MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace engaged in a rare, confrontational exchange with one of her guests on Tuesday, pressing former Republican New Jersey governor and Trump confidante Chris Christie about the motives behind his recent, public break with the president.

During an otherwise friendly conversation between Wallace, Christie, and co-panelist, former Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill (D), Wallace gently but firmly rounded on the former GOP governor, who had just insisted he had no fear of a Trump backlash for criticizing the election conspiracies emanating out of the White House.

“Governor, let me press back a little bit on you not being scared,” Wallace said, noting that Christie has already floated the idea of running for president again in 2024 before listing a number of past Trump scandals where the former governor was less than a profile in courage.

“I don’t remember you coming out and forcefully pushing back against Donald Trump’s comments on the Access Hollywood tape,” Wallace said, leading off a damning indictment. “I didn’t hear after you he called African nations ‘bleep-hole nations.’ I didn’t hear you distance yourself from this president, at any point, until the target for his ire and lawlessness was the democracy you haven’t ruled out leading in four years. Are you simply making a political calculation that you can clean the Trump stink off you faster than Marco Rubio or some of your other competitors?”

“No. Not at all Nicolle,” Christie replied, shaking his head. “I made a decision back in 2016 that the choice between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton was one where I was with Donald Trump. And I don’t regret that choice, I still don’t regret it today. I wouldn’t vote for Hillary Clinton today if that choice were to be made. And so that is not what I’m saying.”

“I evaluate these things one at a time and you picked out places where I didn’t speak out and there have been any number of places where I have spoken out in opposition to things that the president has done or more particularly said,” Christie continued, noting his public pushback on Trump for insulting then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions and current FBI Director Chris Wray.

“So there were plenty of times where I’ve spoken out because I’ve gotten the angry phone calls from people in the White House,” he said. “And so you could pick out ones where you believe I didn’t speak out and you’re right I didn’t say things about that. But other things were motivating me at that time. But when I felt like something in his conduct as president was something that I was incredibly opposed to and that I thought was very important for our country, I spoke out.”

Watch the video above, via MSNBC.

The post Nicolle Wallace Calls Out Chris Christie for Belated Criticism of the President as He Too Ponders 2024 Run: Is This Just Trying to 'Clean the Trump Stink Off You?' first appeared on Mediaite.

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