--- title: Chris Christie Warned Donald Trump About Michael Flynn description: Christie said Monday he never would have given Flynn a White House job had he been President. canonical: https://time.com/4789262/chris-christie-donald-trump-michael-flynn/ author: Alana Abramson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-05-22T20:30:14.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-08T09:03:40.097Z article:section: Politics og:title: Chris Christie: I Warned Donald Trump About Michael Flynn og:description: "I wouldn't let General Flynn into the White House, let alone give him a job." og:url: https://time.com/4789262/chris-christie-donald-trump-michael-flynn/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd67618fcdf37e06d/6988c082656a3f8038bcf538/gettyimages-660194760-2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4484 og:image:height: 2522 og:image:alt: US-POLITICS-TRUMP-DRUGS og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Chris Christie: I Warned Donald Trump About Michael Flynn twitter:description: "I wouldn't let General Flynn into the White House, let alone give him a job." twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd67618fcdf37e06d/6988c082656a3f8038bcf538/gettyimages-660194760-2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Chris Christie: I Warned Donald Trump About Michael Flynn > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=79776151-d45b-49bf-81f2-8ee02f01fb8f&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: In His Words: President Trump on Women [Watch (HLS stream): In His Words: President Trump on Women](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/GesjGh42.m3u8) (1:47)  _Published 2017-05-22. A look back at some of Donald Trump's comments on women._  by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson May 22, 2017 8:30 PM UTC  by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson May 22, 2017 8:30 PM UTC [New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie](http://time.com/4587937/chis-christie-republican-national-committee/) said Monday that he warned [President Donald Trump](http://time.com/4788647/president-donald-trump-western-wall-jerusalem-israel/) about former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, and that he never would have given him a job had he been President. “I think it’s safe to say that [General Flynn](http://time.com/4770282/sally-yates-michael-flynn-russia-election/) and I didn’t see eye to eye,” Christie said Monday in remarks reported by [CNN.](http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/22/politics/chris-christie-mike-flynn/index.html?sr=twpol052217chris-christie-mike-flynn-russia0735PMVODtopLink&linkId=37884314)“If I were President-elect of the United States, I wouldn’t let General Flynn into the White House, let alone give him a job.” Christie ran against Trump in the 2016 Republican primary contest, but endorsed him shortly after he dropped out, becoming one of the first prominent establishment-friendly Republicans to back Trump. He was appointed chairman of Trump’s transition team, but was ultimately replaced by Vice President Mike Pence. > [](https://twitter.com/politico/status/866738579304796160) Flynn resigned from his role as National Security Adviser in the Trump Administration after it was revealed that, contrary to his initial statements, he had discussed sanctions in a December phone call with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak. The [New York _Times_ reported](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/16/us/politics/james-comey-trump-flynn-russia-investigation.html) this month that Trump asked former FBI Director James Comey to back off a federal investigation of Flynn, something the White House has denied. Flynn is now [refusing to cooperate](http://time.com/4789037/michael-flynn-plead-fifth/?xid=homepage) with the Senate Intelligence Committee’s request to hand over documents regarding his interaction with Russian officials, the Associated Press reports, invoking his Fifth Amendment rights. ## Transcript Her staffers taking the Fifth Amendment, think of this. Over and over. And her ring leaders getting immunity deals. Okay. Five people. Including the guy that put in the illegal server, right? I want the Fifth Amendment. I want immunity. The reason they get immunity is because they did something wrong. If they didn't do anything wrong, they don't think in terms of immunity. Five people. Folks, I'm telling you, nobody's ever seen anything like this in this country's history. Her staffers took the Fifth, you remember that? So many people took the Fifth Amendment, there was nobody left. They all got immunity deals. They all got immunity, I mean, what does she have, five! There was nobody else they could go after. They all had immunity. They shouldn't have wasted their time if they're going to give them immunity. What are you wasting your time for? [ SOUND ] It's worse than Watergate. 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