Capitol offense: King of GOP Never Trumpers just hurt a lot of big Republican feelings

WASHINGTON – Most Senate Republicans didn’t tune in to watch Chris Christie formally exit the Republican Party presidential primary this week, but the former New Jersey governor landed a verbal blow that’s left many of the Capitol’s top GOPers smarting.

On his way out the door, Christie tripled down on his losing anti-Trump campaign theme when he accused Republican elected officials of “cowardice and hypocrisy.”

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But Christie went a step further than usual when he personally called out two Republican leaders — Senate Republican Conference Chair John Barrasso (R-WY) and House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) — who endorsed former President Donald Trump this month ahead of Monday’s first in the nation Iowa caucuses.

“And you just look at what's happening, just in the last few days, good people who got into politics, I believe, for the right reasons, people like Senator John Barrasso, people like Congressman Tom Emmer, stand up and endorsed Donald Trump. They know better,” Christie told New Hampshire voters Wednesday. “I know they know better.”

That was a step too far for Senate Republicans.

“Really?” Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) replied when Raw Story alerted him of Christie’s verbal jab at Barrasso at the Capitol Thursday.

Vance, like most of the other 15 Republican senators Raw Story exclusively interviewed for this story, didn’t watch Christie’s exit speech. But they felt it.

“Chris Christie did?” Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) — the Senate Republican Conference vice-chair — exclaimed to Raw Story when told of Christie’s comments.

“Unnecessary,” Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) told Raw Story. “Unnecessary.”

“I think now is the time that we need to bring people together. We don't need a circular firing squad,” Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) told Raw Story.

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Other Republicans greeted the Garden State barb with their own shot.

“What's New Jersey got to do with Wyoming?” Sen. Ted Budd (R-NC) told Raw Story in defense of his Cowboy State colleague.

For his part, Barrasso laughed off the name calling.

“I heard that he had. I didn’t actually hear him,” Barrasso told Raw Story. “I wish him well.”

Wyoming’s junior senator, in contrast, wasn’t laughing.

“Yeah, I think that's personally offensive,” Sen. Cynthis Lummis (R-WY) told Raw Story. “Just because Chris Christie is infected with Trump derangement syndrome, doesn't mean that someone who endorses Trump for president is somehow off the farm. That's really, that's really a cheap shot.”

Neither Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell nor the office of Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) offices replied to Raw Story’s request for comment.

Others are taking it personally.

“We're about duplicates,” Sen. Jim Risch (R-ID) told Raw Story of his fellow western state leader. “I didn't realize [Christie had] done that. Probably poor taste, but, yeah, it's up to him.”

Still, many GOP senators respect Christie and some count him as a friend. So he’s got his defenders.

“There's honor in saying what you believe, and sticking to it,” Sen. Todd Young (R-IN) told Raw Story. “I don't think any of their constituents would really care about it.”

If anything, Christie’s attack on his fellow Republicans was on brand.

“He says exactly what he thinks whether it's a cold mic or a hot mic,” Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) told Raw Story, referencing Christie’s moment this week when he was caught dishing on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and dumping on former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley — two of his other now-former Republican presidential nomination opponents.

Romney says there’s a GOP migration afoot that’s partly inspired by fear of Trump retribution.

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“I think people recognize Donald Trump's gonna be the nominee of the Republican Party, most likely, so they’re getting in line,” Romney said.

Others say Christie’s being hypocritical.

“I like Chris, personally, I just think he’s gone so far off the deep end,” Vance of Ohio said. “Christie was like one of the first people to have endorsed Trump after he dropped out in 2016. For him to sort of assume I always see when people do this when they assume that when somebody does the exact same thing that they did, yeah, it's somehow immoral.”

Barrasso is the most senior member of Senate GOP leadership to endorse Trump — a fact that isn’t lost on Senate Republicans.

“So that's a big deal,” Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) told Raw Story. “And I was happy to see John make that endorsement, but like, everybody's eventually gonna get there. McConnell himself has said that if Trump is the nominee, and he's gonna be the nominee, that he's, he's, he's gonna support him. So that's where everybody's gonna be.”

Still others say this episode is telling about what Christie plans to do next.

“I think he's selling a lot of barbs out there. That must mean he's kind of going into the private sector, do something outside of politics,” Sen. Mike Braun (R-IN) told Raw Story. “Who else can you piss off? Right? Like in Indiana, Trump has a 75% favorability rating 20 unfavorable. I'm the next in line at 64 and 14. That's big.”

Christie indeed has deep ties to the private sector — ones about which he hasn’t always been entirely forthcoming, as Raw Story reported in December.

“Christie's criticizing somebody's conservativism? Welcome to the movement,” Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) told Raw Story.

“Has Christie played any role in the GOP of late?” Raw Story asked.

“Not that I've witnessed,” Johnson said.