Chris Christie targets his ‘divisive’ former friend Donald Trump as he sets up bitter 2024 battle
The battle for the Republican nomination just got a whole lot messier. That was the defining message of former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s campaign launch on Tuesday: get ready for blood. Calling out his opponents by name, deconstructing their campaign slogans and clever quips — Chris Christie was in prime form on Tuesday evening at St Anselm College in New Hampshire, where he addressed a small crowd of voters in a town hall-style event and put his sights clear on his top rival, Donald Trump. Mr Christie spoke at length before taking questions from his guests. In his remarks throughout the event, he remained plain-spoken and sharp-tongued while denouncing the four years of his rival’s presidency as an utter failure and little more than an opportunity for “breathtaking” levels of corruption and “grift” carried out by the Trump family. He called the man he twice supported for the White House a “self-consumed, self-serving, mirror hog”, and said that Americans now had four years’ worth of a record with which to judge the former president. At the same time, he made clear that he had little patience for his other rivals, those like Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley and Tim Scott, who have thus far played coy with their thoughts regarding the former president and his legacy. He even torched Trump family members Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump for receiving a $2bn investment from a Saudi firm into one controlled by Mr Kushner just a short time after they left the White House, deriding it as evidence of a corrupt relationship. "The grift from this family is breathtaking. Jared Kushner and Ivanka Kushner walk out of the White House, and months later, it turns out, they get $2bn from the Saudis?” said Mr Christie. “That makes us a banana republic,” he added. It was comments like that — plus his effortless deconstruction of calls from his rivals to ignore leaders who don’t “look forward”, and their calls for “generational change” — that outlined Mr Christie’s strengths as a politcian and in-person campaigner. Whether it will translate into votes for his candidacy, rather than just the destruction of his foes, is not yet evident. But what is evident is the eagerness of Mr Christie to get into a brawl with his opponents, a trait so far only shared by Mr Trump himself. That similarity was picked up on by one questioner, who identified herself as a clinical psychologist concerned about a nation “traumatised” by constant anger and divisiveness. Mr Christie responded that his brash nature and willingness to throw punches at his opponents was a strength only because it was supposedly paired with a humility and willingness to admit his own mistakes that made him a good leader. It was at least the outline of an effective campaign, if one light on actual policy. The governor did touch on a few national issues, such as when he expressed his opposition to federal efforts to ban abortion — unless, he conceded, there was real support in Congress for it — as well as when he touched on the issue of Ukraine, and labeled Republican rivals Vivek Ramaswamy and Ron DeSantis the “Neville Chamberlains” of the 2024 race for their supposed willingness to give endless concessions to a dictator. But for the most part, Mr Christie focused on his real advantages as a candidate: The fiery personality that won him both praise and criticism in New Jersey, and a willingness to spar with his opponents at a surgical level. He laid the blame for Joe Biden’s 2020 victory at his opponent’s feet, calling the now-president a weak politician who had gone up against a hopelessly-damaged candidate. "He wouldn't be in office if it wasn't for Trump. Joe Biden never beat anybody outside the state of Delaware in 45 years except for one guy Donald J. Trump...not once, until he ran up against the guy who the American people knew in their heart was full of it,” said the ex-governor. And despite his insistences on Truth Social that he was not worried about the entrance of his former ally into the race, Donald Trump clearly had Chris Christie on his mind Tuesday evening as he blasted out commentary from his social media platform. So too did Marco Rubio, Christie’s unfortunate victim in 2016, who lamely insisted in his own tweet that the New Jersey governor’s onstage humiliation of him had not contributed to his downfall. If there was one takeaway from Tuesday night’s event, it was this: Chris Christie is in the GOP primary to win it all, and he plans to do so by setting himself apart from his fellows as a bold, unflinching truthteller — ironically, the same reputation that Donald Trump constructed for himself in 2016. Whether his newfound courage will be enough to convince his potential voters to break away from the man whom the governor admitted tonight to supporting in two presidential elections? That’s another story. Read More Elon Musk hosts anti-vax 2024 candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr on Twitter Spaces after disastrous DeSantis event Tucker Carlson calls Ukraine’s Jewish leader ‘rat-like’ as he launches new Twitter show with pro-Kremlin rant How to make tomato confit with whipped feta Ivanka and Jared split over attending Trump 2024 launch – follow live Why was Donald Trump impeached twice during his first term? Four big lies Trump told during his 2024 presidential announcement
1970-01-01 08:00
Hindenburg-Inflicted Losses Still Weigh Heavily on Adani Stocks
About four months after US short seller Hindenburg Research shook Indian financial markets with a bombshell report on
1970-01-01 08:00
Florida says migrants flown to California went voluntarily
By Daniel Trotta The state of Florida on Tuesday acknowledged a role in sending two flights of migrants
1970-01-01 08:00
Mexico's foreign minister plans to step down to pursue presidential bid
Mexican Foreign Affairs Secretary Marcelo Ebrard will resign his position next week to dedicate himself to seeking the nomination of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s party for next year’s presidential election
1970-01-01 08:00
YouTube 'reckless' to stop policing false claims on election fraud -Biden campaign
By Trevor Hunnicutt WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden's re-election campaign said on Tuesday that a decision by Alphabet Inc's
1970-01-01 08:00
RBA Alert to Risk Inflation Stays Too High, Too Long, Lowe Says
Australia’s central bank is “particularly attentive” to the risk that inflation stays too high for too long, Governor
1970-01-01 08:00
Appeals court wrestles with ruling striking down certain Obamacare no-cost preventive care mandates
A federal appeals court wrestled in oral arguments on Tuesday with a Biden administration request that it pause a judge's ruling that would wipe away an Obamacare mandate requiring certain preventive care services -- including statins and some cancer screenings -- to be provided at no cost.
1970-01-01 08:00
MLB Rumors: Grading trade fits for Aaron Nola, Aroldis Chapman, Dodgers
We're back with another installment of trade fits, with FanSided's MLB Insider Robert Murray discussing fits for Aaron Nola, Aroldis Chapman and Jonathan India.The MLB trade deadline is rapidly approaching, and there is increased buzz that the trade market is starting to heat up.Wh...
1970-01-01 08:00
Tucker Carlson calls Ukraine’s Jewish leader ‘rat-like’ as he launches new Twitter show with pro-Kremlin rant
Tucker Carlson described Ukraine’s Jewish leader as “rat-like”, questioned the official story about 9/11, and claimed definitively that aliens are visiting Earth as he launched his new TV show on Twitter. The far-right former Fox News anchor opened the next act of his career with a pro-Kremlin rant claiming that it was “obvious” Ukrainian forces were responsible for the destruction of the Kakhovka dam on Tuesday. He referred to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky as “sweaty and rat-like”, “a persecutor of Christians”, and in bed with American investment bankers. This story is breaking and will be updated.
1970-01-01 08:00
GOP senators pledge to push ahead with Ukraine supplemental funding, despite McCarthy comments
Senate Republicans say they'll keep pushing for more funding for Ukraine and defense even in the wake of Kevin McCarthy's comments that additional funding would face long odds in the GOP-controlled House, potentially setting off a clash between the House Speaker and Senate Minority Leader McConnell.
1970-01-01 08:00
A shooting has been reported outside a high school graduation ceremony in Richmond, Virginia
A shooting took place outside the Altria Theater in Richmond, Virginia, following a high school graduation ceremony on Tuesday evening, according to Matthew Stanley with the Richmond Public Schools.
1970-01-01 08:00
Mark Meadows testified to federal grand jury in special counsel probe of Trump
Mark Meadows, Donald Trump's former chief of staff, has testified to a federal grand jury as part of special counsel Jack Smith's ongoing investigation into the former president, according to one source familiar with the matter.
1970-01-01 08:00
