Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who is also a 2024 Republican presidential candidate, voiced his criticism of former President Donald Trump’s proposal to separate aid to Israel and Ukraine, suggesting that Trump’s approach was aimed at “coddling” Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“This is Donald Trump’s bad world view,” Christie said on CNN. “He wants to do it and separate them because he wants to continue to coddle Putin, as he’s done from the minute he became President of the United States and then going forward from there.”

Christie went on to explain that President Biden’s request for aid, which included support for both Ukraine and Israel, was deliberate because he believed that the challenges facing these two nations are interconnected.

“This aid is connected because these attacks are connected. There’s no doubt that Russia, China, and Iran, and North Korea are all working together to try to disrupt the world and create violence,” Christie elaborated.

The former governor stressed the importance of robustly supporting both Israel and Ukraine. “We need to support Israel, and support them strongly, and we need to support our friends in Ukraine as well,” he added.

While President Biden has proposed a $105 billion aid package that includes support for both countries, it has encountered resistance from some House Republicans, particularly regarding aid to Ukraine. However, a majority of Republicans have continued to express support for the aid allocated to Israel.

Notably, former President Trump, currently the front-runner for the GOP nomination in the 2024 presidential election, faced impeachment in 2019 for his actions related to Ukraine. He was accused of pressuring Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate Joe Biden, his potential political rival in the 2020 election, by withholding aid.

Christie emphasized the importance of upholding commitments to defend Ukraine, referencing a promise made in 1992 when Ukraine relinquished its nuclear missiles to Russia. “We made a promise to them in 1992 when they removed nuclear missiles and returned them to Russia, that we would protect them if Russia attacked,” Christie said. “We need to keep our promises.”

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