Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, one of the many Republican candidates for the presidential nomination, came out swinging against the Republican National Committee’s loyalty pledge.
Christie made the comments on CNN’s “State of the Union“.
“I think the pledge is just a useless idea,” he said when asked if he would abide by the pledge if it meant supporting former President Donald Trump.
“And by the way, in all my life, we never had to have Republican primary candidates take a pledge,” he went on. “You know, we were Republicans. And the idea is you’d support the Republican whether you won or whether you lost. And you didn’t have to ask somebody to sign something.
“It’s only the era of Donald Trump that you need somebody to sign something on a pledge,” Christie concluded. “So I think it’s a bad idea,”
Christie isn’t the only nominee who feels that way.
Former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson also criticized the loyalty pledge and implored the RNC to amend it.
“The @GOP should clarify that there is no pledge to support a nominee if they are found guilty of espionage or a serious felony,” he tweeted.
The RNC has not responded to criticism of its pledge.
RNC’s Pledge Part of Debate Requirements
The loyalty pledge is part of the RNC’s qualifications in order to limit the number of candidates on the debate stage, avoiding the circus-like environment that was often seen in 2016.
Participants will have to sign a loyalty pledge promising to support the eventual nominee and not participate in any external debates.
Candidates will also have to poll above 1% in three national polls, or two national polls and a state poll, and receive donations from at least 40,000 contributors nationally with at least 200 unique donors in at least 20 states.
Polls will not count toward qualification until July 1st and candidates will have until August 21st – or 48 hours before the debate – to qualify and turn in their pledges.
The requirements are a dramatic change form 2016, when candidates simply had to be in the top 10 of nationally recognized polls.
Who cares about this damn RINO
AGREED !!!!!!
I second that notion!
Mmmmm doughnuts.
I voted for Christie because he stood up to the teachers unions. He did well. Now he’s like a homeless guy looking for shelter. He’s angry because he’s not getting the attention he thinks he deserves, he feels entitled to a spot on the big stage and he’s being ignored. Poor Chris.
He might be a RINO, but I think he has a point. It’s like a “platform” committee decisions at the conventions and THEN picking a candidate. who may disagree with portions of it.