CNN appearance when he became the most prominent Republican figure to date to call for Christie’s resignation.