Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a longtime ally of President Donald Trump advised the president on Sunday to end his futile battle to overturn the results of the Nov. 3 election.
The former governor and 2016 presidential candidate said that the president had yet to provide any evidence of fraud that would change the outcome of the election. Christie called on Trump to concede to Joe Biden or to at least allow the presidential transition process to begin.
“As much as I’m a strong Republican and I love my party, it’s the country that has to come first,” Christie said on ABC’s “This Week.”
Read More: Trump ally Chris Christie tests positive for COVID-19
“If you’ve got the evidence of fraud, present it,” Christie continued. “Quite frankly, the conduct of the president’s legal team has been a national embarrassment.”
Christie went on to say that despite claims of election fraud, not one of Trump’s lawyers has actually made that argument before a judge.
Christie who said he’s been a supporter of Trump’s and voted for him twice stated that “elections have consequences.” He reasoned that the president’s lawyers’ unwillingness to make baseless arguments under oath and before a federal judge must mean that the evidence to support the claims doesn’t exist.
“We cannot continue to act as if something happened here that didn’t happen. You have an obligation to present the evidence,” Christie said.
But Christie’s withdrawal of blind loyalty to Trump didn’t stop the president from making new unsubstantiated claims on Sunday.
“We will find massive numbers of fraudulent ballots,” President Trump tweeted. “Fight hard Republicans.”
Read More: Election officials in every state find no evidence of voter fraud
Christie urged the Republican party to focus on trying to win Georgia’s two runoff elections on Jan. 5 to secure the Senate majority, rather than continuing the battle to change the election results.
Senate Republicans have mostly avoided commenting on Trump’s actions as they are aware that any perceived lack of loyalty to the president could prompt him to attack the defectors.
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