ABC Information anchor David Muir pushed again on Tuesday when one-time Trump ally Chris Christie tried to equate the battle over the 2000 presidential election outcomes with Donald Trump’s effort to overturn President Joe Biden’s electoral victory.
Throughout a break in Tuesday afternoon’s Jan. 6 committee listening to, which featured emotional testimony from state election officers and staff detailing how Trump ruined their lives, Muir turned to Christie for response and evaluation.
Christie, now an ABC Information contributor who has repeatedly denounced Trump’s “rigged” election lies, started by reiterating his perception that Trump's authorized workforce was a “nationwide embarrassment,” including that Tuesday’s testimony confirmed he was “precisely proper” in that evaluation.
After lauding Republican Arizona Home Speaker Rusty Bowers for refusing to do something unlawful to help Trump’s try and overthrow the election, Christie mentioned that Tuesday’s listening to featured “highly effective testimony” that he hopes can be broadly seen by American voters. At that time, Muir famous that Republicans throughout the nation are presently pushing election denialism of their campaigns.
“In truth, there are Republican candidates in Texas saying that President Biden just isn't the official president, that he’s the performing president,” the World Information Tonight host said, referencing the Texas GOP’s newest official platform.
In Christie’s view, although, this was really a bipartisan downside and “goes all the best way again to 2000” and the dispute over the Florida presidential election recount, which finally went to america Supreme Courtroom. (By a 5-4 majority, the court docket granted George W. Bush’s request to remain the Florida Supreme Courtroom’s choice and halt the recount.)
“You had supporters of Al Gore, who even after Vice President Gore conceded the election and licensed it himself because the president of the Senate, refused to just accept George W. Bush as official,” Christie declared. “You’ve heard Hillary Clinton say she nonetheless doesn’t settle for the 2016 outcomes as official. It is a harmful factor on this nation delivered to a brand new stage in 2020.”
Slicing the previous New Jersey governor off, Muir shot again: “I've to interrupt proper there since you additionally know, Governor, that Al Gore stood earlier than the nation and really conceded and did one thing very totally different than what we witnessed. That is a lot totally different.”
Christie contended that he wasn’t speaking about Gore himself however merely his supporters, asserting that lots of them “didn't imagine George W. Bush was official.” Moreover, he famous that there have been Democrats who voted in opposition to Bush’s electoral certification within the Home of Representatives.
“What I’m saying is it is a disturbing development and sample that’s been growing in depth from 2000 to 2016, now to 2020,” he continued.
Muir, nonetheless, wrapped up his dialog with Christie by suggesting the previous GOP presidential candidate had supplied up a false equivalence.
“I get what you’re saying,” the anchor concluded. “I simply don't desire our viewers to assume I am not conscious that there isn’t an actual equivalency right here when you might have a former president who's sowing seeds of doubt on this specific election.”