Christie sees ‘significant’ decline in Trump skills

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) said he sees a “significant” decline in former President Trump’s skills.

Christie, in a conversation with The New York Times, was asked if Trump, 78, is not as cognitively fit as he was in recent years.

“He’s not. He wasn’t as good in 2020 as he was in 2016,” Christie said.

Christie, who ran in the 2024 GOP presidential primary, has become one of the most outspoken Republican critics of the former president. He said he helped Trump in his previous campaigns by playing former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2016 and President Biden in 2020 ahead of Trump’s debates.

“I saw decline in his skills in ’20 from ’16, and you see significant declines still,” Christie said.

Age has been a major conversation in the presidential campaign. Biden, 81, had a poor debate performance and faced calls for him to step aside and allow a new generation to run by dropping out of the race.

With Vice President Harris now at the top of the ticket, Democrats are looking to turn the age conversation around on Trump and the GOP.

Christie said Trump is able to mask his age and cognitive skills because he is “still physically pretty vibrant and energetic,” unlike Biden.

“But if you listen to him and his ability to make a point, it’s not nearly as good now as it was in 2016, not nearly,” he said.

The Hill has reached out to the Trump campaign for comment.