Christie: Trump’s Intolerant Conduct ‘Gives Others Permission to Act the Same’

Former Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ), a candidate for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” that former President Donald Trump’s “intolerant language and conduct gives others permission to act the same.”

Anchor Dana Bash said, “I want to ask about the spike in hate against Jews in the United States. You told The New York Times that you believe Trump has contributed to this.”

Christie said, “When you show intolerance towards everyone, which is what he does, you give permission as a leader for others to have their intolerance come out. Intolerance towards anyone encourages intolerance towards everyone. That’s exactly what’s going on here. That’s been going on for some time, not just with Donald Trump, but with university professors on some of our most elite campuses in this country, with university administrators and presidents who have been unwilling to stand up against antisemitism on their campuses, most particularly. There should be no campus in this country where a Jewish student is afraid to leave their dorm, a Jewish student is afraid go to their classes, a Jewish student is afraid to go to have a meal in the dining hall. That is outrageous, and it’s wrong.”

He continued, “I think governors in those states should be sending state police to make sure that they are protected on those campuses. We need to have university presidents who are willing to stand up and be counted against hate. That’s exactly what’s going on here. We saw this display at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. These are folks who are ignorant. My guess is two-thirds don’t know what intifada is. If they did, they would be ashamed for calling the elimination of the Jewish people around the world, which is what intifada is.”

Christie added, “In the end, look, I think that there have been a lot of people who contributed to it. I believe Donald Trump’s intolerant language and conduct gives others permission to act the same.”

Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN