Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has officially entered the race for the United States presidency in 2024, joining a growing record of Republican candidates. Having filed the required paperwork on Tuesday, Christie is set to launch his campaign at an occasion in New Hampshire. Known as a pragmatic conservative, Christie beforehand ran for president in 2016 however withdrew after a lacklustre campaign. Current opinion polls place him with only 1-2% of main voters, making his bid an extended shot.
Once a close ally of former President Donald Trump, Christie has since become an outspoken critic of Trump, who can also be looking for a return to the White House in 2024. Christie’s change of coronary heart came after Trump tried to overturn the 2020 election results, which led to the attack on the US Capitol.
“We maintain losing and dropping and shedding,” Christie said of Republicans last year after the party’s underwhelming performance in the midterm elections. “And the fact of the matter is, the explanation we’re dropping is because Donald Trump has put himself earlier than all people else.”
As he prepared to enter the 2024 race, Christie intensified his assaults on Trump, even calling him Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “puppet”. He has also criticised fellow Republican candidate and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, together with Trump, for their scepticism relating to US assist for Ukraine through the ongoing Russian invasion.
Prize began as a federal prosecutor in New Jersey, where he oversaw several high-profile instances. He was elected governor in 2009 and received re-election 4 years later. However, his presidential aspirations and political standing suffered in 2014 because of the “Bridgegate” scandal, which involved traffic jams on a busy bridge to New York City as alleged retribution for a New Jersey mayor who refused to endorse Christie. The former governor denied any knowledge of the scheme, but two officials linked to him had been later sentenced to prison over the scandal..