Christie warns a Trump, Biden rematch ‘is bad for the Republican Party’

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) warned on Sunday that a potential rematch between former President Trump and President Biden in 2024 would be “bad for the Republican Party.”

“I’m very concerned that what we’re heading towards is a Trump-Biden rematch,” Christie said in an interview with radio talk show host John Catsimatidis on WABC 770 AM’s “Cats Roundtable.” “A Trump-Biden rematch is bad for the Republican Party.” 

“Donald Trump has done nothing but lose since he won the election in 2016,” Christie continued. “We lost the House in 2018. The Senate and the White House in 2020. We under-performed in 2022 and lost more governorships and another Senate seat. Donald Trump cannot win.” 

Christie, who is considering a 2024 bid of his own, has sought to position himself as the Republican candidate who can take on Trump.

“He’s on a vanity exercise to try to make himself feel better. That’s not going to make the country any better,” Christie added. “That’s why I’m considering it because I’m concerned that the people that are in the race so far are unwilling to take him on directly.”

“The only way to beat the front runner is to take the front runner on directly,” he added.

The former governor, who unsuccessfully ran against Trump in 2016, had previously indicated that he would make a decision about a White House run by sometime in May.

Christie has also criticized the former president for comments indicating he could skip the primary debates.

“When you’re way up, you don’t do debates. If you’re even or down you do debates, but when you’re way up, what’s the purpose of doing the debate?” Trump said last month.

Christie responded earlier this week, claiming former President Trump was “afraid” to take the stage in Republican primary debates.

“I’m sorry to see that Donald Trump feels like if he gets on the stage, he’s at risk of losing his lead. If, in fact, his ideas are so great, if his leadership is so outstanding, then his lead will only increase if he gets on the stage, not decrease,” Christie said on Wednesday.

“But obviously, he’s afraid,” he continued. “He’s afraid to get on the stage against people who are serious. And I’m sorry to see that he’s that afraid of it.”