Chris Christie Says Trump ‘Set Up the Circumstances’ for Ukraine Invasion: ‘Constant Coddling and Kissing of Vladimir Putin’ (Video)

Chris Christie rejects the MAGA talking point of “no new wars” during Donald Trump’s term, arguing that the former president “set up the circumstances” for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine with “constant public coddling and kissing” of Vladimir Putin and a “blackmail” attempt to dig up dirt on Joe Biden.

Christie, still polling in the single digits among Republican presidential hopefuls, has also been Trump’s most vocal and consistent in-party critic. During a Tuesday appearance on “Piers Morgan Uncensored,” the host asked the former New Jersey governor to comment on Trump’s war record – or rather, his lack of one.

“There’s no doubt if you look at Trump’s record as president in his first term … Iran was hemmed in by sanctions, China by a trade war, Russia hadn’t invaded Ukraine, Afghanistan hadn’t fallen to the Taliban,” Morgan said. “Now you see a lot of turmoil, [while] Trump never went to war anywhere. Were we a more peaceful world with Donald Trump as president of theUnited States than we are now?”

Christie immediately labeled that a “superficial analysis.”

“I mean, the fact is that he said he was pulling out of Afghanistan, and that if he had gotten a second term that’s exactly what he would have done,” Christie said. Secondly, he set up the circumstances to give Russia the green light to go into Ukraine in two ways.”

The first, Christie said, was Trump’s “constant public coddling and kissing of Vladimir Putin,” and the second he called “not giving the Ukrainians the weapons they needed.”

Christie also tied in the notorious phone call that was the basis for Trump’s first impeachment.

“For a period of time [Trump was] blackmailing the Ukrainian government and President Zelenskyy in return for getting dirt on Joe Biden for his reelection campaign – that hardly set the type of posture that would make the Russians think they should not be going in there,” Christie said.

He also took on the “trade war” argument, saying China hasn’t “done 25% fo what they said they would do,” and ripped Trump for calling President Xi “brilliant.”

Morgan then also pointed out that Trump called “Hezbollah ‘very smart,’ what’s your response to that?”

“That he’s very stupid.”

Watch the entire exchange in the video above.

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