Chris Christie: Trump's 'Sitting in Vietnam Right Now Fuming' That Republicans Didn't Defend Him at Cohen's Testimony

Following the first part of Michael Cohen's public hearing before the House Oversight Committee hearing on Wednesday, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie speculated that President Donald Trump is "sitting in Vietnam right now fuming that no one's defending him."

During an ABC News segment earlier today, Christie discussed the first part of Cohen's hearing with a panel and criticized Republicans for failing to defend the president.

"There hasn't been one Republican yet who has tried to defend the president on the substance, and I think that's something that should be concerning to the White House," Christie commented.

"Why are no Republicans standing up and defending the president on the substance?" the former Trump transition official asked. "That's either a failure of those Republicans on the Hill, or a failure of the White House to have a unified strategy with them. They knew this was coming with Michael Cohen."

Christie continued: "And so I think it's going to, as the day goes on, it's going to get tired of hearing the attacks on Cohen's credibility. He's not a credible witness, but he does have corroboration on certain things. Where is the defense of the president?"

Later in the segment, Christie revisited the issue, which had clearly startled him. "If [Republicans] felt they didn't need to [defend the president], they were wrong," he argued. "Someone needs to defend the president of the United States here. He's been accused of crimes by a guy who seemingly has inside knowledge of it."

"The president, I can guarantee, I know him well," Christie added, "he's sitting in Vietnam right now fuming that no one's defending him." Cohen—Trump's former attorney and "personal fixer"—suggested that his former employer was a "pathological liar" while testifying before the House Oversight and Reform Committee on Wednesday.

The accusation was initially fired at Cohen by Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ). "You're a pathological liar," he said, "you don't know truth from falsehood." To which Cohen responded: "Are you referring to me, sir, or the president?"

Cohen also told lawmakers that one of his "biggest regrets" as an employee of Trump was lying to first lady Melania Trump about her husband's alleged affair with adult film star Stormy Daniels.

"He asked me to pay off an adult film star with whom he had an affair, and to lie to his wife about it, which I did," he said. "Lying to the first lady is one of my biggest regrets. She is a kind, good person. I respect her greatly—and she did not deserve that."

Last December, Cohen was sentenced to three years in prison after he pleaded guilty to several crimes, including campaign finance violations, tax evasion and lying to Congress.