Fourth GOP presidential primary debate: on Principles & Values

Chris Christie: Authored 2024 book: "What Would Reagan Do?"

Christie: I would draw inspiration from Ronald Reagan. In the last year, I've spent a lot of time writing a book about President Reagan that's going to be called "What Would Reagan Do?" That book's going to come out early in 2024. And what I learned more than anything else was that Ronald Reagan was a slave to the truth. Ronald Reagan stood up for the truth, whether it was popular or unpopular at the moment. In 1964, he stood up against the John Birch Society when it was very unpopular to the party to do it, but he would not put up with our party standing for lies and deceit, even if it gave him political progress. That's the kind of president that I will be, and I would draw that inspiration from the 40th President of the United States, Ronald Reagan.

Washington Post explanation (1/15/21): The John Birch Society, founded in 1958, was fiercely anti-communist--and fond of crackpot theories. 

Donald Trump: OpEd: "I am your retribution" means he'll exact retribution

Gov. Chris Christie: He's made it very clear. There's no mystery to what he wants to do. He started off his campaign by saying, "I am your retribution." [Trump] wants to be back as president because he wants to exact retribution on anyone who has disagreed with him, anyone who has tried to hold him to account for his own conduct. Yet at the first debate, my three colleagues on this stage, when asked if he would be convicted of federal felonies, [said] that they would still support him, even if convicted of felonies. Federal felonies which involve our election process, federal felonies which involve the most sensitive of our governmental secrets. Do I think he was kidding when he said he was a dictator? Be careful of what you're going to get if you ever got another Donald Trump term. It's Donald Trump first.

Ronald Reagan: 1965: Far right Birchers infiltrated by "lunatic fringe"

Washington Post explanation (1/15/21): The John Birch Society, founded in 1958, was fiercely anti-communist--and fond of crackpot theories. Its founder had accused most of the US government--including former Republican President Eisenhower--of being under secret communist control. By 1962, influential conservatives met to talk about a growing threat: the rise of paranoid conspiracy theories on the right--much like Republican leaders today [when] many Republican voters embrace QAnon conspiracy theories and President Trump's false claims of a stolen election. In 1965, Reagan declared, "I am not a member; I am not going to solicit their support." Reagan added that a "lunatic fringe" had infiltrated the society.