--- title: Chris Christie: Donald Trump Jr. Is Not 'Sophisticated' description: Christie said Donald Trump Jr. was not colluding with Russia when he took the meeting during the 2016 campaign but was a political novice canonical: https://time.com/4863802/chris-christie-says-donald-trump-jr-russia-collusion/ author: Alana Abramson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-07-18T22:56:01.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T16:36:43.318Z article:section: Politics og:title: Chris Christie: Donald Trump Jr. Is Not a 'Sophisticated Political Actor' og:description: "Donald Trump Jr. ... is by no means a sophisticated political actor" og:url: https://time.com/4863802/chris-christie-says-donald-trump-jr-russia-collusion/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9c1ac5a8391529cb/6988d45b97cdff224a6b1721/chris-christie-beach-video.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: NJ Gov. Chris Christie Speaks At Gov't And Media Conference og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Chris Christie: Donald Trump Jr. Is Not a 'Sophisticated Political Actor' twitter:description: "Donald Trump Jr. ... is by no means a sophisticated political actor" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9c1ac5a8391529cb/6988d45b97cdff224a6b1721/chris-christie-beach-video.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Chris Christie: Donald Trump Jr. Is Not a 'Sophisticated Political Actor' > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times 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.  by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Jul 18, 2017 10:56 PM UTC  New Jersey Governor Chris Christie speaks during the "Managing the Disruption" conference held at the Tideline Ocean Resort on April 3, 2017 in Palm Beach, Florida. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie speaks during the "Managing the Disruption" conference held at the Tideline Ocean Resort on April 3, 2017 in Palm Beach, Florida. Joe Raedle--Getty Images  by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Jul 18, 2017 10:56 PM UTC [New Jersey Governor Chris Christie](http://time.com/4861843/chris-christie-donald-trump-jr-russia-meeting/) said President Trump’s son [Donald Trump Jr. ](http://time.com/4860286/trump-jr-russia-secret-service-vetting/)was not colluding with Russia when he took the meeting during the 2016 campaign with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya, but was simply a political novice who didn’t know any better. “You got to consider the source of the information and the recipient of the information,” Christie said Tuesday [in an interview with MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace,](http://www.msnbc.com/deadline-white-house/watch/christie-confident-trump-didn-t-know-about-son-s-russia-meeting-1002833475590) referring to the email exchange the President’s son released last week detailing the lead-up to his meeting with a Russian lawyer during the 2016 campaign where he was promised compromising information on Hillary Clinton “The source of the information seems to be like a music promoter. I don’t think this was a guy who was necessarily sophisticated in the language of government like you and I would be. And the recipient of the information, Donald Trump Jr., who I know very well, is by no means a sophisticated political actor.” “This is a guy who loves his father and got involved in politics because his father got involved,” Christie continued. “But I don’t think Don would have gotten involved in that level any other time.” The e-mail exchange that Trump Jr. released between himself and publicist Rob Goldstone showed the President’s son [was promised](http://time.com/4853005/donald-trump-jr-emails-hillary-clinton-russia/) “very high level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its government’s support for Mr. Trump.” The meeting was not “advisable,” said Christie, but he told Wallace it doesn’t necessarily represent collusion. Christie also said he does not think Trump knew of his son’s meeting. “He’s not the holding back type, we would have talked about it,” he said of the President. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4863802/chris-christie-says-donald-trump-jr-russia-collusion/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4863802/chris-christie-says-donald-trump-jr-russia-collusion/"},"headline":"Chris Christie: Donald Trump Jr. Is Not a 'Sophisticated Political Actor'","datePublished":"2017-07-18T22:56:01.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T16:36:43.318Z","description":"\"Donald Trump Jr., who I know very well, is by no means a sophisticated political actor\"","url":"https://time.com/4863802/chris-christie-says-donald-trump-jr-russia-collusion/","keywords":["White House","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9c1ac5a8391529cb/6988d45b97cdff224a6b1721/chris-christie-beach-video.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alana Abramson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9c1ac5a8391529cb/6988d45b97cdff224a6b1721/chris-christie-beach-video.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"NJ Gov. 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