Christie Gets Booed at Debate: We Can’t Support Trump, Even if Charges Are ‘Wrong’

MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin — Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) was booed by the debate audience Wednesday evening after he said he would not support former President Donald Trump as the party’s nominee even if charges against him were “wrong.”

The former president faces four indictments — two in federal court, one in Manhattan, New York; and one in Fulton County, Georgia. Many Republicans consider the charges politically motivated and without legal merit.

The Fox News moderators of the first Republican presidential primary debate asked all eight candidates onstage to raise their hands if they would still support Trump as the party’s nominee if he was “convicted in a court of law.” Vivek Ramaswamy was the first to raise his hand, followed — slowly — by the others, except Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R). Christie appeared to raise his hand, but had actually shaken his finger in disapproval.

Asked to explain his position, Christie said:  “Here’s the bottom line: someone’s got to stop normalizing this conduct, okay? Now — and now whether or not you believe that the criminal charges are right or wrong, the conduct is beneath the office of president of the United States.”

There were cheers, as well as boos. Christie continued: “This is the great thing about this country. Booing is allowed, but it doesn’t change the truth.”

Ramaswamy replied that it was wrong for the party in power to indict its political opponents, and that it marked the “politicization of justice in this country.”

Christie retorted: “You make me laugh,” and was booed again.

Moderator Bret Baier, exasperated at the audience’s response, admonished them to stop booing the candidates.

Earlier, Christie had criticized partisan bias at the Department of Justice in relation to the Hunter Biden case.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the new biography, Rhoda: ‘Comrade Kadalie, You Are Out of Order’. He is also the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.