One of the country's most outspoken political figures offered a succinct summary for why Donald Trump secured a second term in the White House.
His conclusion? "Wokeness" played a major role in the Democrats losing the election.
"The first thing is that they've got to get off all this woke stuff," Chris Christie told Covers in a recent interview. "I think the country sent a very clear message to the Democrats that this political correctness stuff won’t work."
Christie, a Republican who served as New Jersey's governor from 2010-18, had a longtime friendship with Trump but is now one of his most vocal critics, most recently questioning the President-Elect's fitness for office. But while he's no fan of the 45th (and soon-to-be 47th) President of the United States, he criticized presidential nominee Kamala Harris and the Democrats for failing to understand what the electorate was focused on going into Election Day.
"The Democrats now look like the elitists and the ones who are taking care of the wealthy while the Republicans are the folks who are taking care of the working class," Christie said. "There has been a conversion of constituencies, and the Democrats have to figure out how they're going to get some of that constituency back.
"The idea that Donald Trump has won a higher percentage of the Latino vote than any Republican presidential candidate since George W Bush in 2004 should tell them that they are losing their core constituency to the Republicans."
All about the economy
Christie, a two-time Republican presidential nomination candidate, pointed to a recent survey that revealed nearly three-quarters of respondents thought America was on the wrong track — and were particularly critical of the economy under President Joe Biden. That, according to Christie, superseded concerns over Trump's character.
"Usually, when a candidate goes into Election Day with a 60% unfavorable rating, there is no way he can win," Christie said. "And so ultimately, what I think happened was the country decided that they would put up with his quirks and his conduct because they were so discontent with the way the (Joe) Biden administration had handled the nation's economy."
He also suggested that voters who had already lived through one Trump term weren't swayed by the Democrats' focus on his shortcomings.
"They were so obsessed with his personal conduct and highlighting all of that but the American public had already factored that into their evaluation of Trump," he told Covers. "They had to make a substantive case for why Harris would be better over the next four years than Trump, or how she would be different from Biden, and she didn’t make that case."
Vengeance vs. legacy
As for Trump, Christie believes the 78-year-old enters his second presidency mired in a crisis of conviction, torn between seeking retribution against those he believes have wronged him and establishing himself as one of the greatest presidents of all time.
"I suspect he will be out for revenge against some people," Christie acknowledged. "I hope that he rises above it, but he's certainly an angry guy. We've got to hope that victory has quelled some of that anger, because it should, and it's also in the best interest of the country.
"I think Trump wants to be seen not only as a historical political figure, which clearly he is now and that box is checked, but he also wants to be seen as a historically successful president, which I don't think he's seen as right now. I do think legacy matters to him. The question is going to be, can he be disciplined enough to be able to accomplish the things you need to accomplish to have a legacy like that? I think that's a wide-open question."
One of Trump's first and biggest litmus tests: How he handles America's role in the Russia-Ukraine, Israel-Gaza, and China-Taiwan conflicts. Christie believes that, while Trump is more subdued behind closed doors than he is in public, he still intends to flex his political muscle with regard to conflict resolution.
"It's hard to imagine, but I think he's conflict-averse," Christie said. "He looks like a guy who wants conflict with everybody, but that isn’t true. He likes conflict in front of 20,000 people at a rally, or over Twitter, but he doesn't like it face-to-face.
"I think he will attempt to resolve both those wars in Ukraine and in Gaza. Now it may be in ways that folks don’t particularly like, but he's going to try to resolve them. I don't know that he'll be successful, but he will certainly hold American aid over their heads."
What's next?
The picture Christie paints of Trump's next term isn't rosy — particularly when it comes to the tariffs Trump has threatened to impose once he's back in office.
"If he goes through with the level of tariffs that he's been talking about, then this is going to be inflationary," said Christie. "I think that's a big problem, and the American people will not like that. He's got to get real about what that will look like for him because it's going to hurt his popularity.
"I also think countries that trade together don’t tend to fight each other, and so trade helps to lead to a more stable military situation."
Christie also expressed concern over Trump's disdain for certain government sectors, such as the Department of Education (which he has vowed to eliminate). However, he doesn't believe Trump will follow through on all of his threats, veiled or direct.
"Do I think he's going to try to cancel elections? No," Christie told Covers. "But what I think he will do is continue to show a lack of respect for the American institutions. That breakdown is a hard thing for folks to have to deal with, and what they will ultimately do is dismiss those institutions.
"The more of those institutions that are dismissed, the more power in his hands."
As for the future of the Democratic Party, Christie identified Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and California Governor Gavin Newsom as the two strongest candidates to turn the White House blue in 2028.
"Shapiro (stands out) because he’s got a 60+ approval rating in a purple state," Christie said. "We saw again on (Election Day) how important that is for Presidential Electoral math. He is surely somebody in pole position in 2028 for the Democrats. Having said that, he’s going to have to work for re-election in between and I can tell you as governor that a lot of stuff happens that you can never anticipate.
He is a favorite for that reason, and Newsom is another favorite simply because California is so big. He will have a great financial and fundraising base to work off of."
