(Washington) Former New Jersey governor, Republican Chris Christie, a former ally of Donald Trump who has become one of his most vocal critics, is entering the 2024 presidential race according to official documents filed on Tuesday, in presenting as the only candidate capable of standing up to the ex-president.
Mr. Christie, 60, known for his combative style, has registered his candidacy with the Federal Election Commission (FEC). 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 is due to make a public announcement Tuesday night in New Hampshire.
In 2016, he had already sought the nomination in 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.
Chris Christie, still very low in the polls, has already started to attack Donald Trump, suggesting that the Republican favorite according to the opinion polls was “afraid” to debate with serious opponents.
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 big doubts about that – then he has to go, and he shouldn’t be afraid,” Mr Christie said.
The former governor 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.