Former New Jersey Gov.
Chris Christie says Donald Trump should be impeached for making “unwarranted, unscripted, untruthful, offensive” remarks about black men.
“I’m not going to get into the specifics, but this is not about the color of his skin,” Christie told Fox News Sunday.
“I mean, I think it’s a disgrace, I don’t think it deserves a response, and he should resign.”
On Friday, Trump tweeted a photo of himself with former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who has said he would consider a run for president in 2020.
“My friends, the United States needs a new mayor, we need a new movement,” Trump tweeted.
“This is not going away.”
Trump also has called Giuliani a “loser” and a “bigot” who “tries to get his own way.”
Christie also said Giuliani has “been a big supporter” of the Ku Klux Klan.
He added that the Republican presidential nominee was “trying to make the case that Giuliani is a racist” and that he is “a bigot.”
“I think he’s making an argument that people who are supporting him are all racists and I think that’s not right,” Christie said.
He also said Trump’s comments should not be tolerated, calling them “unacceptable” and calling on the president to resign.
“The president has no business in the Oval Office,” Christie added.
“He should step down, he should step out, and I hope the American people will take a look at the record of his administration, and the record that he’s been putting forth for four years.”
Former New York Gov.
Michael Bloomberg, who is now an outspoken Trump critic, called on Trump to resign in a tweet.
“As long as the president is in the White House, he cannot be held accountable for these comments,” he wrote.
It’s time for him to get out of the White Senate office, where he has no mandate, and let a new president take office.””
The president cannot and must not resign.
It’s time for him to get out of the White Senate office, where he has no mandate, and let a new president take office.”
Trump was asked on Fox News about his remarks Friday, and responded with a photo from a rally that showed him and Giuliani smiling and with a group of young black men, which he called “white pride.”
“Well, I mean, that’s kind of the way I look at it, you know, people, when you look at them, you look like they’ve got nothing to lose,” Trump said.
“They have nothing to gain, and that’s how I look.”
The former New Jersey governor said that the photo is not meant to be interpreted as a compliment.
“It’s not, I guess, that you are showing me some affection, but it’s just kind of showing me that you know that, you see it,” Christie explained.
“So it’s not something that I would say to somebody who I thought looked like a lot of the young black males, and a lot, you want to see a lot.
And that’s what I was trying to get across.”
Trump has repeatedly been critical of African-Americans in the past.
Christie said that when Trump came to New Jersey, “the people were in a frenzy” about his political campaign.
“And I think, you’re looking at some people, and there were a lot in the press that didn’t understand him, and they weren’t seeing what I saw in the media,” Christie continued.
“But I think the people were going crazy for him, they were going nuts for him.
And so I think they were seeing this, and some people saw it, and now it’s sort of the old narrative, you can’t get away with this anymore.
But you’re seeing it, it’s all the way back to the beginning of time.
And you know what?
That’s just not true.”