Chris Christie speaks at Allen County GOP Lincoln Day dinner

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WPTA) - Wednesday evening, the Allen County GOP hosted the annual Lincoln Day dinner at Ceruti’s.

It looked like a fundraiser, with hundred-dollar dinner plates, cocktails, and, for an extra hundred dollars, a photo op with the keynote speaker Chris Christie.

He charmed the crowd. But Christie wasn’t smiling about the current state of the Republican Party heading into this upcoming presidential election.

“We need to be a party again that’s speaking to the aspirations of the people we’re going to represent,” Christie said. “I don’t care if that’s in Indiana, New Jersey, or any place in between. That’s what we need to do.”

Christie was blunt about the performance of the party in recent years, saying it hasn’t been a winning party since 2016.

He believes the lack of success is due to the election of bad candidates and candidates who, he says, are looking backward.

As for the upcoming presidential election, Christie believes former president Donald Trump is the front-runner for the Republican Nomination, but insists Trump has ruined his chances of winning any presidential race.

“He can’t win,” Christie said. “He cannot win a general election nor should he. I think he’s disqualified himself as a potential president. He’s said it’s okay to suspend the Constitution. I think Donald’s confused. The oath for president says ‘preserve, protect and defend’ not ‘preserve, protect and suspend.”

So, will Christie run for president?

Spoken like a true politician, he says he hasn’t made any decision yet, but suggested he could take on Donald Trump.

“Look, I think there’s very few people who show themselves as potential candidates in the party who can go there and are willing to take him on,” Christie said. “A lot of people are afraid of him. I’ve known him for 22 years, I’m not the least bit afraid of him.”

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