Mike Pence responded to Chris Christie calling Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner ‘grifters’ on Fox and Friends as he said the following:
“I have great respect from our time in the White House for Jared and Ivanka, and I wouldn’t use terms like that to describe them. I think they made extraordinary contributions to our administration. I just think personal attacks have no place in public life.”
Former New Jersey Governor and current Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie made headlines when he responded to a complaint about a “double standard” regarding classified documents between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. Christie, who recently launched his campaign in New Hampshire, is positioning himself as a candidate who will prosecute Trump rather than align with him.
During an appearance on Fox & Friends, co-host Brian Kilmeade raised the issue of the ongoing investigation into classified documents, expressing frustration over what he perceived as a double standard between Biden and Trump. However, Christie swiftly redirected the conversation, launching into a scathing critique of Trump’s behavior and urging him to “return the documents and stop doing this!”
Christie acknowledged that he did not have specific knowledge about the details of any potential criminal charges against Trump but emphasized that the situation was a result of Trump’s own actions. He highlighted the stark contrast between Biden, whose possession of classified documents was potentially unknown to the government, and Trump, who was aware of the documents and had been asked to return them voluntarily over an extended period.
The former governor expressed skepticism about the current reports, as he understood the need to await official indictments before drawing definitive conclusions. However, he emphasized that knowingly keeping classified documents after being requested to return them was legally problematic, dismissing Trump’s excuses about the automatic declassification of the documents upon leaving office.
Christie expanded his criticism, noting that the issue extended beyond potential criminal charges. He questioned why Trump consistently sought negative attention and displayed anger, suggesting that such behavior was unnecessary and damaging. He also cautioned about the potential repercussions of Trump carrying the weight of these controversies if he were to become the party’s nominee in the general election.
While Christie acknowledged his earlier criticism of the Alvin Bragg indictment as “ridiculous,” he cautioned against dismissing future legal challenges that Trump might face. He emphasized the potential risks associated with Trump’s controversial actions and questioned the wisdom of taking such risks in a general election.
BRIAN KILMEADE: The one thing that looms over are these court cases, the ridiculous one with Alvin Bragg in New York City and now Trump attorneys have been notified that the former president is a target of a criminal investigation over his handling of those classified documents at Mar-a-Lago. We know William Barr thinks this is a strong case. I also see a huge double standard. You got classified documents all over Joe Biden’s house, offices, (inaudible) offices, garage. Do you believe that this should be what Donald Trump has done, from what you know, is criminal?
CHRIS CHRISTIE: Well, look, I don’t know, Brian, exactly what they’re going to find and what’s going to come in any indictment that may come. But I will say this. The problem with all of this is that it’s self-inflicted.
You know, in the end, I don’t know that the government even knew that Joe Biden had those documents or not.
But they did know Donald Trump did. And in fact asked for the voluntarily for over a year and a quarter, and got them back in dribs and drabs. And at least if you believe the accounts that you’re reading right now, and I and I take them with a grain of salt because I did this work for seven years and I know you can’t believe anything until an indictment comes out.
If in fact, you’re keeping those things knowingly, even after the government has asked for you to bring them back, the excuses about, oh, they were classified, declassified automatically when I left the office. Well, that’s just wrong! I mean, I know that as a legal matter.
And the problem with this is let’s go to pull it back for a second. It’s a bigger problem whether he’s indicted or not, because these are all self-inflicted wounds. Return the documents and stop doing this!
Why do you have to be the center of negative attention all the time? Why do you have to be angry all the time? And that’s what Donald Trump has done. So I’ll wait to see you make a judgment on the indictment if and when one comes.
But certainly, as you know, on the Alvin Bragg stuff I said at the time, that’s a ridiculous indictment and one that I would have never brought as a prosecutor. But it doesn’t mean that the next one and the next one are not going to be problematic. And by the way, that’s weight that Donald Trump will have to carry if he’s the nominee to a general election in November. And why do we want to take that risk?
