Chris Christie torched for his disastrous Trump prediction as he tries to rehabilitate his image

In recent weeks, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie — once an outspoken Donald Trump supporter — has been promoting himself as someone who has a conservative post-Trump vision for the Republican Party. But Christie, who is often mentioned as a possible GOP presidential candidate for 2024, has serious credibility issues due to his longstanding backing of Trump. Many commentators have pointed out that before the 2020 election, in fact, he made a remarkably poor prediction that Trump would gracefully accept defeat if he lost.

This week, Media Matters' John Whitehouse tweeted a clip of Christie defending Trump during an interview on Monday, November 2, 2020 —the day before the election — and confidently saying: "There is no question in my mind that President Trump will participate in a peaceful transition of power if he does not win tomorrow night. And I believe that Vice President Biden will participate in making sure that the Democratic Party accepts the results of the election tomorrow night if President Trump is reelected. They're both responsible men. They both will act in concert with what our traditions are in this country. And quite frankly, members of the Republican Party and Democratic Party — leaders like myself and others — will make sure that that happens."

Media Matters' Eric Kleefeld, this week, tweeted a clip of Christie making that prediction during an interview with ABC News' George Stephanopoulos, wondering why the mainstream media continue to "take him seriously":

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Christie's prediction, as Whitehouse points out, has "aged poorly." Trump lost to now-President Joe Biden by more 7 million votes yet continues to make the false, totally debunked claim that he really won the election — a lie echoed by countless Trump supporters in the GOP. Arch-conservative Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah have faced major hostility from fellow Republicans for saying that Biden won the election legitimately.

In his new book, Christie is attempting to paint himself as a Trump critic and skeptic. He has even blamed Trump's for the Jan.6 insurrection. But his failure to recognize the obvious in 2020 — that Trump was preparing to cast doubt on the election if he lost — makes his new position seem merely opportunistic. And Christie has essentially admitted as much by refusing to rule out supporting Trump again in the future under the right circumstances.