Chris Christie partly blames his former friend Donald Trump for the surge in antisemitism and Islamophobia across the country.
The former New Jersey governor noted that Trump’s language has incited others to act with hate.
“When you show intolerance toward everybody, which is what he did, you give permission as a leader for other people to vent their intolerance,” Christie told CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday.
“And that has been happening for a long time, not only with Donald Trump, but with university professors on some of our most elite campuses in the country.”
Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner is Jewish and his daughter Ivanka converted to Judaism.
Throughout his presidency, Trump, now 77, has proudly presented himself as a staunch supporter of Israel while in the White House, recognizing Jerusalem as the nation’s capital and brokering the Abrahamic Covenant.
Chris Christie visited Israel earlier this month.Getty Images
The Post reached out to the Trump campaign for comment.
Since war broke out in Israel following a surprise attack on October 7 by Hamas, there have been a number of antisemitic incidents on college campuses across the US.
Last month at Cooper Union, Jewish students claimed they were forced to hide in the library during a pro-Palestinian protest.
At George Washington University, the phrase “Free Palestine from the river to the sea” is displayed on campus buildings.
This phrase refers to the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.
It was widely interpreted as a call to eliminate the Jewish state altogether and was considered an antisemitic slogan by the Anti-Defamation League.
At the same time, there has been an increase in Islamophobic attacks.
Last month a 6-year-old Palestinian boy in the Chicago area was allegedly killed in a hate crime by a landlord.
Pro-Palestinian protesters have denounced US support for Israel and demanded a ceasefire in the conflict.Robin Rayne/ZUMA Press Wire / SplashNews.com
Christie, 61, has long presented himself to voters as the only candidate willing to stand up to Trump’s attacks — and fire back with criticism of his own — in the 2024 GOP contest.
“You really now have in my view four main contenders for the nomination: Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, me and Nikki Haley,” he said.
Notably absent from his list was entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who generally polled higher than the former governor nationally.
Christie has focused on New Hampshire as his ticket to the party. In the Granite State, he averaged third behind Trump and former UN ambassador Nikki Haley.
Despite his current standing in a distant third, Christie is optimistic about his chances, noting how the late Sen. John McCain was in third place in New Hampshire around this time in 2008.
Donald Trump is the 2024 GOP primary runaway.AP
“People are just starting to get involved, even in places like New Hampshire,” he told ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday.
Christie, whose campaign says he has qualified for the fourth GOP debate on Dec. 6 in Tuscaloosa, Ala., insists he is in the GOP race for the long haul.
“I will participate in this race until the convention,” he said.
Categories: Trending
Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
