Of course, it was during that prep period in late September 2020 that Christie believes he contracted a serious case of Covid-19 from Trump, who did not tell anyone in the room that he’d tested positive. Behind closed doors, he advised him, including serving as a key figure during his 2020 debate preparations. As a pundit, Christie defended Trump on television. Christie’s own onetime campaign manager, Bill Stepien, ran Trump’s 2020 operation.
It’s tough to imagine now, but Christie was one of Trump’s most loyal establishment allies for nearly all of the former president’s time in office. How does Christie explain his about-face on Trump? But the stakes are higher now, and the national GOP electorate, in this primary, is different from the voters he faced in the Garden State. So what are Christie’s big ideas? His force of personality is obvious – as anyone who remembers his eight years in charge of New Jersey will recall. He hinted as much last week, telling voters in New Hampshire that his rivals were “talking about issues that are so small that sometimes it’s hard to even understand them.” Nearly all of the Republicans in the race have denounced the “radical left” and promoted anti-transgender legislation that have been introduced at the state level.īut those arguments might not suit Christie. Pence on the trail and in a CNN town hall last week talked up his anti-abortion record and fiscal hawkishness. Other Republican candidates, including those willing to be at least passingly critical of Trump, have underlined their conservative bona fides. Republican donor class scrambles to boost alternatives to Trump as the 2024 field - and the ex-president's legal troubles - grow His remarks so far have delighted Never Trumpers in the GOP and Democrats happy to see Republicans at odds, but winning over the Republican voters who will ultimately decide the nomination is a tougher task. More to the point, he needs to make a compelling argument directed at Republican primary voters. But even if that is a key part of a broader strategy to elevate his own campaign, the former New Jersey governor will need to make an affirmative case for himself.
It’s a good bet that Christie will come out hammering Trump. His background also affords him a chance to credibly state, for those willing to hear it, just how dire Trump’s circumstances have become. Some of the scenes described in the indictment border on dark comedy, involving scenes of Trump waving around top secret documents to random visitors.Ĭhristie, in a CNN interview last week, described the details of the indictment as “damning.” The former prosecutor has an opportunity to advance his cause Monday by digging further and explaining – in his no-nonsense style – what it all means. The unsealing of the classified documents indictment has given Americans a window into Trump’s post-presidential conduct and, as prosecutors allege, his flouting of national security law. He won’t exactly be hard-up for new material. Here are four things to watch at the town hall with Christie on Monday:ĭoes Christie pounce … or back off following Trump’s federal indictment?Ĭhristie’s first volley against the former president last week at his campaign kickoff provided the most comprehensive case against Trump’s bid for a second White House term of any of the 2024 GOP candidates. The question now: Where does he go from there? They would say cute little things like ‘new generational leadership’ or ‘we need a leader who looks forward, not backwards,’” Christie said, mocking the catchphrases used by other Republican candidates determined to go around, not through, Trump on the campaign trail.Īll told, it was a dramatic first step onto the campaign stage. “Not one of (the primary candidates there) mentioned his name. And two, it’s the way to win.”Ĭhristie also used that forum to jab his primary rivals over their reluctance to directly engage with the former president, pointing to an event hosted by Iowa Sen. “The reason I’m going after Trump is twofold,” Christie explained to a friendly crowd.
Santiago/Getty ImagesĬhristie on Trump: 'Turns out I was wrong' Chris Christie speaks at a town-hall-style event at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College on Jin Manchester, New Hampshire.
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