Though some Republican presidential candidates have vowed to pardon Donald Trump if he’s convicted on any of his 91 criminal charges and they’re elected president, Chris Christie is not among them. On Thursday morning, the former New Jersey governor argued that really, “there’s no reason to show mercy” to Trump.
Christie was one of just two candidates who didn’t raise their hand during the Republican presidential debate on Wednesday night, when asked if they’d support Donald Trump as the nominee, even if he’s convicted. In fact, Christie was the most vocal against Trump during the debate, arguing that “someone’s got to stop normalizing this conduct.”
During an appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” the next morning, Christie noted that he takes the ability to pardon someone very seriously, having wielded it before, and that Trump simply doesn’t deserve it.
“It should be used with mercy and reason. And there’s no reason to show mercy on Donald Trump, when he doesn’t even want to admit that anything he did was wrong,” he added.
You can watch Christie’s full comments on “Morning Joe” in the video above.
During the debate on Wednesday night, Christie found himself getting booed for telling the truth about Trump, though he wasn’t overly phased by it.
“Whether or not you believe that the criminal charges are right or wrong, the conduct is beneath the office of the President of the United States,” he said, eliciting the booing. “Hey, and you know, this is the great thing about this country. Booing is allowed, but it doesn’t change the truth.”
