Chris Christie spars with Donna Brazile over violent crime
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie pushed back on Donna Brazile's claims that Republicans have been accepting of violent crimes when it suits them politically.
Former GOP Gov. Chris Christie took issue with attempts to label the Republican Party as hypocrites over violent crime while debating former DNC chair Donna Brazile Sunday on "This Week With George Stephanopoulos."
A significant topic during the segment included the likelihood of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg indicting former President Trump. While Trump has claimed that he expects to be arrested on Tuesday, Bragg’s office has yet to comment on any details.
Christie agreed with Republican criticism of Bragg’s investigation being too partisan, leading to Brazile firing back in Bragg’s defense that he is simply "doing his job." By contrast, she claimed that Republicans display hypocrisy by insisting they are the tough-on-crime party.
Former GOP Gov. Chris Christie debating former DNC chair Donna Brazile on ABC's "This Week." (ABC)
"This is a party that continues to say that they are for law and order when it suits them. But it doesn't suit them when the crime is gun violence, when the crime is seeing this country suffer from the kind of violence, and crime across the board," Brazile said.
"Look, I'm not going to stand up for that," Christie fired back.
Although Brazile attempted to push back against Christie, the former governor continued to attack Bragg’s soft-on-crime approach.
"Let me tell you who doesn't enforce law and order when it comes to gun violence. I go into New York City every week. It is a danger zone to go into Manhattan because Alvin Bragg is running a revolving door and not prosecuting gun crime, not prosecuting violent criminals and if he does, he lets them out within four hours of when they're arrested to commit more crimes. So, let's not get into that argument because Alvin Bragg has failed miserably. And all of a sudden he wants to get tough on Donald Trump?" Christie said.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg speaks at a press conference after Steve Bannon, former advisor to former President Trump surrendered at the NY District Attorney's office to face charges on Sept. 8, 2022 in New York City. (David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)
According to data from the D.A.’s website, Bragg downgraded 52% of all felony cases to misdemeanors in 2022. This followed Bragg’s campaign in 2021 for criminal justice reform including changes to laws regarding cash bail for violent crimes.
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In the meantime, NYPD crime statistics showed that overall crimes in New York increased by 27.6% in 2022. There was also a 13.2% increase in felony assaults including rapes, robberies and transit crimes. However, murders and crimes were reported as down in 2022.
The DA's website also reported that Bragg’s department declined to prosecute 35% more felony cases compared to 2019.
Former President Trump has claimed that he expects to be arrested on Tuesday. (Getty Images )
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Legal experts have also attacked the idea of Bragg bringing charges against Donald Trump over his alleged hush money scandal involving porn star Stormy Daniels. Many have noted that both the Justice Department and Federal Election Commission declined to prosecute Trump over these crimes prior to Bragg.
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