Christie responds after being booed while criticizing Trump: 'They need to hear the truth'

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie on Sunday defended himself after he was booed at a conservative conference last week.

The former governor drew boos when he criticized former President Donald Trump during remarks at the Faith and Freedom Coalition's conference in Washington, D.C. on Friday, saying “he has let us down.”

When asked about the negative reaction from the crowd by ABC’s "This Week" co-anchor Jonathan Karl, Christie said he “expected the boos” from “predominantly a Trump crowd.”

“But they need to hear the truth too, that character is the single most important element of a president of the United States. Because you can’t know every issue that’s going to come across the president’s desk,” Christie said.

'You can boo all you want': Chris Christie faces backlash for criticism of Donald Trump

The former governor, who has made criticizing Trump a centerpiece of his campaign, also took aim at Trump’s Saturday remarks at the conference, saying “he had the audacity to say that he got indicted for us” and calling the argument “absurd.”

Trump was indicted earlier this month for allegedly mishandling classified documents after his term in the White House. He was also indicted earlier this year in a hush money case in New York state.

“He is a three-time loser,” Christie said, referencing Trump’s loss in the 2020 presidential election and some Democratic victories in the 2018 and 2020 congressional and gubernatorial elections. “We do not need our party to go to a fourth loss because Joe Biden, in my opinion, is an awful president, and we can’t afford to have him from age 82 to 86 in the White House, or even worse, have Kamala Harris assume the presidency. That’s the stakes here.”

A NBC News poll released on Sunday found that 51% of Republican primary voters are choosing Trump as their first choice for the GOP nomination. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis received 22% support, former Vice President Mike Pence received 7% support and Christie received 5%.

USA TODAY has reached out to Trump for comment.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Chris Christie responds after being booed while slamming Donald Trump