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Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie believes former President Donald Trump "cannot win" the 2024 presidential election and said a rematch between Trump and President Joe Biden would be bad for Republicans.
Christie, a Republican who served as governor of New Jersey from 2010 to 2018, is considering entering the race for the 2024 presidential nomination. If he does, he would be joining Trump and several others who have already launched campaigns.
In 2016, Christie sought the Republican nomination but dropped out of the race and endorsed Trump on February 26 of that year. He had previously been considered a viable presidential candidate during the 2012 primary season, while the GOP nomination ultimately went to Senator Mitt Romney.
Christie told WABC 770 AM's Cats Roundtable with John Catsimatidis on Sunday that Trump had "done nothing but lose" since 2016.
"I'm very concerned that what we're heading toward is a Trump-Biden rematch," Christie said, adding: "A Trump-Biden rematch is bad for the Republican Party."
Newsweek reached out to former President Trump's office via email for comment.
President Biden has announced his intention to seek re-election in 2024, as was widely expected, while Trump entered the race shortly after the 2022 midterm elections.
Recent polling suggests another Trump-Biden match-up is in the cards as both candidates are currently leading in potential primaries. As the incumbent, Biden is not likely to face a major challenge but Trump is already competing against several declared candidates.
Biden is being challenged for the Democratic nomination by Robert F. Kennedy Jr, the nephew of the late President John F. Kennedy and outspoken anti-vaccine activist, as well as 2020 Democratic candidate Marianne Williamson.
Christie doubted that the former president could succeed if he has to run against Biden again.
"Donald Trump has done nothing but lose since he won the election in 2016," Christie said on Sunday. "We lost the House in 2018. The Senate and the White House in 2020. We underperformed in 2022 and lost more governorships and another Senate seat. Donald Trump cannot win."
Those election results are the reason Christie is mulling his own presidential campaign. The Republican has been critical of Trump in recent public comments and continued that criticism.
"He's on a vanity exercise to try to make himself feel better. That's not going to make the country any better," Christie said. "That's why I'm considering it because I'm concerned that the people that are in the race so far are unwilling to take him on directly."
Writing on his Truth Social site on Sunday, Trump made reference to Christie but did not directly address any of the former governor's recent comments. Trump was calling out former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, who is running for the GOP nomination and has been critical of Trump.
The former president wrote that Hutchinson was "polling at less than 1%, just slightly ahead of Sloppy Chris Christie, and has ZERO chance of getting the Nomination. Other than that, I like Ada [sic] very much!"
Christie has not declared an official campaign; however, he's one of several potential GOP candidates who could enter the race. Florida Governor Don DeSantis and former Vice President Mike Pence are also widely expected to seek the Republican nomination.
Other candidates already in the Republican race include former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.
About the writer
Darragh Roche is a U.S. News Reporter based in Limerick, Ireland. His focus is reporting on U.S. politics. He has ... Read more