(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Chris Christie keeps punching his own party [1] ['Daily Kos Staff'] Date: 2023-08-12 Former New Jersey Chris Christie is no hero, but he continues to carpet bomb his Republican rivals with uncomfortable truths. "Why would you send Jared Kushner to the Middle East when you have Rex Tillerson and Mike Pompeo as Secretaries of State," Christie posited this week of Donald Trump. "We found out the answer two months after left office, $2 billion from the Saudis to Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump." x Chris Christie: "Why would you send Jared Kushner to the Middle East when you have Rex Tillerson and Mike Pompeo as Secretaries of State...We found out the answer two months after he left office, $2 billion from the Saudis." pic.twitter.com/Rw3KvWngRl — Republican Accountability (@AccountableGOP) August 10, 2023 Christie, speaking at a New Hampshire Town Hall Wednesday, was revisiting the Saudis $2 billion investment in Kushner's firm, Affinity Partners, after Trump lost reelection. Christie went on to draw a false equivalency between Kushner and Hunter Biden, who has never worked alongside his father Joe Biden in any governmental capacity. Kushner served as a senior White House adviser after Trump violated anti-nepotism statutes to give both him and his daughter Ivanka formal roles in his administration. "We are not a third-world republic,” Christie continued, “We are the United States of America and it's time for Donald Trump's family to get off the public dole and go back to New York where they belong.” As a candidate, Christie still appears to have a snowball's chance in hell of winning. Even though Christie has gained some ground in New Hampshire , he's still generally running third behind Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. But as a pesky reality check on a deluded Republican Party, Christie is a refreshingly salty aperitif. In some cases, Christie even manages to get under Trump's skin. After Christie trolled Trump for failing to make good on the central promise of his 2016 campaign—building a wall at the Southern border— Trump clapped back Thursday night at "sloppy Chris Christie." "Reported that Sloppy Chris Christie said I only built 50 Miles of Wall on the Southern Border. Wrong!" Trump raged on his media platform. "I built almost 500 Miles of Wall, including the fact that some very dilapidated areas had to be completely demolished with new Wall then built. He knows this but keeps repeating the lies. ... Loser!” Actually, Christie's 50-mile shorthand gave Trump too much credit. In fact, Trump built just 47 miles of new wall during his tenure while reinforcing or replacing over 400 miles of wall, according to The New York Times . Christie's fact checks aren't going to blow a hole in Trump's MAGA base. But the mere fact that Christie is challenging Trump with his failures, lies, and grifts while reminding voters what a petty person he is is a worthwhile endeavor. The more voters are allowed to forget what a pathetic human being Trump is, the better he tends to fare in public opinion. Christie isn't just saving his barbs for Trump. After DeSantis finally admitted this week that Trump lost the 2020 election, Christie quipped, “Let me give a big round of applause to governor DeSantis for catching up on two-and-half-year-old news.” And Christie even took a commendable swipe this week at the Republican Party's weird fixation on banning gender-affirming health care for transgender youth. “You know what my position is on that?” Christie said of the GOP's anti-trans gender hysteria. “Parents should be the ones making those decisions. How is a governor sitting in a statehouse know better about what should happen inside your home than you do?” Republicans used to call that "governmental overreach" before the party went full fascist. Christie may not dent Trump’s support among Republicans in their party’s primary, but his message could get traction with independent voters who ultimately face a decision between President Biden and thrice-indicted Trump in the general election. The more those voters see of the real Trump through the eyes of a no-bullshit Republican, the better. Donald Trump is facing even more legal jeopardy and the sharks in the Republican Party seem to sense there is some blood in the water. Chris Christie has made his campaign all about going directly at Trump, and Ron DeSantis seems to be closer and closer to becoming completely isolated from the field. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/8/12/2186714/-Chris-Christie-keeps-punching-his-own-party Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/