Chris Christie blows up ABC panel when he points out glaring problem with January 6 committee: 'It's a TV production'

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) delivered a much-needed reality check on Sunday, explaining on ABC News why the Jan. 6 committee hearings have not moved the needle with voters.

Impacting the 2022 midterm elections was, in fact, one the main purposes of the committee, which decided to air many of its hearings on prime-time TV.

In fact, the New York Times reported before the first hearing that House Democrats wanted to use the hearings "to refocus voters' attention on Jan. 6" by connecting "Republicans directly to an unprecedented plot to undermine democracy itself."

What did Christie say?

During a panel discussion on "This Week," Associated Press reporter Julie Pace observed that Democrats are not talking about the Jan. 6 committee hearings on the campaign trail because the hearings have not made an impact with voters.

Christie then suggested why the committee is not having an impact: It lacks credibility.

"I think the Jan 6. committee, despite some of the really good work they've done ... was resigned to having a credibility problem because of the membership of the committee and the way that was done," Christie said.

"So there are lots of Republicans across this country who just say, 'There's nobody there to argue the other side. [Reps. Adam] Kinzinger and [Liz] Cheney don't argue the other side,'" he added.

That's when the interruptions came. Moderator George Stephanopoulos interjected, "There's not another side," a point with which Democrat Donna Brazile agreed.

"What is the other side, Chris?" Brazile interrupted.

"I think that you can question a lot of these witnesses who came up and — and test their credibility, Donna," Christie responded.

"Bill Barr? You're going to test the credibility of the former attorney general? You're going to test the credibility of the people who were inside the Oval Office advising the president?" Brazile continued.

After a back-and-forth, Christie was finally permitted to speak. He said that by testing the credibility of witnesses, the Jan. 6 committee could have boosted its own credibility.

"But instead, it's a TV production," Christie pointed out.

"There are lots of people inside the White House who now have convenient memories about things that didn't have memories about them before," he explained. "You can ask questions about that."

ABC panel smacks down Chris Christie's attack on Jan. 6 Committeewww.youtube.com

The second reason the Jan. 6 committee is not having an impact, Christie said, is because Trump is not on the ballot.

"In the end, what the Jan. 6 committee has made this all about is Donald Trump and his role in Jan. 6," Christie explained. "But when he's not on the ballot, it's very hard for Democrats to be able to make this a cutting issue, especially in the light of huge inflation, gas prices, crime in the streets, open borders, drug overdoses — those things are things that are affecting people's everyday lives, and they don't see it that way."

Interestingly, former President Barack Obama made a similar point in a podcast over the weekend, explaining that wasting energy on Trump increases the dissonance between Democrats and the issues Americans care about most.

"We spend enormous amounts of time and energy and resources pointing out the latest crazy thing he said," Obama said. "That’s probably not something that, in the minds of most voters, overrides their basic interests: Can I pay the rent? What are gas prices? How am I dealing with child care, etc."