Chris Christie, a former governor of New Jersey, has joined the growing list of Republicans who have entered the 2024 primary campaign, although he is aware of his chances.
Christie said in an interview with ABC’s “Good Morning America” that former President Donald Trump is the “right through” candidate for the nomination.
“There’s only one lane to the Republican nomination for president and Donald Trump is at the head of it and you have to go right through him and make the case against him. And that’s what I intend to do,” Christie declared.
He is running for president for the second time. Christie initially appeared to be leading the GOP field in 2016, but he was ultimately defeated by Trump, who went on to defeat Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, along with the rest of the GOP field.
On Tuesday, he officially began his campaign with a town hall-style meeting at Saint Anselm College in New Hampshire. He positioned himself at the event as a counterpoint to Trump, winning over people with his unique style and proposals.
He stayed true to his position on Wednesday, telling George Stephanopoulos of ABC News that Trump & his campaign staff had “put themselves before the American people.”
“That’s exactly what he’s done each and every time when there’s been a key decision to make, and Joe Biden is showing he is simply not on for the job,” Christie stated. “I’ve been tested, tested over and over again in a blue state when I was governor, a very difficult place to govern. And I know how to bring solutions to our party and, most importantly, to our country.”
Christie also charged that Trump has failed to deliver on important topics like immigration, health care, and other matters.
“Broken promises like that, George, aren’t acceptable anymore to the American people,” Christie went on. “The stakes are too high. That’s the case you need to make and if you make it effectively, I think we will be the nominee.”
In a video broadcast early on Wednesday, former vice president Mike Pence declared his bid for president in 2024.
According to pollster Morning Consult, Christie is presently in last place with just 1% of the vote, beneath even former Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson and ardent Trump opponent and former Wyoming representative Liz Cheney, who is at 2%.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is now Trump’s closest competitor in that survey, receiving 22 percent of the support to Trump’s 56 percent.
Liz Cheney polling higher than Chris Christie for 2024 pic.twitter.com/arlxX0t05c
— Charlie Spiering (@charliespiering) June 6, 2023
In addition, ABC News stated:
Though Christie’s willingness to take on Trump directly sets him somewhat apart from the other candidates, who’ve so far been reluctant to openly criticize the former president and early front-runner. Christie took a jab at his opponents, likening their treatment of Trump to Voldemort, the Harry Potter villain.
But in order to appear on first debate stage in August, the Republican National Committee is requiring candidates to vow to support the eventual nominee as well as meeting certain polling and fundraising criteria.
Christie pledged never to support Trump again.
“So will you be on the debate stage? Can you support Donald Trump, if indeed he is the Republican nominee?” Stephanopoulos pressed.
“I’ll be on the debate stage, and I will take the pledge that the RNC puts in front of me just as seriously as Donald Trump did eight years ago,” Christie answered. “When he signed the pledge … and then on the first debate stage, he didn’t raise his hand to say he would support the nominee.”
In other election news, Mike Pence addressed Republican voters in Des Moines, Iowa, at a CNN Town Hall and threw MAGA Patriots and Trump under the bus.
Pence, a former congressman, governor, and Trump ally from Indiana, spoke with presenter Dana Bash for 90 minutes about a range of subjects, including why he wants to be president, abortion, Ukraine, and other subjects.
About the events surrounding January 6, he threw MAGA Patriots and Trump under the bus.
Pence reiterated his belief that Trump was mistaken to believe that the vice president could rescind the election.
…I felt that he was asking me to choose between him and the Constitution. I chose the Constitution. And I always will.
I said today President Trump was wrong then, he’s wrong now.
He went even further, though, and declared that Trump should never again hold the position of President.
Anyone who puts themselves above the Constitution should never be president in the first place. And anyone who asks anyone else to put themselves over the Constitution should never be president again.
If elected, Pence indicated he will not pardon any J6 members:
You know, on the day of January 6, I issued a tweet demanding that people leave the Capitol. And grounds.
I said that those that failed to do that should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and I continue to believe that today.
Mike Pence when asked if he would pardon any J6 prisoners
“I have no interest or no intention of pardoning those that assaulted police officers, or vandalized our Capitol.”
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) June 8, 2023
Pence apparently had not seen the most recent news about that day, that Capitol Police let in hundreds of protesters.
During the events of Jan. 6, a side door to the Capitol was mostly unguarded and open. According to police security footage obtained by a media outlet, more than 300 people were allowed into the Congress house unimpeded, even though officers tried to keep protesters out of other areas.
Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., first raised concerns two years ago about an episode in a hallway in the middle of the Capitol that occurred around 2:30 pm that afternoon, right before other breaches began.
