Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) on Monday said he doesn’t believe Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) will be able to survive as governor following the revelation that his medical school yearbook page included a racist photo.
Christie said during an appearance on CNN’s “New Day” that Northam’s “biggest problem,” other than the photo itself, is the way he reacted to the revelation of the photo.
{mosads}Christie said Northam, who originally apologized for the picture before denying that he is one of the two people in the photo, has “been all over the place” in his reaction.
“I quite frankly don’t think he’s going to be able to survive this for two reasons. One, because of his own conduct. And two, because the Democratic Party I don’t think as a whole can deal with, going into a presidential year, having to answer this question over and over and over again,” Christie said.
The photo, which was brought to public knowledge Friday, features a photo of a man in blackface and another in a Ku Klux Klan robe.
Northam originally stated that he was one of the two in the photo, but then backtracked on those comments over the weekend.
Northam in recent days has faced numerous calls from Republicans and Democrats to resign as governor.
Both of Virginia’s Democratic U.S. senators, the Congressional Black Caucus, the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus, the Democratic Governors Association, multiple former Virginia governors and Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) are among those who have called for Northam to step aside.
Northam has so far refused to quit, but he reportedly called an abrupt meeting Sunday night with his senior staff amid the mounting calls for his resignation.