Chris Christie and NYT’s Michelle Goldberg Clash Over Op-Ed: ‘You Have No Respect for the President!’
On ABC’s This Week, the anonymous New York Times op-ed from last week drew sparks between Trump surrogate former governor Chris Christie and NYT columnist Michelle Goldberg.
In the clip above, ABC’s Jon Karl and Gov. Christie generally agree that the anonymous author of the op-ed, which alleges resistance against Donald Trump from within his own White House, should be outed by the New York Times if he or she has already issued a denial.
“If this person who did it is one of those who has publicly denied it, what does the New York Times do with that information,” said Karl. “To continue to protect somebody who is publicly telling a lie?”
“That’s why I say that the denials are important,” agreed Christie. “Because I would assume that the New York Times would be responsible enough that if someone is out there outright lying about their participation in something like this that that would then force them to out this person, if they’re lying about it.”
A few minutes earlier in the show, Michelle Goldberg said that she can’t understand how people can stay in the administration at all.
“I honestly don’t understand how people can be part of this and not feel shame and not feel some responsibility for foisting this on this nation,” she said.
Christie referred back to that in the clip above, saying that “the idea that someone should be shamed for working in this administration is an outrageous statement.”
“It’s an absolutely outrageous statement, you’re serving your country,” he said. “And if you get to the point, you have two choices, if you get to the point where the policy differences or the personal differences are profound enough that you can’t be proud of being there anymore, then get up and leave. But don’t be a coward write an anonymous thing and then have a news organization be willing to accept that kind of cowardice, because that’s what it is.”
“Well look, the news organization is not responsible for making sure that members of the administration behave honorably,” Goldberg responded. “If members of the administration are behaving dishonorably enough to go out and place op-eds like that, that itself is news.”
“But the fact is, and obviously you know this, nobody in this administration, or the number of people in this administration who have any respect for the president is infinitesimal, which is why it’s been so hard–” said Goldberg, and that started the hot exchange.
“That’s just not true,” Christie interjected.
“Which is why it’s been so hard to narrow down who wrote this in the first place,” Goldberg continued.
“That’s your opinion, that’s just not true. That’s just not true,” said Christie. “From where you sit, you have no respect for the president, that’s obvious, but don’t tell me that nobody who works, people in the White House–”
Goldberg pressed whether Defense Secretary Gen. James Mattis and Chief of Staff John Kelly respect the President, and Christie said they do because they are honorable men and would leave the administration if they didn’t.
Goldberg also asked whether Christie thought Bob Woodward lied in his book, and Christie said that Woodward must have relied on people who lied and not done his homework.
“What Bob Woodward wrote about me in the book, was profoundly wrong, and he never picked up the phone to fact check with me,” said Christie. “Bob may in fact be relying on people who were making things up and he didn’t do his homework.”
Watch the clip above, courtesy of ABC.
[Featured image via screengrab]
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