Christie 1.0 was the frank-talking New Jersey governor who was touted as the future of the Republican Party.
Christie 2.0 was as an ally and enabler of Donald Trump following the New Jersey governor's endorsement of the businessman in February 2016.
Christie 3.0 is, apparently, a return to Christie 1.0 -- a Republican willing to loudly and publicly criticize party leaders, namely Trump.
In the wake of Trump's praise of Russian President Vladimir Putin as a "genius," Christie took to Twitter.
"How can anyone with any understanding of the world call Putin's decision to invade Ukraine 'genius' and 'very savvy' as we watch him unite the rest of the world against Russia in nearly an instant," asked Christie, referencing Trump.
Christie continued: "Putin has two choices now: an unwinnable occupation of Ukraine after leveling the country and murdering its hero President (if that is even achievable) or a humiliating retreat. Yeah, that's 'genius' and 'very savvy' alright. No walking that back. History is watching."
Christie's Russia critique is only the latest sign of his increased willingness to call out Trump. He has also blamed Trump for the January 6 insurrection at the US Capitol. "I think everything that he was saying from Election Night forward incited people to that level of anger," Christie told CNN's Dana Bash.
To hear Christie tell it, his breaking point with Trump was the false claims of 2020 election fraud.
"The red line was Election Night," Christie told David...
KEY EVENTS FIMI narratives downplayed Russia’s unease over Ukrainian drone strikes Victory Day served as a pretext to refresh ‘Nazi Ukraine’ claims Pro-Kremlin outlets sought to deflect attention...