Chris Christie eviscerated Republicans at a Wall Street Journal panel on Monday night, condemning his party for “bad decision making and a loss of courage.”
“Everyone down here in D.C. has failed,” he said.
In his speech, which was filled with zingers and indictments of his party, he called the government shutdown a “train wreck everybody saw coming” and ripped on D.C. culture.
“What we have in Washington now are absolutists,” he said.
Christie’s success as a Republican governor in a blue state has attracted attention and a fair amount of 2016 speculation, but many worry his Northeastern brand and brash style can’t be translated on a national scale. Other 2016 hopefuls have begun trashing the New Jersey governor as not conservative enough.
But Christie said the national party isn’t doing a good job bringing a diverse voter base together—instead they’re pushing voters away.
“The better you do, the more voters you attract, the more diverse voters you attract, the worse you do?” Christie said shaking his head, according to Huffington Post. “Our country is changing, demographically and economically. Candidates have to understand who they’re asking to lead.”
Christie’s second term as the governor of New Jersey will offer him a more national platform to test that brash brand—later this week, he’ll take over as the head of the Republican Governors Association.
And as for 2016, Christie isn’t beating around the bush.
He’ll announce his plans 2016 “when I have to.”
Jane Timm