December 20, 2017
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said in an interview with MSNBC that he believes President Donald Trump is innocent of the multiple sexual assault allegations against him.
In a lengthy discussion about the ongoing Russia probe and scrutiny against Jared Kushner, program host Nicolle Wallace brought up Trump’s endorsement of Roy Moore and how it brought much of the sexual misconduct allegations against Trump back into the spotlight.
“By endorsing an alleged child molester, he very much reopened the conversation about the fact that he himself is accused of sexual misconduct by more than a dozen women,” Wallace said.
“I can only tell you what he’s told me, which is that it’s not true,” Christie told Wallace. “He’s looked me in the eye and told me that it’s not true, and so I believe him. But, you know, everyone’s got to make their own judgments on this, and everyone’s free to make their own judgments on it.”
Christie also noted his 15-year friendship with Trump and said, “I have never seen him do the things that he described on that tape,” referring to the leaked Access Hollywood audio where Trump describes forcibly kissing women and grabbing them by their genitalia.
“That’s why his denial to me is credible, based on my own personal interaction with him,” said Christie.
When the tape was first leaked, however, the governor called the remarks “completely indefensible,” which may have cost him a cabinet position in Trump's White House.
If Trump hadn’t become president, Christie said, he thinks Trump would have followed through on his promise to sue the women who were making the allegations.
There are a reported 19 women who have accused the president of sexual misconduct, including one rape accusation. Christie’s view on the allegations is a far cry from that of New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, who has said in recent interviews that Trump should resign, not unlike Minnesota Sen. Al Franken did.
See the full clip of Christie’s comments at Mediaite.
