Former New Jersey Governor, Republican Chris Christie, a former ally of Donald Trump who has become one of his most virulent detractors, announced on Tuesday that he was running for president in 2024, presenting himself as the only capable candidate. to stand up to the ex-president.
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Mr. Christie, 60, known for his combative style, registered his candidacy with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) before announcing it publicly on Tuesday evening at a rally in the state of New Hampshire.
He joins an already crowded arena of right-wing White House contenders, like Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and former Vice President Mike Pence, who is due to make his candidacy official on Wednesday.
Chris Christie, still very low in the polls, has already begun to attack Donald Trump, favorite of the opinion polls, portraying him on Tuesday in front of his supporters as self-centered and dishonest.
The former Republican president, “always finds someone or something to blame for what goes wrong, but always finds a way to take credit for whatever works,” blasted Mr Christie.
In 2016, Chris Christie had already sought the nomination during the Republican primary, before bowing and supporting Donald Trump.
At the time, he had become one of his close advisers. But he says he broke with him when the tycoon refused to acknowledge his 2020 presidential defeat to Democrat Joe Biden.
The billionaire was quick to hit back at the attacks, calling Chris Christie’s speech “hard to watch” and “boring”.
“That’s what you expect with a failed governor,” he added.
Mr. Trump hinted that he could skip at least one of the first two debates.
“If he really cares about the country — and I have serious doubts about that — then he has to go, and he shouldn’t be afraid,” Mr. Christie said on a radio show.
The former governor also criticized Donald Trump on several other fronts, notably referring to the multiple investigations targeting him and calling him a “Putin puppet” after the businessman’s ambiguous remarks on the war in Ukraine.