AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster
- Giuliani was incensed at Christie criticizing the Trump legal team on TV, per a forthcoming book.
- "We're friends. What are you doing?" Giuliani reportedly asked the former governor.
- Christie reportedly went on to question Giuliani about the damage he was causing to his reputation.
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Last November, former Gov. Chris Christie made on appearance on ABC's "This Week" where he proceeded to blast then-President Donald Trump's legal efforts to contest the 2020 election.
"The president has had an opportunity to access the courts," the New Jersey Republican said at the time. "If you've got the evidence of fraud, present it. What's happened here is quite frankly, the conduct of the president's legal team has been a national embarrassment."
Even for Christie, who is known for his blunt talk, the comments were notable since he was considered to be an ally of the Trump White House.
Rudy Giuliani, who was Trump's personal lawyer at the time, saw the interview and felt "as if he had been stabbed in the back," according to a forthcoming book by Washington Post reporters Carol D. Leonnig and Philip Rucker.
Giuliani proceeded to call Christie, with whom he had maintained a decadeslong friendship.
Leonnig and Rucker detailed the tense phone conversation in "I Alone Can Fix It: Donald J. Trump's Catastrophic Final Year," an early copy of which was obtained by Insider.
According to the book, Giuliani was incensed at Christie, asking him why he would make such comments on television.
"We're friends. What are you doing?" Giuliani reportedly asked the former governor.
Christie responded: "Rudy, this is ridiculous. You need to stop."
Giuliani then told Christie that he would be "embarrassed" once the evidence of a tainted election was revealed to the public, according to the book.
Christie went on to explain his earlier comments and questioned Giuliani on why he would damage his reputation.
"I don't like to call the legal team 'a national embarrassment' on television. But it is," Christie said. "You're hanging out with Sidney Powell. Are you kidding me? She's f---ing nuts. What's what with you. You were the mayor. You were one of the true national leadership heroes in the last half of the twentieth century. What are you doing?"
Giuliani was less than impressed with Christie's worldview, per the book.
"F--- legacy," Giuliani reportedly responded. "Legacy is what happens when you're in the ground. I'm fighting for today."
The former New York City mayor then reportedly invited Christie to become a part of the Trump legal team.
"Stop complaining and shooting off your mouth on TV," Giuliani said. "Join the legal team and make a difference."
Christie responded: "You're kidding me, right? No, thank you. I'll pass."
According to the book, the two Republicans "ended the call on bitter terms."
Giuliani, speaking through a spokesperson to the authors of the book, denied that the conversation between the two men occurred.
The Trump campaign went on to file over 40 campaign lawsuits, and none of them were remotely successful at changing the outcome of the presidential election, which President Joe Biden won with 306 electoral votes.