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- Chris Christie said the Trump team's "bravado" over the Manhattan indictment is "baloney."
- Trump will have to be arraigned and he "can't make that a good day," Christie said on ABC News.
- Trump is expected to surrender to the Manhattan district attorney's office on Tuesday.
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said the "bravado" displayed by former President Donald Trump after being indicted by a Manhattan grand jury is "baloney."
Speaking on a panel on Sunday's "This Week" on ABC News, Christie said he was mostly reserving commentary on the content of the indictment because he wanted to read it first, but then proceeded to offer several minutes of commentary.
A grand jury indicted Trump last week after an investigation by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Brag into hush money paid to adult film actress Stormy Daniels prior to the 2016 election.
Christie said Bragg could have used "prosecutorial discretion" not to push the case forward, questioning whether it was a good use of city resources.
"On the other hand, all this bravado from the Trump campaign is baloney. He is going to be charged officially on Tuesday," Christie said. "He's going to have to be mugshotted, fingerprinted and he's going to face a criminal trial in Manhattan, and he's not going to be able to avoid it. You can't make that a good day under any circumstances."
—This Week (@ThisWeekABC) April 2, 2023
Trump is expected to surrender to the Manhattan district attorney's office on Tuesday, according to his attorney, Joe Tacopina, who on Sunday said Trump was the "victim" of political prosecution.
Trump's reelection campaign raised more than $4 million within 24 hours of the news of the indictment, which the campaign described as the "Alvin Bragg witch hunt," Insider previously reported.
The former president, who was already the frontrunner among Republicans in the 2024 presidential race, surged ahead in several polls after the indictment. Trump is now ahead of main rival Florida Gov. Ron Desantis by 26 percentage points, according to a Yahoo News/YouGov poll.
While the indictment is not yet public, Trump could face as many as 30 counts related to business fraud, according to a CNN report.
"It does not surprise me there are that many charges because what you're talking about are financial transactions," Christie, a possible presidential contender himself, said on ABC News. "So, the number of charges doesn't really surprise me at all, but the fact that everyone's presuming they know what's in there when we don't, I think some people could be surprised on Tuesday."