Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie says former President Donald Trump got solid people to work in his first administration but thinks a second term would be “mayhem” with a “huge personnel problem.”
Mr. Christie, a Trump supporter-turned-critic who dropped out of the GOP presidential race a month ago, said Mr. Trump will pivot from the “really solid, experienced people” in his first term to those who will do his bidding.
“People who will just nod their heads, say yes and execute whatever his next rant will be. And so, one, it’ll be a huge personnel problem of people who have no business being in senior positions in the federal government,” Mr. Christie told ABC News in comments that will air Tuesday on “Good Morning America,” “GMA3” and “ABC News Live Prime.”
“And then secondly, I think we have to take him at his word. This is gonna be the vendetta presidency. This is gonna be, ’I am your retribution.’ And I think he will use the levers of government to punish the people who he believes have been disloyal to him or to his approach.”
Mr. Trump said he doesn’t have time for retribution.
Mr. Christie credited Mr. Trump with stocking a Cabinet of experienced people such as Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Defense Secretaries Jim Mattis and Mark Esper and Attorney General William Barr in his first term.
Mr. Trump also fired officials who he said weren’t doing the job he was elected to do, one being Mr. Tillerson.
“I cannot imagine the crew that he’ll put together [in a second term],” Mr. Christie said. “And he will do it with an eye much different than in ’16. In ’16, he was scared. He didn’t expect to win and he was intimidated by the presidency when he first got there. He will not be this time.”
Mr. Trump says Mr. Christie is sour after losing his bid for the GOP nomination in 2016 and failing to land a post in his White House.
Until quitting the race on Jan. 10, the former governor ran a campaign focused on criticizing Mr. Trump.
Top Republicans are lining up to support Mr. Trump as he coasts toward the nomination in a two-person race with former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.
It’s a bit early to tell whom Mr. Trump would put in his Cabinet if he beats President Biden in a rematch.
Much of the focus has been on the former president’s potential running mate, with Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy among the names floated as possible picks.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.