On a sweltering August weekend in 2025, the already turbulent relationship between President Donald Trump and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie erupted into a new and very public feud. What began as pointed criticism from Christie on national television quickly spiraled into a volley of threats from the president—threats that have reignited debate over political retribution, the boundaries of executive power, and the enduring legacy of the infamous Bridgegate scandal.
Christie, once a loyal Trump ally and now one of his most outspoken Republican critics, appeared on ABC's This Week on August 24. There, he did not mince words about Trump's approach to power. "Donald Trump sees himself as the person who gets to decide everything, and he doesn’t care about any separation. In fact, he absolutely rejects the idea that there should be separation between criminal investigations and the politically elected leader of the United States," Christie declared, according to ABC News. The former governor’s remarks came during a discussion about the FBI’s recent raid on the home and office of John Bolton, Trump’s former national security advisor and another prominent critic.
But Christie didn’t stop at broad constitutional concerns. He took aim at the president’s credibility, specifically dismissing recent praise of Trump by Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted sex offender and associate of Jeffrey Epstein. “She might as well have taken out Donald Trump, or President Trump, and said, ‘The man who can pardon me has never done anything wrong. The man who can pardon me has always been wonderful,’” Christie said, as reported by Los Angeles Magazine. He added, "I don’t think Donald Trump had anything to do with Jeffrey Epstein that was untoward or illegal, but we’re going to believe Ghislaine Maxwell? Give me a break." Christie also noted that after Maxwell’s public commendation of Trump, she was transferred to a less restrictive prison facility—an implication that raised eyebrows but was short on concrete evidence.
Trump’s response was swift and characteristically combative. That same evening, he took to Truth Social, his favored platform for airing grievances and rallying supporters. In a post brimming with indignation, Trump accused Christie of lying "about the dangerous and deadly closure of the George Washington Bridge in order to stay out of prison," referencing the 2013 Bridgegate scandal. The president wrote, "Chris refused to take responsibility for these criminal acts. For the sake of JUSTICE, perhaps we should start looking at that very serious situation again? NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW!" Trump’s post, cited by multiple outlets including CNN and TNND, signaled not only a personal vendetta but also a willingness to leverage federal investigative power against a political adversary.
Bridgegate, for those who need a refresher, was a political scandal that rocked New Jersey in September 2013. Several of Christie’s aides and allies orchestrated the closure of access lanes on the George Washington Bridge, creating massive traffic jams in Fort Lee, New Jersey. The move was widely seen as payback against Fort Lee’s Democratic mayor, Mark Sokolich, for refusing to endorse Christie’s re-election. Although two of Christie’s associates, including his deputy chief of staff Bridget Anne Kelly, were convicted in 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court later overturned those convictions. Prosecutors never charged Christie himself, citing a lack of evidence that he knew about the scheme, and Christie has consistently denied any involvement. Still, the scandal tarnished his reputation and, in the eyes of many, derailed his national political ambitions.
By Monday, August 25, Trump had doubled down. Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, he didn’t mince words. "Look, Chris is a slob. Everybody knows it," Trump said, as quoted by the New York Post and Nexstar Media. "I know Chris better than anybody in the room. I always felt he was guilty." Trump described the September 2013 lane closures as "very serious," emphasizing the chaos caused—ambulances and medical personnel caught in gridlock, with public safety potentially at risk. "Obviously, he knew about it, but he blamed the young lady that worked for him, and another person, and they got into a lot of trouble. She ultimately was, I don’t know, exonerated, but she got out of it a little bit. But she went through hell."
Despite these incendiary remarks, Trump stopped short of ordering an immediate investigation. Instead, he suggested that Attorney General Pam Bondi would decide whether to reopen the case. "If they want to look at it—not for me—if they want to look at it, they can," Trump told reporters. "You could ask Pam. I think we have other things to do, but I always thought he got away with murder." The president’s comments, while leaving the door open, placed the onus on the Justice Department, a move interpreted by some as a strategic distancing from direct involvement.
For his part, Christie has remained defiant. In his ABC interview, he accused Trump of rejecting the principle of separation between political leadership and criminal investigations. Christie’s critique echoed the concerns of many legal scholars who warn against the dangers of using the Department of Justice as a tool for political retaliation. The former governor’s stance is all the more striking given his history: once a Trump confidant, Christie endorsed Trump after dropping out of the 2016 presidential primary and served as a key advisor. Their relationship soured after Trump’s defeat in 2020, with Christie emerging as a leading Republican critic and even challenging Trump in the 2024 GOP primary.
Trump’s weekend tirade didn’t stop with Christie. He also lashed out at ABC and NBC, threatening to have their broadcasting licenses revoked and accusing them of bias. "I would be totally in favor of that because they are so biased and untruthful, an actual threat to our Democracy," Trump wrote on Truth Social, as reported by CNN. He further claimed, "ABC and NBC should lose their Licenses for their unfair coverage of Republicans and/or Conservatives, but at a minimum, they should pay up BIG for having the privilege of using the most valuable airwaves anywhere at anytime!!! Crooked ‘journalism’ should not be rewarded, it should be terminated!!!" The Federal Communications Commission, now chaired by Trump loyalist Brendan Carr, has reportedly reopened investigations into complaints of media bias against major networks.
Meanwhile, the timing of Trump’s threats has not gone unnoticed. Just two days before his salvo against Christie, the FBI raided the home and office of John Bolton, Trump’s former national security advisor and another prominent critic. The move has fueled speculation—and criticism—that Trump is using federal law enforcement to target political foes, a charge he and his allies deny.
The saga has reignited debate across the political spectrum. Some see Trump’s actions as necessary accountability for a scandal that, while old, remains unresolved in the public mind. Others view it as a dangerous escalation—an attempt to weaponize the machinery of justice against rivals and undermine the independence of both the media and the Justice Department.
As the dust settles, one thing is clear: the feud between Trump and Christie is far from over, and the shadow of Bridgegate still looms large over American politics. The coming weeks may determine whether these threats amount to mere political theater or signal a deeper shift in the norms that have long governed the relationship between law, politics, and the press in the United States.
