The former GOP governor of New Jersey, Chris Christie, wrote in his new memoir “Let Me Finish” that President Donald Trump filled his administration with “riffraff.”
According to Christie, who many thought would become either Trump’s running mate or chief of staff, Trump avoided hiring good people who would guide him correctly and help him overcome his destructive impulses. Christie said that Trump needed people around him who were knowledgeable about how the U.S. government functions, but in most cases he didn’t get that.
The latest insights into what is revealed in Christie’s book (to be released on January 29) came from an exclusive book excerpt published by Axios.
Axios CEO Jim VandeHei tweeted:
“Another Exclusive excerpt: Chris Christie says Trump hired “riffraff” – and names names”
🚨 another Exclusive excerpt: Chris Christie says Trump hired "riffraff" – and names names https://t.co/73nNdXjGRM
— Jim VandeHei (@JimVandeHei) January 21, 2019
Here is the excerpt from Christie’s book, as published this morning by Axios:
“Donald so urgently needed the right people around him and a solid structure in place. … Far too often, he’s found himself saddled with the riffraff.”
“Instead of high-quality, vetted appointees for key administration posts, he got the Russian lackey and future federal felon Michael Flynn as national security adviser. He got the greedy and inexperienced Scott Pruitt as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.”
“He got the high-flying Tom Price as health and human services secretary. He got the not-ready-for-prime-time Jeff Sessions as attorney general, promptly recusing himself from the Justice Department’s Russian-collusion probe. He got a stranger named Rex Tillerson as secretary of state.”
“He got the Apprentice show loser Omarosa Manigault in whatever Omarosa’s job purported to be. (I never could figure that one out.) … Too few Kellyanne Conways. A boatload of Sebastian Gorkas. Too few Steven Mnuchins.”
Christie also wrote about the chaotic weeks before the inauguration:
“The day after Trump was elected, he was handed a detailed road map that would have avoided many of these pitfalls and launched him on a far more promising path, a plan that was fully consistent with his values, his campaign promises, and his publicly stated views.”
“But that plan was thrown in the trash. Literally.”
“All thirty binders were tossed in a Trump Tower dumpster, never to be seen again. Steve Bannon, Rick Dearborn, Jared Kushner and others, for their own selfish reasons, got rid of the guidance that would have made their candidate an immensely more effective president and would have saved him an awful lot of heartache, too. In so doing, they stole from the man they’d just helped elect the launch he so richly deserved.”
Christie said he was harshly critical of Steve Bannon after being ousted, and confronted him saying:
“I want to know who fired me, because I know it wasn’t you. You’re just here as the executioner. Who fired me? The president-elect? Because, Steve, if you don’t tell me who it is, I am going to say it was you.”
The White House so far has declined to comment on the excerpts from Christie’s upcoming book. Although Christie is undoubtedly very bitter about being rejected by Trump after the 2016 election, his insights into the Trump campaign and the personalities involved are unique and very interesting. He may be one of the very few people who were part of the campaign who is not afraid to tell the truth about the dysfunctional presidency of Donald J. Trump.
- Bannon: If Trump Is Reelected, He Will Be in ‘Payback Mode’ - Thu, Apr 11th, 2019
- How Democrats Can Beat Barr in Battle Over the Mueller Report - Thu, Apr 11th, 2019
- British Police Arrest Julian Assange After Ecuador Revokes Asylum - Thu, Apr 11th, 2019
