CHRIS CHRISTIE/MEDIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie wants people to know that the Trump administration’s problems are not his – or even President Donald Trump’s – fault. In his new book published Tuesday [1-29-19], Christie said he believes the president has many leadership qualities but has been surrounded by the wrong people. Christie, who was on a short list to become Trump’s running mate in 2016, might have been in a position to offer advice had he been selected. But he was ultimately passed over for Mike Pence. Christie also said the president could have had a ‘well-oiled administration’ with highly qualified and vetted candidates for top positions had Trump followed a transition plan the former governor had prepared during the campaign. But Christie, the latest in a long line of Trump associates to publish an inside account of a White House widely described as chaotic, blamed ‘a handful of selfish individuals’ for setting loose ‘toxic forces’ and throwing the administration off course.”
–Maureen Groppe, “Chris Christie blames ‘toxic forces’ – not Donald Trump – for administration’s failures,” USA Today, January 29, 2019 5:05 pm