Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie took shots at fellow Republican Donald Trump for his mental decline, his childlike behavior amid Hurricane Helene and his chances of winning the presidency in November during an interview with New York Times opinion journalist Frank Bruni.
Christie—who supported Trump’s last two campaigns before speaking out against him more recently—told Bruni that he has seen declines in the GOP nominee’s mental acuity and speaking ability.
“He wasn’t as good in 2020 as he was in 2016,” Christie said. “I saw decline in his skills in ’20 from ’16, and you see significant declines still. What masks it is that he is still physically pretty vibrant and energetic, unlike the president. But if you listen to him and his ability to make a point, it’s not nearly as good now as it was in 2016, not nearly.”
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The former New Jersey leader initially faced praise—but later criticism—for his handling of Superstorm Sandy, which killed over 250 when it struck the northeast in 2012. He criticized the politicization of the two hurricanes, Helene and Milton, that have recently wreaked havoc in the southeast, and singled out Trump in particular.
“He is a selfish child,” Christie said. “And he doesn’t care that these people in North Carolina are suffering the way they are, if caring costs him one bit of perceived political advantage.”
Helene has killed 92 in the state, with its death still rising, even as Trump has spread lies about his political adversaries’ response to the crisis.
At one point, Christie vowed not to vote for Trump, saying that he had chosen the “lesser of two evils” when he did so in 2016. He suggested he might not vote for a president at all.
Christie called the election “a total jump ball,” offering some praise for Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign.
“I think that she has displayed some really significant political skills over the course of the last—what is it now?—about 80 days or so that she’s been a candidate,” he said, adding: “Her political skills have now made this a jump-ball race.”
Christie went as far as to say that he would be open to accepting a position in Harris’ cabinet should she win.
“It would depend on two things: what was the position, and what role did she say she wanted me to play?” he explained. “Am I there as a mannequin or am I there to actually provide her with effective advice and counsel? The country’s more important than anything else. And if I thought that I could help the country, look, any president that calls on me, I would be willing to help.”
