Former federal prosecutor and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie began his campaign in New Hampshire and, as expected, immediately made it known that he sees arresting Donald Trump as his main task.
Chris Christie, US presidential candidate: ‘Beware of the leader you trust to lead this country who never makes mistakes and who, if something goes wrong, always blames others,’ Christie warned , and after a significant pause, added. “And who never loses.”
Christie lamented the lack of leaders in the country who can formulate and execute big ideas.
“We have presidential candidates who say we shouldn’t care about what’s happening in Ukraine and that Russia wants to subjugate this free and freedom-loving country, that it’s none of the business of the America,” he said. “We have presidential candidates who raise such small issues that it is sometimes difficult to understand them.”
Many observers believe Christie’s primary task in this election cycle is to ward off Donald Trump’s GOP nomination.
“He really wants to fill it, and he thinks he can become the hammer that can do that,” said Ross Baker, a professor of political science at Rutgers University in New Jersey.
At the same time, Christie himself insists he wouldn’t have entered the race if he thought he had no chance of winning.
“He rejects the idea of ​​being some kind of suicide bomber candidate,” says Associated Press political commentator Jill Colvin. “He said he wasn’t a ‘hit man.’ He doesn’t want to be the person who hurts Trump and then gives way to another candidate.”
Christie previously ran for president eight years ago. Then his election campaign failed, and in the end he withdrew his candidacy and backed Trump. However, Christie and Trump later went their separate ways. Professor Ross Baker, in an interview with the Russian service American media, said that today Christie is motivated by a desire to get revenge on Trump, adding that this may not be the best motivation for a candidate.
“Christie played a key role in the success of the Trump campaign in 2016 and in the formation of his cabinet,” recalled the expert. “It was very important because Trump had no political experience and he needed someone who understood how government works. Christie did the job, but there was no place for him in the administration. Trump. He felt rejected. However, he remained in Trump’s orbit until the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol. It was already too much for Christy, and after that, their paths finally diverged.
A lot has changed over the last 8 years, but Christie’s campaign slogan has remained the same “Telling it like it is”. He tries to return to the national political scene as a seeker of truth who will not go a word in his pocket.
“I mean what I say and I say what I mean, and that’s what America needs right now,” proclaims Christie.
“He’s always had a New Jersey personality: he’s very loud, insistent, defiant,” Patrick Murray, director of the Institute of Public Opinion at Monmouth University in New Jersey, told American media. “Such qualities often put people off, but he managed to turn them to his advantage.”
However, to even become a contestant in the campaign trail, Christie will need to make the most of her talents and her New Jersey charm.
“To participate in the debate, you must have a rating of at least one percent and 40,000 individual financial donors from different states; they can’t all be from New Jersey,’ Professor Baker said. “And even that very low threshold could be a problem for Christy, given that her grades remain very low, both in her home country and nationally.”
“Christy has the highest negative ratings of any potential competitor in this race,” says Professor Murray. – 47% of Republicans nationwide view it negatively. Only Mike Pence can be compared to him, to whom 35% of Republicans have a negative attitude. But Pence is favored by 46%, twice as much as Christy. Only 21% have a positive attitude towards Christie. Thus, twice as many Republicans view Christie negatively as positively.
One of the reasons for Christie’s lack of support among party members is that 11 years ago, after Hurricane Sandy wreaked havoc in New Jersey, the governor warmly welcomed President Barack Obama on the state coast.
“He met President Obama, who was then the leader of the Democratic Party, on the coast and hugged him in gratitude for the help the president sent to New Jersey,” says Professor Baker. “And that discredited him in the eyes of his potential supporters.”
“Judging by our division today, there is no greater crime than a friendly gesture towards a representative of another party, especially the president, whom Republicans disliked at all” , recognizes Professor Murray. “And when we ask Republicans about Christie today, they invariably bring up that episode from a decade ago.”
Observers note that today among Republicans, most of whom continue to support Trump, it is difficult to isolate the grassroots electorate who could become the hard core of support for Chris Christie.
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