Category Archives: Jonathan Karl

Trump Threatens ‘Sloppy’ Former Pal In Off-The-Rails Sunday Night Rant

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President Donald Trump on Sunday night fired off a series of messages on social media attacking Senate Democrats, demanding that the Baseball Hall of Fame admit retired pitcher Roger Clemens, and mocking ABC reporter Jonathan Karl’s hair.

And in one of his wilder posts, Trump delivered a not-so-veiled threat to one-time pal Chris Christie, the former New Jersey governor who had criticised him earlier in the day.

“Can anyone believe anything that Sloppy Chris says?” Trump wrote.

During an ABC interview, Christie accused Trump of using the Justice Department as “his personal legal representation” to carry out retribution against political opponents and critics such as former national security advisor John Bolton.

Trump seemed to make Christie’s case for him as he hinted that the former governor could soon find himself on the wrong end of a new investigation into the “Bridgegate” scandal from his time as governor.

“Do you remember the way he lied about the dangerous and deadly closure of the George Washington Bridge in order to stay out of prison,” Trump wrote. “For the sake of JUSTICE, perhaps we should start looking at that very serious situation again? NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW!”

Trump was referring to a 2013 scandal in which members of Christie’s administration closed the lanes in Fort Lee leading to the George Washington Bridge to create a traffic jam, reportedly as revenge against a mayor who did not back Christie’s reelection bid.

When Christie held a press conference denying that his office had been involved, one of his own aides texted to another that he “just flat out lied,” according to court documents released later.

Christie was a Trump rival during the 2016 campaign, but dropped out early and became one of the first major Republican figures to endorse him.

He stayed within Trump’s orbit throughout the campaign and during his first term in office, and was a White House regular:

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 29: U.S. President Donald Trump (L) shakes hands with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie at a panel discussion on an opioid and drug abuse in the Roosevelt Room of the White House March 29, 2017 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Shawn Thew-Pool/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – MARCH 29: U.S. President Donald Trump (L) shakes hands with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie at a panel discussion on an opioid and drug abuse in the Roosevelt Room of the White House March 29, 2017 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Shawn Thew-Pool/Getty Images)

Pool via Getty Images

Christie helped Trump prepare for the presidential debates in both 2016 and 2020. He spent a week in the intensive care unit with COVID-19 that he developed while helping Trump in 2020, later saying it was “inexcusable” that he wasn’t told that Trump had tested positive for the infection and “undeniable” that he got the infection from him.

Trump called him while in the hospital, Christie said, but not entirely to check on his prognosis.

“Are you going to say you got it from me?” Trump asked him, according to Christie’s book.

Christie eventually became a Trump critic.

Trump’s full message is below:

Donald Trump on Truth Social
Donald Trump on Truth Social

Donald Trump

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Ex-Senior Trump Official: He’s A ‘Traitor’ And ‘A Clear And Present Danger’

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A former senior official in Donald Trump’s White House slammed his ex-boss as a “traitor” and “a clear and present danger to our democracy,” according to a new book by ABC’s Jonathan Karl.

Karl told MSNBC’s Jen Psaki on Monday evening that the unnamed official served Trump “loyally” for more than a year “at a very high level inside the West Wing, very close to Donald Trump” and hasn’t been publicly critical of him.

Psaki read the full quote from the official:

“He lacks any shred of human decency, humility or caring. He is morally bankrupt, breathtakingly dishonest, lethally incompetent, and stunningly ignorant of virtually anything related to governing, history, geography, human events or world affairs. He is a traitor and a malignancy in our nation and represents a clear and present danger to our democracy and the rule of law.”

“It gets to a fundamental truth about Donald Trump, and that is the most piercing and searing criticism of him,” Karl said. “The people that are sounding the alarm loudest about what a second Trump term would mean are those who are closest to him.”

Karl told Psaki that the former official hasn’t gone public because he fears “retribution” from Trump against himself and his family.

Karl’s book, “Tired of Winning,” hits shelves on Tuesday.

See the full interview below:

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