In a fiery exchange during Sunday’s This Week on ABC, former Republican Governor Chris Christie took on the liberal panel single-handedly as he called out President Biden for “capitulating” to the radical elements of his party just as he did the Taliban. And his bluntness left the host stammering and largely ineffective at quelling the shouting that ensued.
Leading up to his comments, Christie was asked by fill-in host Jonathan Karl to address how Republicans were able to take it easy while Democrats were taking swings at each other over infrastructure and social spending legislation.
“I had a political science professor in college who told me, ‘When your adversary is in the midst of committing suicide, there's no reason to commit murder. The result is the same,’” he quipped.
From there, he followed up with the spark that kicked off the fireworks, saying that the moderate Biden the media pitched us didn’t exist:
It's the death of 2020 Joe Biden. When he went to the Hill, 2020 Joe Biden is now officially dead and buried. The guy who ran against the progressives, ran against Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, ran to be uniter in this country, ran saying he was going to force compromise. And 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?
It took a moment for what he said to sink in as Karl tried to keep things under control. “Okay. Okay. So, so look, Donna, that's a partisan take to be sure. But, but—,“ he began as Christie was determined to stir the pot: “Let me ask you a question. Hold on a second. Did he stand up to the Taliban? Why is that partisan?”
Long-time Democratic operative Donna Brazile was infuriated by Christie’s assertion and tried to bring things back to former President Trump, but Christie wouldn’t let her (Click “expand”):
BRAZILE: He wasn't --
CHRISTIE: He hasn't stood up to anyone except for the people in his own party who nominated him.
BRAZILE: Donald Trump invited the Taliban –
CHRISTIE: Bernie Sanders didn’t vote for him!
BRAZILE: Donald Trump was inviting the Taliban to Camp David.
[Crosstalk]
KARL: Let's not debate – let’s not debate Donald Trump.
CHRISTIE [Speaking over Brazile]: By the way, Donald Trump -- In case you didn't know, Donald Trump – Donald Trump’s not in the White House anymore, and Joe Biden is kind of in the White House.
BRAZILE: Joe Biden has created more jobs in the first couple of months of his presidency than any other president.
CHRISTIE: And more inflation, thank you.
BRAZILE: That inflation was already coming down the pike.
CHRISTIE: Yeah. Sure, it was.
Brazile eventually tried to spin the Democratic Party’s division as just a robust conversation about the “bedrock principles that Democrats believe.” But Christie upended that too by pointing out that Biden called the policies he’s now pushing “extreme” during the election. And Karl was left stammering as he desperately tried to defend the President:
CHRISTIE: But these bedrock principles lost in the Democratic primary. What Bernie Sanders was just arguing and Elizabeth Warren lost in the Democratic primary. Joe Biden said they were extreme. They were extreme.
KARL: I mean not – I mean not – I mean not really. Not really.
[Crosstalk]
CHRISTIE: They were extreme. Didn’t Joe Biden say Bernie Sanders was extreme? He did.
KARL: Well – well – well, Bernie Sanders was fighting on Medicare for all. That's not part of this.
After Christie and Karl agreed that Biden was spending “a lot of money” (an understatement from Karl), Christie called out Brazile and the Democrats for being disgusted with the idea that Americans should keep the money they worked for.
“I understand that you want the American people to give their money rather than keep it themselves. I get that, that's fine. You can spend it better” he chided.
The argument was broken up by Karl interceding with a video soundbite of Biden, dampening the momentum.
Jonathan Karl’s defense of Joe Biden was made possible because of lucrative sponsorships from Prevagen and Nature’s Bounty. Their contact information is linked so you can tell them about the biased news they fund.
The transcript is below, click "expand" to read:
ABC’s This Week
October 3, 2021
9:18:55 a.m. Eastern(…)
RICK KLEIN: I think there's maybe inevitability to the clash of this week and I think that's the White House perspective. This was going to happen at some point or another, so let’s just delay this vote. But I don't see a change in dynamics in the next couple of weeks because you have the progressives just as dug in, and the moderates still willing to walk away.
JONATHAN KARL: And Kevin McCarthy gets to lean back.
CHRIS CHRISTIE: Well look, it doesn't matter. When – I had a political science professor in college who told me, “When your adversary is in the midst of committing suicide, there's no reason to commit murder. The result is the same.” And that’s what happening with Democrats right now.
It's the death of 2020 Joe Biden. When he went to the Hill, 2020 Joe Biden is now officially dead and buried. The guy who ran against the progressives, ran against Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, ran to be uniter in this country, ran saying he was going to force compromise. And 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?
DONNA BRAZILE: Whoa.
KARL: Okay. Okay. So, so look, Donna, that's a partisan take to be sure. But, but--
CHRISTIE: Let me ask you a question. Hold on a second. Did he stand up to the Taliban? Why is that partisan?
BRAZILE: He wasn't --
CHRISTIE: He hasn't stood up to anyone except for the people in his own party who nominated him.
BRAZILE: Donald Trump invited the Taliban –
CHRISTIE: Bernie Sanders didn’t vote for him!
BRAZILE: Donald Trump was inviting the Taliban to Camp David.
[Crosstalk]
KARL: Let's not debate – let’s not debate Donald Trump.
CHRISTIE [Speaking over Brazile]: By the way, Donald Trump -- In case you didn't know, Donald Trump – Donald Trump’s not in the White House anymore, and Joe Biden is kind of in the White House.
BRAZILE: Joe Biden has created more jobs in the first couple of months of his presidency than any other president.
CHRISTIE: And more inflation, thank you.
BRAZILE: That inflation was already coming down the pike.
CHRISTIE: Yeah. Sure, it was.
BRAZILE: And look. This notion – And look, I'm sorry that you have to cover this, Rachel, and Rick, okay?
KARL: They’re okay. They – they – they get paid for that.
BRAZILE: I have been in the room with Democrats all my life, and I still look good, okay? You sometimes bleed in the middle of a fight, but when you are fighting for principles, these are principles, bedrock principles that Democrats believe that we help people, that we take them out of harm's way, that we provide them with education and jobs. This is why we're Democrats.
CHRISTIE: But these bedrock principles lost in the Democratic primary. What Bernie Sanders was just arguing and Elizabeth Warren lost in the Democratic primary. Joe Biden said they were extreme. They were extreme.
KARL: I mean not – I mean not – I mean not really. Not really.
[Crosstalk]
CHRISTIE: They were extreme. Didn’t Joe Biden say Bernie Sanders was extreme? He did.
KARL: Well – well – well, Bernie Sanders was fighting on Medicare for all. That's not part of this. But let me ask you this --
BRAZILE [interrupting Karl]: To lower the prescription drug prices, medicine. That’s bad?
KARL: To a larger point though, why wouldn't Biden want to take the victory?
BRAZILE: A 1.5? Because they promised – You're right. [Points off-screen] They promised the moderates --
KARL: That’s a lot of money by the way? $1.5 trillion-plus – 1.5
CHRISTIE: Plus 1.9 in January.
KARL: Plus 1.9.
BRAZILE: And you want me to count p all of the 1.9 trillion tax cuts and the trickl-down?
[Crosstalk]
CHRISTIE [over Brazile]: And guess what. By the way, it doesn't even count. I understand that you want the American people to give their money rather than keep it themselves. I get that, that's fine. You can spend it better.
BRAZILE: You know how much money we spent every day in Afghanistan and got nothing to show for it? So,
CHRISTIE: What until the next terrorist attack, let’s see what we have to show for it.
BRAZILE: -- let's talk about how much it cost, and how many lives we were going to save, how many people we’re going to educate, and how many seniors will have the comfort of knowing that they can take their medicine.
KARL: If – if you get it passed.
(…)
