Chris Christie urged Republicans “to renounce the conspiracy theorists and the truth deniers” at a speech on Thursday night, telling an audience at the Ronald Reagan Library in Simi Valley, California, “we need to give our supporters facts that will help them put all those fantasies to rest.” (watch above)

But the former New Jersey governor only spoke in broad terms; he did not explicitly criticize Donald Trump, whose baseless assertions that the 2020 presidential election was rigged has created widespread institutional distrust among rank-and-file Republicans and the politicians who pander for their votes.

Still, Christine embraced a reality that too few of his GOP colleagues are willing to publicly accept: Joe Biden beat Trump fair and square. And he clearly had Trump in mind when he said, “No man, no woman, no matter what office they’ve held or wealth they’ve acquired, are worthy of blind faith or obedience. We deserve much better than to be misled by those trying to acquire or hold on to power.”

“Stop pretending we won when we lost,” Christie told the audience, calling it “a waste of time, energy and credibility.”

“If the requirement in today’s politics for getting your support is to say a bunch of things that aren’t true, no thank you. If it requires bending to the will of any one person rather than advocating ideas for the good of all people, then count me out,” Christie added.

“Enough with the wishful thinking and self-delusion,” he continued. “We are also overdue to stop the wallowing in the past.”

He urged the GOP to “free ourselves from the quicksand of endless grievances.”

POLITICO reports that Christie’s appearance at the Ronald Reagan Library is part of “comeback tour as he considers whether to mount a 2024 presidential bid that could put him on a collision course with Donald Trump.”

Christie new book “Republican Rescue: Saving the Party From Truth Deniers, Conspiracy Theorists, and the Dangerous Policies of Joe Biden” comes out in November.