GOP candidate Christie warns of leaders who cannot admit mistakes during Beaufort stop
In a speech that could have passed for a sermon on unity, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie addressed Sunday worshipers at Tabernacle Baptist Church in Beaufort.
“If you’re looking for the perfect candidate, stop looking,” the Republican presidential candidate said from the front of the historic church, established in 1867. “If you are looking for the perfect person to be your president, you can move on from me.”
Without naming names, he warned those seated in the red upholstered pews against other candidates who won’t admit their mistakes and “think that every word that comes out of their mouth is divine.”
Instead, he said, we must draw strength from our differences and seriously listen to each other.
An occasional “Amen!” or “Tell it!” rose up from the small crowd during the roughly 15-minute speech.
“We are a country right now that feels very angry and divided,” Christie said, explaining that we have to work together, listen to each other and recognize that our similarities are greater than our differences.
“It starts with how we treat each other,” he said.
Church member Barbara Washington of Beaufort was among those who shook Christie’s hand after leaving the service.
“I think it was a message for everybody,” she said.
The Rev. Kenneth F. Hodges’ sermon echoed similar themes. Based on a passage from Matthew and citing a speech from President Abraham Lincoln, he told congregants that “a divided house cannot stand.”
“In these challenging times,” Hodges preached, “ only Jesus, and he’s knocking right now. .... He died so we can be one.”
Christie, who attended the service with his wife, Mary Pat, and a handful of staffers, made a more political stop at a Charleston brewery on Saturday, when he took questions at a town hall about the conflict in the Middle East, immigration, gun rights and school safety.
On Sunday, after the church service, he was scheduled for another stop at Blackstone’s Cafe in Beaufort’s historic downtown.
This story was originally published October 22, 2023 at 1:00 PM.
