Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who was close to President Donald Trump during his time in office, said that former President Trump’s cognitive ability is declining.
Christie told New York Times columnist Frank Bruni: “I saw his skills decline from ’16 to ’20. “And we’re still seeing significant declines.”
Christie helped President Trump prepare for the 2016 and 2020 presidential debates. He said he noticed the change at the time and has seen the situation worsen since then.
“It obscures the fact that, unlike the president, he is still physically vibrant and energetic,” Christie said. “But if you listen to what he says and his ability to captain, he’s not as good now as he was in 2016. Not nearly.”
He gave one example. When then-Fox News host Megyn Kelly confronted Trump in a debate about the insults he had hurled at women who criticized him, including ‘fat pig’ and ‘disgusting animal,’ he fired back, “Only Rosie O.” “Donell.”
“The Donald Trump of today wouldn’t have come up with the Rosie O’Donnell line about what Megyn Kelly did in the first debate,” Christie said. “He would yell and swear at her.”
Trump also mocked President Joe Biden’s mental abilities and asked him to take a cognitive test. But Trump himself is facing the same questions after Biden withdrew from his re-election bid. This is especially true after speeches that are riddled with unclear words, confusion about names and locations, and off-topic ramblings.
Christie was Trump’s rival during the 2016 primary, but dropped out early, becoming one of the first major Republicans to endorse him. After Trump left office, Christie turned critic and ran against Trump in the 2024 Republican primary.
He withdrew from the race before a single primary contest as his campaign gained virtually no traction.
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Despite his criticism of Trump, he did not endorse Vice President Kamala Harris in a new interview with The Times.
“She has time to convince me,” he said. “But he hasn’t done that yet.”
He said he might not vote for anyone presidential this time.
“In practical terms, my vote won’t matter in New Jersey,” he said. “She’s going to beat New Jersey by 10 to 14 points.”
