Former New Jersey Republican Governor Chris Christie blasted former Ohio Republican Governor John Kasich on Monday night after Kasich formally endorsed Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden during the first night of the Democratic National Convention.
“Chris Christie, four years ago Meg Whitman and Christine Todd Whitman both endorsed Hillary Clinton,” ABC News host George Stephanopoulos said. “So, how big a threat are these Republican endorsements tonight?”
“Zero. Zero. I mean, they’re meaningless,” Christie responded. “They were with her, they were with her four years ago, now they’re with Biden. No surprise.”
“And John Kasich, just to show you where John Kasich’s standing is in the Republican Party, when he was the only Republican governor left on the stage in 2016 — Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, and John Kasich — the three candidates left, do you know how many Republican governors, of his colleagues, his sitting colleagues at the time, endorsed John Kasich?” Christie asked. “Zero. And the reason they didn’t is because he’s a backstabber and he’s an untruthful guy.”
“And so tonight, Republicans are going to look at that and go, ‘You can have him, please, believe me. Give us a break, get him out of our party. You take him for a little while,'” Christie continued. “Because, on top of all that, I’ve worked with John a lot, he’s exhausting. Joe Biden’s going to be getting calls from John Kasich. He’s going to want to change his phone number.”
WATCH:
.@ChrisChristie torches Kasich: "Do you know how many Republican governors….endorsed him? Zero & the reason they didn't endorse him is b/c he's a backstabber & untruthful guy….Biden's going to be getting calls from John Kasich, he's going to want to change his phone number." pic.twitter.com/abHLm24TmH
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) August 18, 2020
The Trump campaign hit Kasich on Monday with a clip from the 2012 Republican National Convention where Kasich said, “But Joe Biden told me he was a good golfer. And I played golf with Joe Biden, and I can tell you that’s not true, as well as all the other things that he says.”
Here's John Kasich calling Joe Biden a liar in 2012. #DemConvention pic.twitter.com/ep8eUQUHal
— Trump War Room – Text TRUMP to 88022 (@TrumpWarRoom) August 18, 2020
At the DNC convention on Monday night, Kasich said that he was “proud” of his “Republican heritage” but wanted to vote for Biden because he claims that Biden “is a good man, a man of faith, a unifier, someone who understands the hopes and dreams of the common man and the common woman, a man who can help us to see the humanity in each other.”
“Yes, there are areas where Joe and I absolutely disagree, but that’s okay, because that’s America,” Kasich continued. “Because whatever our differences, we respect one another as human beings, each of us searching for justice and for purpose.”
“I’m sure there are Republicans and independents who couldn’t imagine crossing over to support a Democrat,” Kasich added. “They fear Joe may turn sharp left and leave them behind. I don’t believe that, because I know the measure of the man, he’s reasonable, faithful, respectful, and you know no one pushes Joe around. Joe Biden is a man for our times, times that call for all of us to take off our partisan hats and put our nation first for ourselves, and of course for our children.”
Biden has stated that if he is elected that he will go down as one of the most progressive presidents in U.S. history.