Chris Christie: Kushner Got Me Fired From Trump Gig

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is in the final flailing days of his term and Politico has published a lengthy exit interview of sorts. This might be the most interesting bit:

Christie’s generous interpretation of Trump’s treatment of him even extends to his own ouster. Two days after Trump’s surprise win, Steve Bannon and Christie were seen arguing for several hours in a glass office in the transition headquarters in New York. Bannon was firing him as chair of the transition, and Christie wasn’t taking the news well. He wanted to know who was behind it, and he suspected Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, whose father he had prosecuted as U.S. attorney.

“Oh, I asked,” Christie said, referring to Bannon. “He didn’t answer. But [based on] subsequent conversations I’ve had with the president, I just don’t believe this was the president’s decision.” Aides later threw his transition materials in wastebaskets.

Christie, who often attributes his habit of feuding to his “Silician mom and Irish dad,” insists he holds no grudges. He said the president had made a smart decision to get rid of some aides—he named Bannon and Reince Priebus—and said others would be soon to go. Chief of staff John Kelly, he said, was doing much better. He declined to take a shot at Kushner when asked about the Trump son-in-law’s diminished White House role. “I would never underestimate Jared’s ability to be involved in whatever he wants to do be involved in,” Christie said.