Chris Christie Criticizes Donald Trump's Claims of a Stolen Election: 'We Heard Nothing Today About Any Evidence'

Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie criticized President Donald Trump on Thursday for claiming that counting ballots that may be favorable for Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden is fraudulent without providing any evidence.

The former governor made the remarks during a discussion on ABC after Trump continued to claim that Biden gaining ground in several key states was due to "illegal" mail-in ballots in a White House speech. When host George Stephanopoulos noted that absentee ballot counting is not illegal, Christie, a former federal prosecutor, said that the president needs to present evidence of any alleged widespread fraud if he is claiming that it exists.

"If this stuff is going on that the president's talking about, all of us want it sorted out," Christie said. "Because it would undercut everything that we believe in our system. But as a prosecutor, that's like asking me to indict someone without showing me any evidence."

"If you're gonna say those things from behind the podium at the White House, it's his right to do it, it's his right to pursue legal action," added Christie. "But show us the evidence. We heard nothing today about any evidence. I want to know what backs up what he said so that I can analyze it."

Christie suggested that Trump's comments were inflammatory and of little substance, warning that "we cannot permit inflammation without information." He insisted that if Trump does have any evidence of widespread fraud he would be "outraged."

However, he said that "the American people are going to be able to make the judgement about this election, that the results have been fair" if no real evidence exists.

A prominent Trump adviser and ally, Christie became the first person closely associated with the president to openly criticize his recent rhetoric about the election one day earlier, dismissing his premature declaration of victory on election night by saying that there was "no basis to make that argument."

In October, Christie recovered from COVID-19 after being hospitalized in an intensive care unit for one week. The former governor may have contracted the virus at one of several late September events he attended with Trump, whose own positive test preceded Christie's diagnosis by only a day.

Christie urged the public to wear face masks after his recovery, saying that he had been "wrong" to not wear one during the White House event announcing the nomination of Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett on September 26, which was later suspected of being a "superspreader event."

Newsweek reached out to the Trump campaign for comment.