Christie predicts Trump’s Jan. 6 trial date will be ‘disastrous’ for GOP

GOP presidential candidate Chris Christie predicted that former President Trump’s trial date related to the federal Jan. 6 case will be “disastrous” for the Republican Party.

“I think for Republican voters, the biggest thing they have to look at now is that we’re gonna have a guy running for president who, from March 4 probably for the next four-to-six weeks, will be every day in a courtroom in Washington, D.C., and not campaigning against Joe Biden,” Christie, the former governor of New Jersey, told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “The Lead.”

“This is disastrous for the Republican Party,” he continued. “And this is why I’ve been saying — right from the time I got into the race — that given his personal conduct, given the stuff that he did himself, that he simply can’t be our nominee.”

Still, Christie said the trial set for March 4 is a “realistic date,” noting that Justice Department (DOJ) special counsel Jack Smith likely charged the former president alone in this case so that it would be moved to trial faster. He added that the court battles could put the GOP at a disadvantage, as Trump remains the current GOP front-runner.

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan decided Monday to begin jury selection March 4 for Trump’s trial in the DOJ case targeting his efforts to remain in office after losing the 2020 election. This comes after Smith’s team asked for a Jan. 2, 2024, trial date, while Trump’s team pushed for a trial date in April 2026.

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This means the trial will now kick off the day before Super Tuesday, when voters will head to the polls in more than a dozen states in the Republican presidential primary. Trump and his campaign lashed out at Chutkan shortly after she announced the date, with a spokesperson arguing that it would hurt his campaign efforts.

“Today a biased, Trump Hating Judge gave me only a two month extension, just what our corrupt government wanted, SUPER TUESDAY. I will APPEAL!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

While Trump’s team can file motions to attempt to delay the trial, the date itself cannot be directly appealed.