Chris Christie Joins Race For Republican Presidential Nomination

Chris Christie announced during a town hall in New Hampshire Tuesday that he is joining the race for the Republican nomination in the 2024 presidential election. 

Key Quotes: Christie’s campaign slogan is “Truth matters.” During his announcement speech, Christie criticized former President Donald Trump, stating Trump is a man “obsessed with a mirror, who never admits a mistake, who never admits a fault and will always find someone else and something else to blame for whatever goes wrong but find every reason to take credit for anything.” Explaining his motivation for targeting Trump, Christie stated, “The reason I’m going after Trump is twofold: One, he deserves it. And two, it’s the way to win.”

Details: Chris Christie served two terms as the governor of New Jersey. Prior to politics, Christie worked as a lawyer and lobbyist. He unsuccessfully ran for the Republican nomination in the 2016 race, going on to lead Trump’s transition planning team. Christie joins an already crowded race for the Republican nomination, facing off against Trump, the leading candidate in the Republican primary race, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, former Vice President Mike Pence, Senator Tim Scott, Businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, and former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson.

How The Media Covered It: Outlets across the spectrum covered the announcement mildly. Coverage focused heavily on Christie’s statements about Trump. The Wall Street Journal (Center bias) called his campaign a “long shot.”