Chris Christie town hall: Christie slams ex-president as poll shows slight bump in favorability

The battle for the Republican nomination just got a whole lot messier.

That was the defining message of former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s campaign launch on Tuesday: get ready for blood.

Calling out his opponents by name, deconstructing their campaign slogans and clever quips — Chris Christie was in prime form on Tuesday evening at St Anselm College in New Hampshire, where he addressed a small crowd of voters in a town hall-style event and put his sights clear on his top rival, Donald Trump.

John Bowden reports:

“The 2012 presidential race was likely Chris Christie’s time. In 2009, he won the governorship in staunchly Democratic New Jersey and had become a favorite of conservatives for his willingness to combat teachers’ unions and other Democratic groups in moments that went viral in the right-wing media ecosystem. It was “owning the libs” before “owning the libs” was a thing.

Now, Mr Christie has announced another quixotic White House run. As an elected official who left his office in disgrace and who has not held a position for years in a radically changed GOP, Mr Christie is unlikely to win. But most observers see his run as an attempt to stop Mr Trump from winning again.”

Eric Garcia writes:

Former New Jersey governor Chris Christie likened former president Donald Trump mocking his weight to a child’s behavior.

While speaking with Jake Tapper, Mr Christie commented on Mr Trump’s attacks saying he responds in a childish way anytime a person criticises him.

“It renewed in my own mind what a child he is. He’s a baby,” Mr Christie said on CNN. “Whenever you want to criticise him, in any way, that’s the way he responds.”

Mr Trump mocked Mr Christie’s weight following his 2024 campaign announcement.

“It’s so juvenile. He is such a spoiled baby,” Mr Christie added.

Chris Christie joins the likes of President Joe Biden, former president Donald Trump, former vice president Mike Pence and more in his bid for the White House.

Here’s who else is running for president in 2024:

Chris Christie said he would be taking questions from the audience during his town hall with Anderson Cooper on CNN tonight and he doesn’t plan to hold back in his answers.

“I’ll be joining [Anderson Cooper] for a live town hall on CNN tonight at 8pm ET. Tune in as I answer questions from a live audience. I won’t be holding back,” Mr Christie tweeted on Monday afternoon.

The former New Jersey governor is known for his self-assertive and no-nonsense attitude toward politics.

A Fox News host has apologised after making a barbed remark about Chris Christie’s weight and his ability to down a milkshake.

John Roberts mocked the former New Jersey governor as he discussed his entry into the 2024 presidential race on the right-wing channel’s show America Reports.

Roberts made the comment as he compared the fight for the Republican nomination to two milkshakes, one being drunk by Donald Trump and the other by the remaining candidates.

John Bowden reports:

The year was 2016, and Chris Christie had just dropped out of the presidential race, throwing his support behind Donald Trump.

Mr Christie’s endorsement of the future president lent him credibility and gave Republicans something they needed to cast their ballot for the reality television star who had never held public office before – permission.

Now, Mr Christie has announced another quixotic White House run. As an elected official who left his office in disgrace and who has not held a position for years in a radically changed GOP, Mr Christie is unlikely to win. But most observers see his run as an attempt to stop Mr Trump from winning again.

Republicans are about as likely to receive his message warning about the perils of another Trump presidency as they would be likely to receive the message from Liz Cheney.

Read more from our DC bureau chief Eric Garcia on how we should think about Chris Christie’s legacy – and his future.

Commentators in Chris Christie’s home state of New Jersey are taking a somewhat dim view of the former governor’s run for the White House in 2024.

Many don’t believe he’s going to win, or even that his criticisms of Donald Trump are sincere.

”Like any standard politician, he has hoisted his finger to the wind to see which way it’s blowing,” Dick Polman writes today in the New Jersey Monitor.

As Saladin Ambar notes in NJ Spotlight New, there has never been a governor who has successfully beaten their party’s incumbent to take the presidential nominee.

Despite the long odds, and doubts that Christie, the on-again, off-again ally of Mr Trump, has really changed his ways, some opinion writers believe his candidacy may still be worthwhile.

“Christie can still serve a good purpose if, as already evidenced, he’s willing to say the stuff that has long needed to be said,” Mr Polman adds.

The question remains, if Mr Christie continues to say the quiet part out loud and criticise Donald Trump, will that have any way on the former president’s massive, loyal base?

Allies of Chris Christie seem to be hoping that the former New Jersey governor’s reputation as a no-nonsense guy will be enough to peel off some Republican voters after the chaos of the Trump years.

A recent ad from Tell It Like It Is, a pro-Christie PAC, is titled “Qualified,” and features the former governor telling an audience of New Hampshire voters, “These are real problems that real serious people need to solve by putting your interests first, not their own.”

The approach is a pretty straightforward one, but it raises some interesting questions about the American electorate.

Namely, what if people like that Donald Trump isn’t really qualified to be president? What if they like that he rose to power by being more outrageous and attention-grabbing than everyone else?

Even after multiple indictments, years of scandals, and a humiliating one-term presidency, Mr Trump is still extremely popular with the Republican base, with polls showing the former president with over twice the support of his nearest rivals.

If voters genuinely wanted the adult in the room, one wonders if we would really see this kind of continued support.