Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie said Wednesday that if he’s elected, he would not pardon former President Donald Trump for any criminal convictions.
On “The View,” the former New Jersey governor was asked whether he would pardon Mr. Trump because fellow candidates Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis said they would. Mr. Christie immediately said no.
“As a governor, I issued pardons and one of the things you have to do is look at the person. The person has to accept responsibility for what they did,” he said. “Do you think Donald Trump will ever accept responsibility for anything he did?”
“It would be the easiest pardon decision I would have to make. You don’t accept responsibility, too bad, go to jail,” he said.
The former president is currently facing four criminal cases, two of them pertaining to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
Mr. Christie has long criticized his fellow candidates for not calling out Mr. Trump by name, and has accused them of not seriously running against him.
“The other thing about what both Nikki and Ron are doing right now, is this isn’t about this race. This is about 2028. Neither of them are going after Donald Trump, they’re not running against him. They’re doing the best they can to come in second and then in 2028 they wouldn’t have offended Trump’s voters,” he said.
He has said that his fellow GOP candidates are aiming for the job of vice president or a Cabinet position.
Reports last month signaled that the former president was asking his allies and advisers about the possibility of choosing Ms. Haley as his running mate. But the opinions were mostly negative.
• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.
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