Book Review: Chris Christie to the Rescue?

Chris Christie was all over TV last week hyping his book, Republican Rescue, the cover of which, creatively, shows an elephant holding a rescue tube in its trunk.

As the name implies, the GOP is in danger. If not, why would it need to be rescued?  The peril for Republicans is Donald Trump and the wacky conspiracy theories the former president seems to inspire.

That is the essence of the book, but before we get there, Christie spends the first part of the book detailing his personal relationship with Trump.

They met years ago when Christie was U.S. Attorney and their friendship blossomed.

When Trump got to the White House, Christie says the now-president offered him many jobs, but not the one he would have taken – Attorney General. So, Christie began spending his post-gubernatorial life at home in Mendham Township.

The anecdotes and observations Christie presents of Trump will shock no one who follows politics closely.

When a very ill Christie was fighting COVID at Morristown Medical Center, he got a call from the president.

A heartfelt wish to get well?

Not really. Christie said the president was concerned that he (Christie) would blame him (Trump) for his getting the virus.

If you needed more proof of Trump’s bizarre mindset, you saw it when Christie related a debate prep session during the 2020 campaign. Christie was playing Joe Biden.

But on this day, Trump wanted to talk about FBI Director Christopher Wray, who the president said was the worst member of his administration. And for that, Trump blamed Christie, who the president said recommended Wray. In the discussion and arguing that followed, Trump left the room. So much for debate prep.

Fast forward to Jan. 6.

Christie, who was home that day, said he tried to contact Trump four different ways in hopes of getting him to do something – anything – to stop what was happening at the Capitol. But he never reached him.

This brings us nicely to the second part of the book – Crazy Talk.

Christie is candid about the dopey conspiracy beliefs and theories that he says are hurting the Republican party, among them Q-anon, Pizzagate ( the belief Hillary Clinton and other top Dems are running a child sex operation out of a D.C. pizzeria) and, of course, the refusal of Trump and many other Republicans to accept results of the 2020 election.

In my view, this is the most controversial section of the book, simply because the problem is probably greater than Christie believes.

In the book and in TV interviews, the former governor opines that he thinks there are enough sensible Republicans who want to look ahead and not be weighed down by Trump and “crazy talk.”

Maybe.

Trump’s poll numbers among Republicans remain high and GOPers who dare defy him – think Liz Cheney – are kicked out of the party. To this, Christie responds that Cheney’s expulsion was the act of the state committee in Wyoming and that the rank and file think differently. In a conservative state like…