Politics: Chris Christie Declines to Say If He'd Support a Trump Run in 2024, as the Pair Trade Attacks

Former New Jersey Republican Governor Chris Christie avoided saying whether he would back Donald Trump if the former president made another run for the White House in 2024.

© Getty Images/Astrid Stawiarz When pressed in a recent interview with CNN, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie avoided saying whether he'd back former President Donald Trump if he made another run for the White House in 2024. Above, Christie visits SiriusXM Studios on February 01, 2019 in New York City.

When asked by CNN host Dana Bash in a recent interview if he would support another potential Trump White House bid, Christie declined to say.

Republican Chris Christie Says Trump's Conduct Toward GOP Lawmakers 'Meant to Instill Fear'

The former New Jersey governor does not think Trump can be a "positive force" for Republicans if he doesn't move past the 2020 election.Christie, a former ally of Trump who even helped him prepare for a late September 2020 debate against President Joe Biden, has repeatedly urged the ex-commander-in-chief to move past the last presidential election.

"Oh look, I don't know that he's going to run, I don't know whether I'm going to run," answered the former leader of the Garden State.

"It's not as if it's a big secret that he's seriously considering it," Bash said, referring to the former president.

"He's seriously considering it, let's see what happens when he does and let's see who he is and what he says and how he conducts himself," Christie said.

"After everything you've described that he's done you still would potentially vote for him?" Bash asked.

"What I'm saying to you is that I'm not going to sit here in 2021 and prejudge all this. I voted for him in '16 and in '20. On election night in '20 I said that what he was doing was absolutely horrible and wrong and continued to be," Christie replied.

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie dodges question on whether he would support Trump in 2024 if he is the GOP nominee

"He's seriously considering it," Chris Christie said on whether Trump will run in 2024."Let's see who he is and what he says and how he conducts himself.""I don't know that he's going to run. I don't know whether I'm going to run," Christie told CNN's Dana Bash in a clip of series episode airing Monday. "He's seriously considering it. Let's see who he is and what he says and how he conducts himself.

The former New Jersey governor also said: "You can draw whatever conclusions from that you want, but in the end, in 2021, the idea of making predictions for 2024 is folly."

Christie's comments come as he and the former president have traded criticism in recent days. During the Republican Jewish Coalition conference in Las Vegas last weekend, Christie said that Republicans have to move on from claims that the 2020 election was fraudulent.

Trump attacked Christie following those remarks.

"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 on Monday.

"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!"

Christie says he was unable to reach Trump on Jan. 6

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) revealed in a new interview that despite several attempts, he was unable to reach then-President Trump as rioters were storming the Capitol on Jan. 6.Christie told Mike Allen during an interview for "Axios on HBO" that he tried calling Trump through three different channels on Jan. 6, but all were unsuccessful.He said he wanted to "give him advice on what I thought he needed to be doing to stop the violence.""I called Kellyanne Conway first. And I said to her: 'Have you spoken to him?' And she said she had not. And she said: 'I think we both need to call him.' And I said: 'Absolutely.

In an interview with The New York Times published on Saturday, Christie said of the former commander-in-chief: "If he [Trump] wants to be a positive force in the future, he's got to let this other stuff go. If he doesn't, I don't think he can be,"

He also said he believes Trump's "conduct is meant to instill fear," referring to the Republican legislators who are afraid of going against the former president.

Related Articles

• Republican Chris Christie Says Trump's Conduct Toward GOP Lawmakers 'Meant to Instill Fear'
• Chris Christie Says Republicans Must Put Election Fraud 'Fantasies' to Rest
• Chris Christie Urges Trump to 'Tell the Truth About the Election and Move On'

Start your unlimited Newsweek trial