Chris Christie warns a Trump second term will be a ‘vendetta presidency’

Chris Christie has warned that a second Donald Trump term in the White House would become a “vendetta presidency” where the former president would go after those he feels have wronged him.

Speaking with ABC News in his first interview since dropping out of the Republican race, Mr Christie said that a secondTrump administration would have a massive personnel problem.

“Mayhem. Absolute mayhem,” hepredicted about the future of the country should Mr Trump win the 2024 presidential election.

“First off, people forget that in the first term, he got a lot of good people to work for him in that administration.”

The former New Jersey governor mentioned a number of cabinet-level officials who were eventually fired or quit, such as former secretary of state Rex Tillerson, former defence secretaries Mark Esper and Jim Mattis, former attorney general Bill Barr, as well as former White House chief of staff John Kelly.

“Whether you agree with their policies,these are really solid, experienced people in government,” Mr Christie said.

“​I cannot imagine the crew that he’ll put together” in a second term, he added.

“And he will do it with an eye much different than in ’16. In ’16, he was scared. He didn’t expect to win, and he was intimidated by the presidency when he first got there. He will not be this time.”

Mr Christie also ran unsuccessfully against Mr Trump for the Republican nomination back in 2016. After dropping out of the race that time, he endorsed Mr Trump and took the helm of his transition team – something he has since said was a “mistake,” pointing to Mr Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election.

Since then, Mr Christie has become one of the former president’s most outspoken Republican critics, prompting