Christie: Trump 'looks and sounds like an ally of Putin'

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) said Sunday that President Trump “looks and sounds like an ally" of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The comments from Christie came during a panel discussion on ABC News’s “This Week,” in which the group talked about the heated Oval Office meeting with Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Vice President Vance.

“I think one of the strangest things of watching the meeting, Chris, is seeing how personal this was for President Trump. He clearly is upset with [Zelensky],” host George Stephanopoulos said. “It probably goes back to what started his first impeachment. And he clearly believes, in his mind, despite what U.S. intelligence officials say, which is that Russia did interfere in our [elections], that Vladimir Putin is a victim along with him.”

“Well, he certainly does  … Look, and I don't think he even cares whether Putin’s a victim or not, George, I think that's just rhetoric," Christie responded. "He's the victim in his mind, and that's the most important thing. Again, a transactionalist, ’What’s it mean for me? What’s in it for me?’ And he's still angry about what happened back then.”

“What we need to understand is, and what I think the President should try to do now is to understand — the part of the problem here is that he looks and sounds like an ally of Putin. And you know, Secretary Rubio was saying, ‘Well, we got to get Putin to the table,’” Christie, who has emerged as a critic of Trump, added later. “Well, you know, you [can get] someone to the table in a number of different ways, and it's not just through honey.”

Zelensky, Trump and Vance had a tense Oval Office meeting on Friday that featured shouting, finger-pointing and the president and the Ukrainian leader arguing over U.S. support for Ukraine.

Following the meeting, Trump said on his Truth Social platform that the Ukrainian president “is not ready for Peace if America is involved, because he feels our involvement gives him a big advantage in negotiations.”

The meeting resulted in blowback from some Republicans and Democrats, with Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) calling it “an utter embarrassment for America.”

“The president of the United States is a coward who is Vladimir Putin’s puppet,” Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) told CNN in the wake of the meeting. “What we just witnessed was a meeting in the Oval Office between two cowardly puppets and a hero.”

The Hill has reached out to the State Department and the White House for comment on Christie's remarks.