Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie defended himself on Sunday after being booed at a conservative conference last week.
The former governor drew boos when he slammed former President Donald Trump during his remarks at the Faith and Freedom Coalition conference in Washington, DC on Friday, saying “he let us down” .
Asked about the negative reaction from the crowd by Jonathan Karl, co-anchor of ABC’s “This Week,” Christie said he “expected boos” from “mostly a Trump crowd.”
“But they also need to hear the truth, that character is the most important piece of a President of the United States. Because you can’t know all the issues that will come up on the President’s desk,” Christie said.
‘You can boo all you want’: Chris Christie faces backlash after criticizing Donald Trump
The former governor, who has made criticism of Trump a centerpiece of his campaign, also took aim at Trump’s remarks Saturday at the conference, saying “he had the audacity to say he was charged for us” and calling the argument “absurd”.
Trump was indicted earlier this month for allegedly mishandling classified documents after his tenure in the White House. He was also indicted earlier this year in a secret money case in New York State.
“It’s a triple loser,” Christie said, referring to Trump’s defeat in the 2020 presidential election and some Democratic wins in the 2018 and 2020 congressional and gubernatorial elections. need our party to suffer a fourth defeat because Joe Biden, in my opinion, is an awful president, and we can’t afford to have him 82 to 86 in the White House, or even worse, to have Kamala Harris assumes the presidency. That’s what’s at stake here.”
An NBC News poll released Sunday found that 51% of Republican primary voters choose Trump as their first choice for the GOP nomination. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis received 22% support, former Vice President Mike Pence received 7% support, and Christie received 5%.
USA TODAY has reached out to Trump for comment.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Chris Christie responds to being booed as he slams Donald Trump