Chris Christie said if the Republican party takes away the nomination from Donald Trump, if he is the candidate with the most delegates entering the party's convention, it would disenfranchise primary voters and cause people to become even more disillusioned.



"I think it would be very difficult, if someone comes in close and has a clear plurality of the delegates to deny that person the nomination. I think it's a very dangerous thing for any party to engage in to disenfranchise people who are voting," Christie said in Linden, New Jersey today.



Christie said the Republican party made every candidate sign a "loyalty pledge" to support the eventual nominee, no matter who it is. Christie said the people who made the candidates sign the pledge are the same people advocating we shouldn't follow what the voters decide to do.



"I find that ironic and somewhat hypocritical," Christie said Tuesday.



"I find it interesting, as it applies to Donald in particular, that all the rage back in July and August, and I remember having to do this actually on TV, was to sign a pledge, it said, 'I would support the eventual Republican nominee.' Now, I think that was done because at the time, Donald was talking about, well, if it's no the fair to me, I may run as a third party," Christie recalled.



"So the national party required everyone of us as a condition of being in the debates to sign a loyalty pledge to whoever the nominee was going to be," Christie explained. "Now, those very same people who made us sign the loyalty pledge are now saying, well, maybe we shouldn't follow what the voters decide to do. I find that ironic and somewhat hypocritical."



Full transcript of Christie's comments:





CHRISTIE: I think most people who go to the convention will be bound by their state's results on the first ballot, so if anybody, whether Donald Trump or Ted Cruz... or whoever could get to 1,237, they should be the nominee.



I think it would be very difficult, if someone comes in close and has a clear plurality of the delegates to deny that person the nomination. I think it's a very dangerous thing for any party to engage in to disenfranchise people who are voting.



You know, I would like a do over in New Hampshire, but I don't get one. And the fact is for all of us who ran, I think that we would all be offended by the idea that either somebody who didn't run, or who didn't compete and succeed would get the nomination.



I find it interesting, as it applies to Donald in particular, that all the rage back in July and August, and I remember having to do this actually on TV, was to sign a pledge, it said, 'I would support the eventual Republican nominee.' Now, I think that was done because at the time, Donald was talking about, well, if it's no the fair to me, I may run as a third party.



So the national party required everyone of us as a condition of being in the debates to sign a loyalty pledge to whoever the nominee was going to be. Now, those very same people who made us sign the loyalty pledge are now saying, well, maybe we shouldn't follow what the voters decide to do. I find that ironic and somewhat hypocritical.



The fact is, we're public officials. We serve the public. And they get to elect who they want to nominate. And so you know, I'm not saying that, you know, let's say anybody, let's say Ted Cruz, take it out of the person I've endorsed, let's say Ted Cruz got to 1,100 delegates, and he had more than Donald Trump or anybody else, and he were close, I think it would be very hard being 100 [delegates] or so short to say to Ted Cruz, you can't be the nominee.



I think it would disenfranchise a lot of people and would also really, really, I think, disillusion, the people voting in this country. The people who determine elections are people who care enough to show up and vote. And whether you disagree or you agree with the result, we have an obligation in a democracy to adhere by what the people say.