As he contemplates another run for president, former Gov. Chris Christie continues to criticize Donald Trump for "damaging the party and the country."

Like other White House hopefuls, Christie has been on the lecture circuit for months as he gauges support among fellow Republicans.

Unlike his potential rivals for the nomination, Christie has shown no deference to Trump. In fact, he has been the former president's harshest critic.

Christie was a guest speaker as part of the Ringling College Library Association town hall lecture series in Sarasota Florida.

"Selfish, dishonest and negligent" is how Christie described Trump and blamed the former president for the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection.

He accused Trump of sitting back and watching it happen, and "and I'm sorry if you do that, you are accountable for what happened."

At one time, Trump and Christie were close friends and Christie was among the former president's biggest supporters and defenders. However, Christie has been harshly critical of Trump and the damage he says is being done both to the Republican party and the nation.

The last time the two men spoke was a year ago. Christie says he tried to convince Trump to stop telling people the election was "stolen," but the former president was adamant he couldn't have lost.

Christie says he was adamant to Trump that there were "no facts to support what you are saying," and then asked Trump, "'You know how I know you lost?'… And he said ‘How?’ I said 'Joe Biden’s sleeping in your bed.'"

Facebook/Ringling College Library Association
Facebook/Ringling College Library Association
loading...

New Jersey's former chief executive had plenty of criticism for Democrats and President Joe Biden, but warned any potential advantage the GOP has could be wiped away by continuing to support Trump's false narrative of a stolen election.

"The truth is that the election wasn't stolen,” Christie told the crowd. “The truth is that he (Trump) lost."

Christie then implored Republicans to "go back to to being the party that tells the truth," and if Trump can't move past losing the election, the GOP needs to move on from him.

Update: NJ arrests in Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riot

A year later, more than 20 people from New Jersey have been charged with involvement in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

Where NJ's 'red wave' of the 2021 election was reddest

In 2017, Gov. Phil Murphy won the election by 14.1 percentage points, a margin exceeding 303,000. His re-election was much closer, an 84,000-vote, 3.2-point victory. He and others talked about a ‘red wave’ of Republican voters in the electorate, and certified results show which counties turned red most.

New Jersey's new congressional districts for the 2020s

A district-by-district look at New Jersey's congressional map following the redistricting done after the 2020 Census.

More From New Jersey 101.5 FM