Chris Christie: Trump has the opportunity to lead the Republicans in a new direction after the assassination

Former New Jersey governor and longtime Trump critic Chris Christie is calling on the Republican presidential candidate to lead the party in a “new direction” after Saturday’s assassination attempt.

Christie published an op-ed in the New York Times on Tuesday about his desire to see Republicans move forward and former President Trump “demonstrate a will for change.”

“However, Mr. Trump can demonstrate a will to change not only the way we talk to each other, but also the way we act. This moment can affirm that our country is bigger than any political party, but only if we work for it,” Christie wrote.

“Mr. Trump has an opportunity to rein in some of the worst rhetorical impulses at the Republican Party convention this week. He can give the party and its leadership a new direction after the assassination attempt on him.”

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Christie criticized Trump’s vice presidential candidate, Ohio Senator JD Vance, arguing that he was focusing on the party that was “already devoted” to him rather than “reaching out to the broader party.”

“Mr. Vance’s first reaction to the assassination attempt on Mr. Trump was to resort directly to the current, flawed strategy: demonizing the other side and blaming the Democrats as if they themselves had pulled the trigger,” Christie said.

The former governor praised Trump for saying in an interview with the New York Post that he wanted to unite the country, even though he was unsure if that was possible, and for his speech on Thursday in which he officially accepted the 2024 presidential nomination.

“That’s a start,” Christie noted.

Christie supported Trump in 2016 and 2020, but became a fierce critic over time and ran against him in 2024. He stood out among Republican primary opponents for his harsh criticism of the former president. He was never able to build serious support and dropped out in January.

Christie argued that harsher and more polarizing language has led to “congressional gridlock, impeachment proceedings, and endless, pointless congressional hearings,” and said it has led to a “catastrophization” of politics and our elections.

“It is not enough to simply disagree; we must find in that disagreement a distrust of the other, a hatred of our fellow Americans with whom we disagree, and a desire to prove that our side sees the world correctly while the other is evil,” he wrote.

Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump is ushered off the stage during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Christie spoke out against those who claimed that Trump himself carried out the assassination and said, among other things, that the attack was a conspiracy theory or an inside job.

Christie said “we are all to blame” for the current political situation we find ourselves in. “Mr Trump has become a victim of a culture that he has clearly helped to worsen with his inflammatory and irresponsible language and actions.”

Despite the differences, the country must look forward, Christie said.

“Our differences have always been our strength as a country, not our weakness,” Christie said, adding that the assassination had “brought us to a crossroads.”

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