Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie encouraged former President Donald Trump to "tell the truth" about the 2020 presidential election following several Republican victories last week.
Christie, a Republican who has long been a vocal supporter of Trump, told CNN that he believes the former President could be a "very positive force for Republican candidates" in 2022, but only if he tells the truth and moves on from the election.
Following Trump's loss, he and his allies have claimed with no evidence that the election was stolen in key swing states.
The CNN interview came after Christie spoke at Saturday's Republican Jewish Coalition conference in Las Vegas, where he again urged Republicans to look to the future and move on from the election while speaking to a group of donors Saturday.
Christie doubled down on his support for Trump, arguing the line of support "starts with" him. However, he offered a warning to Republicans.
"We can no longer talk about the past and the past elections," he said. "No matter where you stand on that issue, no matter where you stand, it is over. And every minute that we spend talking about 2020 while we're wasting time doing that, Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer are laying ruin to this country," he said during the speech.
He called on Republicans to look to suburban voters, who have moved away from the GOP in recent years. He said they want a government that is "honest and truthful and efficient and not wasting their money and not wasting their time."
He said Glenn Youngkin's recent gubernatorial election victory in Virginia was the "start of a new era for the Republican Party" and remarked that winning campaigns like Youngkin's "look forward and not backwards."
Christie served as governor of New Jersey from 2010 to 2018. Like Youngkin, he was elected a year after the state backed a Democrat for president by double digits.
Some political experts have said Youngkin's win, while largely a referendum on Biden's poor approval rating, could also be a sign that swing-state Republicans may move away from Trump and his style of politics. Youngkin was endorsed by the former president but kept his distance from him and his unfounded claims about the 2020 presidential election.
Paul Quirk, a political scientist at the University of British Columbia in Canada, told Newsweek last week that Youngkin avoided embracing Trump because it could have possibly harmed his gubernatorial bid.
"Youngkin's campaign could be the start of something big for the Republican Party—a gradual process of separating itself from Donald Trump," Quirk said.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Andrew Stanton is a Newsweek weekend reporter based in Maine. His role is reporting on U.S. politics and social issues. ... Read more
