President Donald J. Trump on Sunday reportedly escalated his feud with former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, threatening to revisit the notorious “Bridgegate” scandal that damaged Christie’s political career more than a decade ago.
“For the sake of JUSTICE, perhaps we should start looking at that very serious situation again?” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW!”
The remarks marked Trump’s latest broadside against a longtime critic within his own party, reminding the public of a 2013 scheme in which two of Christie’s allies were convicted of conspiring to close lanes on the George Washington Bridge as political retribution against a Democratic mayor.
Although the convictions were overturned by the Supreme Court in 2020, the scandal nonetheless crippled Christie’s national ambitions and remains a cloud over his legacy.
Trump made clear he believes questions remain unanswered. “Can anyone believe anything that Sloppy Chris says?” he asked.
The renewed focus on Bridgegate followed Christie’s appearance on ABC News, where he criticized the Trump administration’s Justice Department. “Let me say candidly to the American people who are watching,” Christie declared. “You were told this. You were told that this was what he was going to do. And not by me, by Donald Trump during the 2024 campaign. He told you that he was going to do this, that he was going to have a Justice Department that acted as his personal legal representation.”
Christie has emerged as one of Trump’s fiercest Republican critics, turning against the president after the 2020 election and challenging him in the 2024 primary.
During that campaign, Christie described Trump as “becoming crazier” as the race intensified in December 2023.
Trump’s decision to revisit Bridgegate also came amid heightened scrutiny of political figures on both sides of the aisle.
Just last week, Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff of California, one of Trump’s most persistent antagonists, announced he was creating a legal defense fund while under Justice Department investigation into his finances.
Meanwhile, John Bolton, Trump’s former national security adviser turned critic, had his Maryland home searched by federal agents.
For Trump, the revival of the Bridgegate episode appears not only as payback for Christie’s sharp criticisms but also as a signal of consistency in applying the principle he emphasized in his Truth Social post: “NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW!” Conservatives argue that if Democrats like Schiff are being investigated, it is hardly unreasonable to revisit questions about Republican critics such as Christie whose scandals, while years old, still carry weight with voters.
The clash is all the more notable given the history between the two men. Christie was once a prominent Trump ally, endorsing him in 2016, assisting with his first presidential transition, and even helping prepare him for the September 2020 debate against then-candidate Joe Biden.
Their alliance soured in the aftermath of the 2020 election, when Christie broke ranks and later sought to block Trump’s return to the Republican nomination.
Now, with Christie relegated to the role of network commentator and Trump again setting the agenda, the feud underscores the president’s determination to confront his rivals head-on.
Whether the Bridgegate scandal finds new life remains uncertain. But Trump’s message to both his critics and supporters was unmistakable: political power does not confer immunity.
[READ MORE: Trump Administration Critiques Smithsonian Exhibits as “Ideological” and Pledges Review]
