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I just finished reading "LET ME FINISH" by Chris Christie. I think "I TOLD YOU SO, IDIOTS" would have been a more apt title, but he didn't ask me for my suggestion...I have some other thoughts on the book--hear me talk about it on @WNYC this am, or follow along with this thread->
He goes AFTER Jared Kushner, whom he emasculates with descriptions like his "soft quiver" voice, and whom he blames for not getting AG or VP. Kushner also fired Christie as chair of the transition, which Christie repeatedly blames for everything that has gone wrong with Trump.
YET: Trump himself avoids almost all criticism, as if Trump had no say over the "grifters" that Trump himself appointed. Christie calls Trump "utterly fearless" and says he has “unparalleled self-confidence” and a “keen understanding of what regular people are feeling.”
Every interaction with Trump is detailed, from Trump's propensity to ordering for Christie when they dine together to Trump's suggestion that Christie get lap band surgery, which at the time Christie had never heard of. He said he lost 100 pounds thru the surgery & kept it off.
There are few personal revelations about his life, but here's one: Christie and his wife separated twice early on in their marriage. Christie moved back in with his parents. They decided at one point not have kids, but later had 4. His oldest now works for the Mets.
Christie is a poignant storyteller in real life, but his anecdotes are largely void of emotion in this book. He had some powerful experiences after Superstorm Sandy, but they are hardly delved into.
What he viewed as his policy successes in New Jersey--his gubernatorial legacy!--are all but ignored. He glances by pension & benefit cuts for public workers. He ignores bail reform & the resurgence of Camden (tax breaks, lower homicide rate, new police force, resurgent schools).
As gov, Christie signed a bill giving in-state tuition to Dreamers. He defended his appointment of a Muslim judge. He reached out to the NAACP, and won 51% of the Hispanic vote in his reelection. He tried to build a larger GOP tent. Has Trump destroyed that tent? Christie is mum.
The cancellation of the ARC Tunnel into New York CIty, perhaps Christie's most consequential decision as governor? Doesn't get a mention. The collapse of NJ Transit? No words. How his appointees used the Port Authority to dangle political carrots & exacting revenge? Nothing.
Christie doesn't shed light on political deals he made with Dem political bosses, perhaps his most savvy move as gov. But he reveals that Dem @NJSenatePres Sweeney, whose caucus is now investigating the administration of Dem @GovMurphy, quietly sided with Christie on Bridgegate.
Christie straddles this line of trying to be authentic, dishing on the inner dysfunction of the White House, while also praising Trump. He calls Trump utterly fearless and says he has “unparalleled self-confidence” and “keen understanding of what regular people are feeling.”
Trump keeps telling Christie he loves him. But Christie says Trump lied about him during 2016 campaign -- saying Christie knew all about Bridgegate -- and then Trump ADMITTED to Christie that he lied. Yet soon enuf Christie’s out of the race, and he wholeheartedly endorses Trump.
This is brutal: During his 1st visit to the White House to see President Trump, Trump tells Christie that this could've all been his if it wasn't for Bridgegate. Christie is furious about Bridgegate, and he alleges conspiracies between the DNC, media & US Attorney to go after him
Christie claims that the DNC set up a floor of a hotel in New Jersey as a "war room" to leak stuff to the media after Bridgegate. He also alleges that US Attorney Paul Fishman leaked to the media. I can't find any evidence that any of that happened. (But tell me if I'm wrong.)
There's plenty of half-truths & falsehoods about Bridgegate. Here's a few: 
Other scandals are ignored, like how Christie appointed David Samson, his political mentor, to perhaps the most powerful job in NJ--chairman of the Port Authority--before Samson was convicted for strong-arming United Airlines to create a fight route to his summer home.
Trump keeps telling Christie he loves him, and yet Christie says Trump lied about him on the 2016 campaign trail -- saying Christie knew all about Bridgegate. Trump admitted to Christie that he lied! And yet weeks later, Christie endorses the supposed liar for president.
Speaking of not telling the truth: Christie says he didn’t participate in the LOCK HER UP chant about Hillary Clinton during his speech at the Republican convention in 2016, and he found it distasteful. But he was smiling and nodding along the whole time. nbcnews.com/video/crowd-ch…
His whole shtick is keeping it real. But on Monday, he went on Hannity & nodded along to conspiracy theories about a shadow Justice Dept. On Tuesday, he went on Colbert & passionately defended the Justice Dept., saying he hates Trump's criticism of Justice & says so publicly.
One more thing on Bridgegate. This is in regard to Paul Fishman, the Bridgegate prosecutor. Note how Christie brings up his physical appearance. I'll let @MattFriedmanNJ handle this one, from @politiconj:
So I guess I'm trying to say that if you want a more complete look at Chris Christie, buy my book! amazon.com/American-Gover… And it's not because I bash the gov -- the NYT reviewer said "Christie is vastly more likable" in my book than Christie's book. nytimes.com/2019/01/28/boo…
