basquebromance
Diamond Member
- Nov 26, 2015
- 109,396
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- Banned
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Christie would've won in 2012 had he run, and would've won in 2016 if Trump hadn't run
www.politico.com
excerpts:
A few weeks ago, Christie called up a former Republican presidential candidate and asked for some advice: Should he mount a second presidential run in 2024 — facing off against Trump for a second time — or was the idea just plain crazy?
Taking down the most dominant Republican political figure in a generation, the 60-year-old former NJ governor has calculated, requires taking direct aim at Trump’s weaknesses — his questionable character, his lack of discipline and, most of all, his losing record.
The ex-candidate, whom Christie wouldn’t name, offered a blunt and encouraging reply: “No one else has the balls to do it.
Christie, on the other hand, loves nothing more than throwing a political punch. Trump, he told Playbook, “can’t be a credible figure on the world stage; he can’t be a credible figure interacting with Congress; he will get nothing done.” He’s recently extended his attacks to DeSantis, dismissing him as not ready for prime time.
It became perfectly clear over the course of a nearly hour-long interview that Christie is itching to launch a campaign — not only is he gleefully throwing haymakers to reporters, he’s already hosted one New Hampshire town hall this year and will host another Thursday. But as he mulls whether to make it official in the coming weeks, he says his decision comes down to: Can I actually win?
there’s a clear rationale for Christie 2024 that has nothing to do with him actually winning the nomination: Some Republicans are openly rooting to have Christie on GOP debate stages later this year simply to bludgeon Trump — that is, do the dirty work that DeSantis, Pence, Haley and others haven’t so far been willing to do.
But Christie insists he’s not interested in that.
“I’m not a paid assassin,” he said, adding, “When you’re waking up for your 45th morning at the Hilton Garden Inn in Manchester, you better think you can win, because that walk from the bed to the shower, if you don’t think you can win, it’s hard.”
Still, he’s thinking about it — and, yes, the current field’s lack of testicular fortitude is on his mind.
Trump’s vulnerability “needs to be called out and it needs to be called out by somebody who knows him,” he said. “Nobody knows Donald Trump better than I do.”
“I had someone ask me yesterday on one of these phone calls, ‘Well, explain to me the exact path that gets you there.’ And I’m like, ‘I can’t,’” Christie said. “And anybody who says they can is completely full of it, you know? Explain the Donald Trump path in 2016. Who had that one predicted? Not even Trump.”
Christie, meanwhile, says he’s fully prepared — after prosecuting dozens of corrupt local officials as a U.S. attorney, battling public employee unions and fending off multiple investigations as governor, mounting a pugnacious presidential campaign and enduring a famously complicated relationship with the Trump family — for the rough and tumble should he get in the race.
Asked about Trump taunting him over his low poll numbers at an RNC donor retreat in Nashville this weekend, he chuckled: “Being taunted by Donald Trump, it bothers some people. To me, it’s a compliment.”
“I don’t believe GOP voters penalize people who criticize Trump,” he said, adding: “If you think you’re a better person to be president than Trump, then you better make that case.”
Christie said Trump offers a “bountiful buffet” of vulnerabilities that candidates can and should exploit. Republicans, for example, should be reminding voters of Trump’s “disqualifying” call in December for the “termination” of the Constitution over his false claim that the 2020 election was stolen.
Christie said DeSantis’ gibe was “way too subtle” to sink in with voters: “Oh, so that’s supposed to prove to me that you’re tough enough to take on Donald Trump? This is a guy who said Ted Cruz’s wife was ugly. Like, you think he cares that you made a little sideswipe at him?”
And DeSantis’ post-indictment 180 — which followed a similar reversal on controversial comments minimizing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as a “territorial dispute” — further illustrated why the Florida governor is in over his head, Christie said. “The minute he gets criticized about something, he winds up saying the exact opposite.”
‘I’m not a paid assassin’: Inside Chris Christie’s 2024 decision
The former New Jersey governor is eager to take on Donald Trump. But he’s only running, he says, if he thinks he can win.
www.politico.com
excerpts:
A few weeks ago, Christie called up a former Republican presidential candidate and asked for some advice: Should he mount a second presidential run in 2024 — facing off against Trump for a second time — or was the idea just plain crazy?
Taking down the most dominant Republican political figure in a generation, the 60-year-old former NJ governor has calculated, requires taking direct aim at Trump’s weaknesses — his questionable character, his lack of discipline and, most of all, his losing record.
The ex-candidate, whom Christie wouldn’t name, offered a blunt and encouraging reply: “No one else has the balls to do it.
Christie, on the other hand, loves nothing more than throwing a political punch. Trump, he told Playbook, “can’t be a credible figure on the world stage; he can’t be a credible figure interacting with Congress; he will get nothing done.” He’s recently extended his attacks to DeSantis, dismissing him as not ready for prime time.
It became perfectly clear over the course of a nearly hour-long interview that Christie is itching to launch a campaign — not only is he gleefully throwing haymakers to reporters, he’s already hosted one New Hampshire town hall this year and will host another Thursday. But as he mulls whether to make it official in the coming weeks, he says his decision comes down to: Can I actually win?
there’s a clear rationale for Christie 2024 that has nothing to do with him actually winning the nomination: Some Republicans are openly rooting to have Christie on GOP debate stages later this year simply to bludgeon Trump — that is, do the dirty work that DeSantis, Pence, Haley and others haven’t so far been willing to do.
But Christie insists he’s not interested in that.
“I’m not a paid assassin,” he said, adding, “When you’re waking up for your 45th morning at the Hilton Garden Inn in Manchester, you better think you can win, because that walk from the bed to the shower, if you don’t think you can win, it’s hard.”
Still, he’s thinking about it — and, yes, the current field’s lack of testicular fortitude is on his mind.
Trump’s vulnerability “needs to be called out and it needs to be called out by somebody who knows him,” he said. “Nobody knows Donald Trump better than I do.”
“I had someone ask me yesterday on one of these phone calls, ‘Well, explain to me the exact path that gets you there.’ And I’m like, ‘I can’t,’” Christie said. “And anybody who says they can is completely full of it, you know? Explain the Donald Trump path in 2016. Who had that one predicted? Not even Trump.”
Christie, meanwhile, says he’s fully prepared — after prosecuting dozens of corrupt local officials as a U.S. attorney, battling public employee unions and fending off multiple investigations as governor, mounting a pugnacious presidential campaign and enduring a famously complicated relationship with the Trump family — for the rough and tumble should he get in the race.
Asked about Trump taunting him over his low poll numbers at an RNC donor retreat in Nashville this weekend, he chuckled: “Being taunted by Donald Trump, it bothers some people. To me, it’s a compliment.”
“I don’t believe GOP voters penalize people who criticize Trump,” he said, adding: “If you think you’re a better person to be president than Trump, then you better make that case.”
Christie said Trump offers a “bountiful buffet” of vulnerabilities that candidates can and should exploit. Republicans, for example, should be reminding voters of Trump’s “disqualifying” call in December for the “termination” of the Constitution over his false claim that the 2020 election was stolen.
Christie said DeSantis’ gibe was “way too subtle” to sink in with voters: “Oh, so that’s supposed to prove to me that you’re tough enough to take on Donald Trump? This is a guy who said Ted Cruz’s wife was ugly. Like, you think he cares that you made a little sideswipe at him?”
And DeSantis’ post-indictment 180 — which followed a similar reversal on controversial comments minimizing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as a “territorial dispute” — further illustrated why the Florida governor is in over his head, Christie said. “The minute he gets criticized about something, he winds up saying the exact opposite.”
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