Nov 26, 2022 - Politics & Policy

Trump showed “lack of judgement” with Nick Fuentes dinner: Christie

Former Governor of New Jersey Chris Christie speaks at the Republican Jewish Coalition Annual Leadership Meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada,.

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie speaks in Las Vegas. Photo: Wade Vandervort/AFP via Getty Images

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie ripped former President Trump for having dinner with white nationalist Nick Fuentes at Mar-a-Lago this week, saying Trump showed an "awful lack of judgment" in doing so.

Driving the news: Trump's dinner with Fuentes — who has been labeled a "white supremacist" by the Justice Department — took place about one week after he formally announced his 2024 presidential campaign.

Catch up quick: Trump dined with Fuentes and rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, at his Mar-a-Lago resort last Tuesday night, Axios Jonathan Swan reports.

  • The former president "seemed very taken" and impressed with Fuentes, a source familiar with the dinner told Axios.

What he said: Christie told the New York Times that the dinner was another sign that Trump is unfit to run in 2024.

  • “This is just another example of an awful lack of judgment from Donald Trump, which, combined with his past poor judgments, make him an untenable general election candidate for the Republican Party in 2024,” Christie said.
  • "[Trump] can’t stand not having attention all the time."
  • “And so, having someone show up at his club — even if you believe that he didn’t know who Nick Fuentes was — and want to sit with him, feeds the hunger he feels for the attention he’s missing since he left the presidency," he added.

Flashback: Christie, a former Trump ally who may be announcing his own 2024 presidential campaign, has made several jabs at Trump in recent weeks.

  • Earlier in November, Christie received massive applause at a meeting of Republican governors when he blamed Trump for recent GOP failures, Swan and Axios' Zachary Basu report.
  • He also said in an interview earlier this month that the Trump administration "didn't get a lot of stuff done."

Go deeper:

Trump talks with white nationalist Nick Fuentes at Mar-a-Lago dinner

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Chris Christie: Trump administration "didn't get a lot of stuff done"

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