Feb 7, 2022 - Politics & Policy

Chris Christie: Trump incited Jan. 6 riot to "intimidate Mike Pence"

Axios

Donald Trump and Chris Christie in 2017. Photo: Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

Former President Trump incited the Capitol riot on Jan. 6 "to intimidate" former Vice President Mike Pence into overturning the 2020 election, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) said in an interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt on Monday.

What he's saying: "January 6 was a riot that was incited by Donald Trump in an effort to intimidate Mike Pence and the Congress into doing exactly what he said in his own words last week — overturn the election," he told Hewitt.

"Now he's trying to do a cleanup on aisle one here in correcting that stuff, but it’s not going to change," Christie added. "He actually told the truth by accident. He wanted the election to be overturned."

The big picture: Christie has previously criticized Trump over the Capitol riot and made similar comments on Sunday in an appearance on ABC's "This Week."

In a speech last week, Pence criticized Trump and said the former president was "wrong" to suggest he could have overturned the election.

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Chris Christie: Trump incited Jan. 6 riot to "intimidate Mike Pence"

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