Former Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey said it is clear Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel is “carrying water” for former President Donald Trump and said the party made a mistake by passing a resolution characterizing the events of Jan. 6 as “legitimate political discourse.”
Mr. Christie, who lost the 2016 race for the GOP presidential nomination, is urging the party to move past Mr. Trump and his stolen election claims. Mr. Christie blames Mr. Trump for inciting the attack on the Capitol.
“Most of those folks were put into place [at the RNC] over the course of the four years by Donald Trump,” Mr. Christie said on ABC’s “This Week.” “Certainly Ronna Romney McDaniel is carrying water for Donald Trump in this regard.”
Mr. Christie said Friday’s move is muddying the party’s message and pulling attention away from President Biden and the failures of Democrats.
“All anybody is talking about this weekend is this resolution, rather than talking about the failures of the Biden administration,” Mr. Christie said
“People are tired of hearing about the 2020 election from Donald Trump and from some who support him, and what they want to hear is what are the Republican solutions for 2022,” he said. “What the RNC has done and what Ronna McDaniel has done this weekend is to distract from that.”
Mr. Christie is thought to be considering another presidential bid in 2024.
The RNC resolution, passed on a voice vote, censured Reps. Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois — two of the 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach former President Trump for inciting the Capitol riot — for participating on the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack.
It said Ms. Cheney and Mr. Kinzinger, “have demonstrated, with actions and words, that they support Democrat efforts to destroy President Trump more than they support winning back a Republican majority in 2022.”
“Representatives Cheney and Kinzinger are participating in a Democrat-led persecution of ordinary citizens engaged in legitimate political discourse, and they are both utilizing their past professed political affiliation to mask Democrat abuse of prosecutorial power for partisan purposes,” the resolution says.
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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