Christie criticizes Trump for the arrest of a man near Obama’s residence – News Block

Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie (right) criticized former President Donald Trump after his 2024 rival posted what was said to be Obama’s home address on social media.

Christie made the comments to CNN’s Jake Tapper on Thursday, a week after a man with guns and ammunition in his truck was arrested near the Washington, DC, home of former President Barack Obama. Prosecutors said this week that the man, Taylor Taranto, had shared a Truth Social Post where Trump published an old conservative newsletter about his first 100 days in office that also included alleged details of Obama’s new house on Capitol Hill.

Taranto has also previously been identified as a participant in the January 6, 2021 insurrection.

The former governor and 2024 presidential hopeful said he did not know if Trump had released the speech intentionally, but that it was normal.

“I think the problem, once again, is his behavior, which has no regard for anyone but himself,” Christie told Tapper. “Now, I don’t know if he really intended to publish President Obama’s speech or not. …This is the problem with someone who does not put this country and its citizens first.”

“They end up doing things like this, either intentionally or inadvertently,” he continued. “What it shows is a lack of responsibility, a lack of accountability for what you’re saying. It’s like calling the special prosecutor a crack addict. It’s like publishing a former president’s speech. It is irresponsible behavior.”

Prosecutors alleged Thursday that Taranto, 37, posted on the Telegram messaging service last week after reposting Trump’s message, writing: “We have these losers surrounded! See you in hell, Podesta’s and Obama’s.” He also reportedly went live on YouTube that day, saying he was in the neighborhood where the Obamas live and was looking for “entry points” so he could get a “good angle on a shot,” according to The Associated Press.

Christie later said she rejected Trump’s attempts to reframe her impeachment last month as a witch hunt. The former president was indicted on 37 federal charges related to his handling of classified documents after leaving the White House. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

“What I say to everyone who says, ‘Well, you’ve been treated unfairly,’ the case of the documents that he imposed on himself by refusing to return them for 18 months after being asked to do so,” said the former governor.