Former New Jersey governor Chris Christie is taking jabs at Donald Trump in his new book, Republican Rescue, which is released on Tuesday.
In his book, Christie, 59, argues that the GOP faces danger from conspiracy theorists trying to overtake the party, and writes that Republicans 'need to renounce the conspiracy theories and truth deniers, the ones who know better and the ones who are just plain nuts.'
'We need to give our supporters facts that will help put all these fantasies to rest, so everyone can focus with clear minds on the issues that really matter. We need to quit wasting our time, our energy and our credibility on claims that won't ever convince anyone or bring fresh converts onboard,' Christie wrote in excerpts published by The Guardian on Saturday.
He is appearing to reference Trump's repeated claims that voter fraud was to blame for his loss in the 2020 election.
The book will be released just a week after the former two-term governor mocked Trump for his failed re-election bid and loss to Joe Biden.
Chris Christie paints himself as the future of the Republican Party in his upcoming book, Republican Rescue, where he says the GOP should reject conspiracy theories
Republican Rescue slams conspiracy theories of the far-right, including those of election fraud
Donald Trump has repeatedly made false claims about the 2020 presidential election. He has also mocked Chris Christie for speaking out about the conspiracy
'I'm not gonna get into a back-and-forth with Donald Trump,' Christie told Axios on HBO. 'But what I will say is this: When I ran for reelection in 2013, I got 60 per cent of the vote.'
Although he does not name Trump directly in the book as one of those who needs to be renounced, Christie does take aim at the former president's allies, like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green, the Georgia congresswoman who has openly supported the QAnon conspiracy theory.
Christie wrote that QAnon's conspiracies, which accuses Democrats of running a secret child abuse ring, 'would be ridiculous' if they were not 'so sad.'
He also claims Trump never did enough to squash the conspiracies because they were centered on making the former president look good.
'Many in our society use these wild, untrue conspiracy theories to advance their political agendas,' Christie wrote.
Christies book covers his ideas for the future of the GOP as he presents himself as the future of the party, and discusses his battle with COVID and work alongside Trump, who he helped and endorsed in 2020.
Christie had spoken at a GOP meeting last week and said the party can move on from Trump
Christie, pictured shaking Trump's hand in 2017, was once a strong ally of the former president
Last week, Christie spoke at an event for the Republican Jewish Coalition in Las Vegas where he urged his party to move past Trump's 2020 election fraud claims to win in future elections.
Without mentioning the former president by name Christie told his audience of top GOP donors that Republicans' election victory in Virginia and strong showing in New Jersey proved the party could 'take our eyes off the rearview mirror,' even if that meant leaving the de facto leader of the party behind.
On Monday a furious Trump claimed Christie was 'absolutely massacred' for his pleas to move on.
'Chris Christie, who just made a speech at the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) in Las Vegas, was just absolutely massacred by his statements that Republicans have to move on from the past, meaning the 2020 Election Fraud,' Trump said in a statement.
'Everybody remembers that Chris left New Jersey with a less than 9% approval rating—a record low, and they didn’t want to hear this from him!'
But Christie, who in fact left office with a still-dismal 19 percent approval rating, stood by his sentiments on Thursday.
'I've made the conscious decision that I want to spend my time combating the policies of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, and trying to help Republicans win governorships and the House and the Senate in 2022,' he said.
'This is not an argument that I'll walk away from.'
The two had been allies after a biting 2016 primary, but Christie soured on Trump after the January 6 Capitol riot.
Christie broke ties with the president following the January 6 Capitol riot, where Trump supporters stormed the Capitol to stop the certification of Joe Biden
Christie was among a number of top Republicans who have been floated as 2024 candidates to speak at the weekend event in Nevada - also including former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and even Trump himself.
Once a rising GOP star with an 80 per cent approval rating, Christie left office as the most unpopular governor in New Jersey history.
Christie had earned praise for his handling of Hurricane Sandy but a number of scandals sent his approval rating plummeting and even led to criminal convictions for two of his top deputies, though they were later overturned by the Supreme Court.
In 2013 one of Christie's aides and the deputy director of the Port Authority conspired to shut down multiple traffic lanes between the town of Fort Lee, New Jersey and New York City in a scandal dubbed 'Bridgegate.'
The public and town officials weren't notified and it caused traffic jams so severe that Fort Lee dubbed it a public safety threat.
The lanes were re-opened days later and subsequent records indicate it was done in retaliation for Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich not endorsing Christie in 2013.
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