Christie: Trump remarks about Milley ‘reprehensible’ but not ‘surprising’

Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie slammed former President Trump’s recent remarks about Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark Milley, saying on Thursday they were “reprehensible” but not surprising.

“What he said about Mark Milley is reprehensible, but it is not surprising because he’s called on that for other people before and it is wrong. It needs to be called out as wrong,” Christie told Willie Geist on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”

Christie was referring to a post Trump wrote on Truth Social last week in which the former president celebrated Milley’s departure from office this month and suggested Milley could have faced execution for reaching out to China following the Capitol attack. Trump also said he would have notified the country if the U.S. was going to attack, which was reported by journalists Bob Woodward and Robert Costa.

“This guy turned out to be a Woke train wreck who, if the Fake News reporting is correct, was actually dealing with China to give them a heads up on the thinking of the President of the United States,” Trump wrote. “This is an act so egregious that, in times gone by, the punishment would have been DEATH! A war between China and the United States could have been the result of this treasonous act.”

But Christie argued during his interview that those comments were disqualifying for Trump as he seeks another run for the White House.

“It’s just another thing, Willie, that disqualifies him from being an appropriate candidate for president of the United States for our party, and for being president himself at all. Look, Mark Milley has given this country extraordinary service, and I have great respect for him,” Christie told Geist.

Christie’s remarks come one day after seven candidates, including Christie, participated in the second GOP debate in California. Trump skipped the second debate to speak to current and former union workers and non-union workers in Michigan.