Gov. Chris Christie: President Trump and Power Politics

Commonwealth Club of California Podcast

As President Trump enters his third year in office, former New Jersey governor Chris Christie remains one of his closest political allies. The first major elected official to endorse then-candidate Trump, Christie had a ringside seat throughout the hectic 2016 campaign. Christie was even close to becoming Trump’s running mate. Days after Trump’s surprise victory, Trump fired Christie as head of his transition team. Recently, Christie almost became Trump’s White House chief of staff but pulled out, saying now is not the right time for him to join the White House. Now Christie is out to set the record straight about his career and his relationship with the president. In his new book, Let Me Finish, the brash former Republican prosecutor discusses running a Democratic state, his 15-year relationship with Trump, what he saw during the 2016 campaign and how his removal from the transition all but guaranteed chaos at the beginning of the Trump presidency. Christie’s book takes readers into conflicts with Steve Bannon, Kellyanne Conway, Jeff Sessions, Paul Manafort and other critical Trump insiders. Christie also addresses hot-button issues from his own years in power in New Jersey, including what really went down during Bridgegate. And, for the first time, Christie tells the full story of his own Kushner saga: how, as a federal prosecutor, he put Jared Kushner's powerful father behind bars for tax evasion, witness tampering and illegal campaign contributions. Join us for this important conversation with one of the president’s closest allies.

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