Recently, Fox News interviewer and host Brett Baier did something that is almost never seen on that network: an honest interview with Donald Trump in which he asked real questions, came prepared with notes and pointed out Trump's own contradictions in his policies. In other words, the kind of interview that he should have had to go through years ago, but rarely has. At one point Baier pointed out that in 2016 Trump said that new would surround himself with the "best people", and then read off a list of 12 different people that he once chose to work for him that he has now broken with (often by using an immature nickname for them). It was a devastating moment showing how much complete loyalty he expects while providing so little in return. (Although it barely scratched the surface of people who had fallen out with him after working with him, such a list would be very long, stretching back decades!). While it remains to be seen if this interview will have any actual effect on Trump and the polls (some foolish comments he made may well be used against him in his missing documents trial), the fact that it happened at all is surprising. Usually, Trump's visits to Fox involve fawning hosts asking him puffball questions, and the fact that he looked genuinely flustered at one point shows that he certainly didn't expect the kind of grilling from Baier that he got. While this interview may be an anomaly, it could portend a possible break with Trump for the network. We'll see.
This tough interview with Baier coincides with the entrance of former Republican New Jersey Governor Chris Christie into the presidential race. Christie has had an odd political career: his term as Governor from 2010-2018 saw him go from a 77% approval rating for his handling of Hurricane Sandy to a measly 15% in the wake a scandal about unnecessary traffic stoppages that caused big traffic jams. In 2018 he unsuccessfully ran for the Republican Presidential nomination, and later was one of the first Republicans to endorse Trump. Although he never had an official role in the Trump administration, he did often advise the former president, especially regarding his presidential debate with the candidate Joe Biden. Christie, who's bullying personal nature has often been seen publicly, advised Trump to interrupt Biden as a way to bring out his former stutter. So it's Christie we have to blame for Trump's behavior in that utterly shameful first presidential debate in which Trump barely let Biden start a sentence. (It was an example of a big bully advising an even bigger bully to be a super bully!)
But it was in that preparation for that debate that the seeds of Christie's falling out with Trump were sown. Shortly after that meeting, Christie got a case of covid so bad that he was near death. He is convinced that it was Trump himself who gave it to him, saying that the former president was the only person that he knew was infected that he came in contact with without a mask. Christie had assumed that Trump was negative because he was not told about Trump's positive test, (and, of course, Christie wasn't the only person that Trump dangerously exposed) and to make matters worse, Trump called Christie while he was sick and asked him if he was going to tell people that he was the one who gave it to him.
So, yes, for Christie, opposing Trump for the nomination is really more personal than political. So far, Christie poll numbers have been lousy, but he still is doing something that no other Republican running against Trump is doing: calling him out by name. While other candidates like Nikki Haley and Tim Scott seem to be angling to be Trump's vice president pick by mostly saying nice things about him, Christie is laying down the truth. He's called Trump "a petulant child.”, said his behavior was "vanity run amuck" and called the charges against him in the missing documents case "devastating". (And I for one must admit that I love seeing a bully get bullied!) Now Christie certainly isn't the first Republican to take on Trump (remember Mitt Romney's sad attempt to pull back his party in 2016?), he is the first who used to be a professional prosecutor who isn't afraid to get down in the muck that Trump lives in. Hopefully, Christie's verbal attacks will wound Trump in the primaries, even if Christie himself doesn't benefit from them. (He could be Ron DeSantis's best friend). Christie knows that the best place to attack Trump will be on stage at the Republican primary debates, but whether or not he will get there is another question, given that he needs 15% approval in the polls to qualify to be there. Even then, the cowardly Trump may just refuse to join in the debate because he will probably be way ahead of the nearest contender, so all it could do is hurt him. (He's probably right about that).
Still, Christie will be able to spread his attacks against Trump into areas that most Republican voters caught in their conservative media bubble won't be able to ignore. And with Fox News possibly starting to turn on Trump, not to mention the criminal charges piling up against him, it's possible that America may finally be through with the man who has been trashing American politics, and the office of the presidency, since 2015.
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