US Politics
Chris Christie

Chris Christie torches Jared ... Chris Christie settles scores in 'Let Me Finish,' a memoir out Jan. 29

Burgess COMMENTARY

Peter Burgess

Exclusive excerpt: Chris Christie torches Jared

Chris Christie. Photo: Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie settles scores in 'Let Me Finish,' a memoir out Jan. 29 from Hachette Books, writing that President Trump 'trusts people he shouldn’t, including some of the people who are closest to him.'

What he's saying: Christie asserts that Trump has a 'revolving door of deeply flawed individuals — amateurs, grifters, weaklings, convicted and unconvicted felons — who were hustled into jobs they were never suited for, sometimes seemingly without so much as a background check via Google or Wikipedia.'

Christie writes:

I did everything I could to make sure my friend Donald reached the White House fully prepared to serve. But a handful of selfish individuals sidetracked our very best efforts. They set loose toxic forces that have made Trump’s presidency far less effective than it would otherwise have been. If this tragedy is ever going to be reversed, it is vital that everyone know exactly how it occurred.

Once Steve Bannon started unburdening himself ... in his Trump Tower office, he couldn’t seem to stop. “The kid’s been taking an ax to your head with the boss ever since I got here,” he blurted out. “It’s been constant. He never stops. Ancient bitterness, I guess.”

In Bannon-speak, the KID is only one person. Not Donald Jr. Not younger son Eric. Not Ivanka or Tiffany. The kid is Jared Kushner, the husband of Ivanka Trump and the son of the real estate developer Charles Kushner, a man I once sent to prison.

Be smart: This would certainly be awkward if Christie were Trump's White House chief of staff — a position he discussed with Trump at the White House just a month ago.

Go deeper: Chris Christie doesn't understand Trump's 'endgame'

Christie said Trump's business tactics aren't translating well in government.

'The president comes from a world where each deal is discrete. We argue, we sue each other and fight and then it's only money and we move on. In this world everyone remembers every slight. ... If you have issues coming up like the Mueller report, like potential investigations from House Democrats, if you have those things, you have to keep your Republicans completely in line with you to be able to fight off a political or legal attack from the other side.