Chris Christie cuts and runs from Donald Trump after Robert Mueller’s press conference
Donald Trump has his cartoonishly loyal allies like Rudy Giuliani and Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who are willing to repeat and amplify every lie that Trump tells. Then Trump has people like Chris Christie, who at various points have been closely aligned with Trump, but are ultimately more worried about themselves and their own reputations. Accordingly, after Robert Mueller held his press conference this morning, Christie made clear what side he’s on: his own.
Chris Christie appeared on ABC News today and essentially accused Attorney General William Barr of lying about the contents of Robert Mueller’s report in the hope of protecting Donald Trump. Christie said on-air that Mueller’s statement “definitely contradicts what the Attorney General said when he summarized Mueller’s report” – specifically with regard to why Mueller didn’t bring criminal charges against Trump. So why does this matter?
Days like this, where things are stacked 100% against Donald Trump, tend to serve as a good litmus test for who’s willing to go down with the Trump ship. Various Republicans in the House and Senate, including the increasingly mentally incompetent Lindsey Graham, parroted Trump’s lie about Mueller’s statement having somehow exonerated Trump. Other unofficial Trump lackeys like Newt Gingrich did the same.
But clearly, Chris Christie cares more about maintaining just enough credibility to keep his ABC News analyst job than he does about protecting Donald Trump. That’s a big deal, because when Trump’s quasi-friends start throwing him under the bus, it’s a sign of what direction they think this is heading in.
