Former Republican New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said Sunday that President Joe Biden had abandoned his 2020 “uniter” façade and capitulated to the far left.
Christie compared Biden’s apparent inability to rein in the Democratic Party’s Progressive Caucus to his administration’s dealings with the Taliban in the aftermath of the disastrous troop drawdown in Afghanistan. (RELATED: Chris Christie Says Trump Wants To Tank Infrastructure Bill Because He’s Not The One Who Passed It)
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“There’s just so much mistrust,” ABC News political director Rick Klein began, arguing that a major clash of the titans within the Democratic Party may have been inevitable.
“They really don’t like each other. They don’t believe in each other’s same political motives, and the problem isn’t that they’re lying to each other. They’ve actually been honest, and they don’t want to hear it because they have different visions,” Klein continued. “They have different numbers and different values and so much of this is a feud inside the party being sorted out.”
Klein went on to say that he wasn’t sure how they’d get to a deal, adding, “You have the progressives just as dug in, and the moderates still willing to walk away.”
“And Kevin McCarthy gets to lean back,” host Jonathan Karl noted.
“I had a political science professor who said, ‘When your adversary is in the midst of committing suicide, there’s no reason to commit murder. The result is the same,'” Christie replied. “It’s the death of 2020 Joe Biden. When he went to the Hill, 2020 Joe Biden is now officially dead and buried.”
Christie then argued that Biden had initially ran to be the moderate guy who could close deals and unite not only his own party but the country as a whole, but that everything had changed the minute he got to the White House.
“He went up to Capitol Hill, and he capitulated to the progressives, the liberals in his party, and why should we be surprised? He couldn’t stand up to the Taliban. How can we expect him to stand up to AOC —” Christie continued, but was interrupted by groans from the other members of the panel.
“That’s a partisan take to be sure,” Karl said.
“No, no, let me ask you a question. Hold on a second. Did he stand up to the Taliban? Why is that partisan?” Christie asked, going on to argue that Biden had only stood up to the moderates in his own party — who had helped to clinch him the nomination and the win. “He hasn’t stood up to anyone except for the people in his own party who nominated him.”
“Donald Trump invited the Taliban — Donald Trump was inviting the Taliban to Camp David,” host Donna Brazile objected, prompting outbursts from several others at the table.
“Joe Biden has created more jobs in the first couple of months of his presidency than any other president,” Brazile asserted after a moment of crosstalk.
“And more inflation, thank you,” Christie shot back.
Brazile argued that those on the far left were fighting for “bedrock principles” and Christie pushed back, saying that those “principles” had lost the 2020 primary to Biden.
“Bull!” Brazile exclaimed. “Bull!”
The panel discussion continued to devolved into crosstalk and arguing, with Christie arguing that Biden had presented himself during the 2020 presidential campaign as the moderate answer to the “extremes” presented by independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and Democratic Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
“To a larger point, why wouldn’t Biden want to take the victory?” Karl asked, apparently referencing Democratic West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin’s $1.5 trillion proposal.
Brazile pushed back, arguing that was not enough to pay for the programs and benefits Democrats wanted.
“I understand that you want the American people to give their money rather than keep it themselves,” Christie objected sarcastically. “I get that, that’s fine. You can spend it better.”
“You know how much money we spent every day in Afghanistan and got nothing to show for it?” Brazile asked, prompting a quick retort from Christie: “Until the next tourist attack, we’ll see what we have to show for it.”
Brazile concluded by saying that once the Democratic agenda was implemented, more people would be educated and more people would have the security of being able to afford their medical care.
“If you get it passed,” Karl pointed out, as the segment ended.
