He doesn’t actually say the name Donald Trump when he lays out what’s wrong with the Republican Party.
But it’s obvious who Chris Christie is talking about in recent speeches, interviews and in a new book that’s set for release next week.
The former New Jersey governor has launched what amounts to a de facto exploratory bid for president, and it’s already put him on a collision course with his longtime political ally.
While Christie’s criticism of the party’s focus on the 2020 election results and subtle knocks on other aspects of Trump’s term are designed to create a distinct lane for him in the 2024 primary, he’s also courting confrontation with a former president who still commands the loyalty of the Republican base.
“He’s traveling the country, saying what he learned and saying he’s not afraid of Donald Trump. That sets him out in a different lane from anyone else who might run for president in the party,” said veteran Republican strategist Scott Reed. “Christie is a guy who knows how to create a narrative. He can throw a punch and he can take a punch.”
Christie stepped up his fire in recent days in media appearances where he has highlighted how Trump lost his reelection and suggested he’s a “loser” for dwelling on 2020. At a Saturday speech to the Republican Jewish Coalition, Christie was the only one of six potential presidential candidates who dared suggest that looking back at November was a bad idea.
None of the other 2024 hopefuls came anywhere near that level of defiance on a subject that Trump continues to obsess over.
"We can no longer talk about the past and the past elections — no matter where you stand on that issue, no matter where you stand, it is over," Christie said Saturday.
Yet Christie didn’t just swipe at the former president’s baseless claims of a stolen election. He also obliquely referenced the massive debt that grew on Trump’s watch and nodded to Trump’s praise for China’s dictator during his presidency.
“Any president, particularly a Republican one, should never be throwing bouquets at a murdering communist dictator in China,” Christie said, referring to Xi Jinping. “We should never be telling that person they’re doing something well.”
Those who know Christie have little doubt he’s serious about running for president in 2024 — and say he’s not just trying to sell his new book.
“He’s very ambitious, always has been. And he’s very, very smart and knows how to calculate the odds,” said former New Jersey Gov. Tom Kean, who has known Christie since high school and whom Christie once called a mentor. “He felt the last election that Trump took his place. He thought he had carved out a space for himself, the rough-talking, tell-things-as-they-are position. But that was Trump. Now he thinks Trump is probably in the rearview mirror and what position can he get into now.”
One Christie adviser said the former two-term governor hasn't made a decision yet, “but I certainly think he is doing things that if the opportunity presented itself he would be prepared. He has said if he felt like he could win he would run, paraphrasing him.”
Another Republican familiar with Christie’s thinking said bluntly that “Christie isn’t scared of Trump. They’ve known each other a long time, before either of them got into politics. What matters to Christie is if he has a realistic chance of winning.”
Christie’s stepped-up criticisms and media tour bear all the hallmarks of an early presidential campaign, said Gregg Keller, a Republican strategist.
“There's virtually no downside to running for president anymore. It’s a big business. It gets you bigger speaker fees. It helps you sell books and gives the cable news networks an excuse to bring you on,” Keller said. “I think he has learned that if he's willing to say things that sometimes cut against Trump — sometimes cut against what MAGA believes — that he's going to continue to get interview requests, even though he's no longer governor.”
