I have no love for a corrupt, bellicose politician like Chris Christie. There is no timeline where he becomes the Republican nominee in 2024. But today, his thinking and mine are the same regarding Donald Trump’s failed coup:

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) on Sunday suggested that planning that led up to the Jan. 6 riot “was driven from the top” by former President Donald Trump.

“Well, look, all the things that you see were driven from the top,” Christie admitted. “I mean, the president made it very clear that he did not want to concede the election, that he would not concede the election. And you had a bunch of people around him by the time he got to the end with very few exceptions that were C-team players at best — on their best day.”

“So C-team players get in there and they tell the boss what he wants to hear,” he added.

This is a very important observation. Donald Trump’s crew was a bunch of fuckups with cockamamie ideas from top to bottom, just like him. And it is only their sheer dunderheadedness that stood between us and an illegal second Trump term.

Here’s what might keep you at night: Trump has a lot of time from now until election season, and he may assemble a goon squad that gets things right the next time around.