Chris Christie is pushing back against calls by fellow Republicans for the former two-term New Jersey governor to drop out of the GOP presidential nomination race in the first big ad blitz of his 2024 bid.
“Some people are saying I should drop out of this race. Really? I’m just saying Donald Trump is a liar,” Christie said while speaking directly to camera during a spot launching on TV and digital on Thursday.
Christie’s campaign said the commercial is the first spot in what they say is a seven-figure ad buy in New Hampshire, the state that holds the first primary and second general contest after the Iowa caucuses on the calendar. of the GOP presidential nomination.
As Christie runs for a second time for national office, he faces a steep uphill climb against former President Donald Trump, who is the front-runner in the race as he makes his third straight bid for the White House. Similar to the 2016 cycle, Christie is refocusing his time and resources on New Hampshire, where independent voters and moderates have long played a key role in the state’s popular primary.
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Christie has been running a frugal campaign since declaring his candidacy in June — with ads supporting him coming from an aligned super PAC titled Tell It Like It Is — but he’s shifted into a higher gear in recent weeks, increasing the number of events he will host to Granite State voters.
The former governor ran his first TV spot of his campaign earlier this month, backed by six figures. Now, he’s upping the ante by shelling out at least $1 million for commercials.
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A Trump ally who has become a vocal critic of the GOP, Christie now takes aim at the former president in his new commercial.
Former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally on December 16 in Durham, New Hampshire. (Reba Saldanha/AP)
Christie charged in his new ad that Trump is “dividing Americans against each other,” adding that the former president’s Christmas message to anyone who disagrees with him is “rotten in his* *.”
When referring to Jan. 6, 2021, the deadly attack on the US Capitol by Trump supporters temporarily disrupted congressional certification of President Biden’s victory over the then-president in the 2020 election, Christie said: “he caused chaos on Capitol Hill. He’s going to set America on fire to help himself. Every Republican leader says that privately. I’m the only one saying it publicly.”
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“What kind of President do we want? A liar or someone who has the courage to tell the truth?” Christie asks in the ad. “New Hampshire. It’s up to you. I’m Chris Christie and you bet I approve of this message.”
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie leads a town hall in Londonderry, New Hampshire, on Dec. 13. (Paul Steinhauser)
Christie is in third place in many of the latest polls in New Hampshire, far behind Trump and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who later served as ambassador to the United Nations in the Trump administration.
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Haley, who has been rising in the polls for the past few months, has soared in the polls in recent weeks after she won the endorsement of popular Republican Gov. Chris Sununu of New Hampshire. That prompted calls from some Republican insiders and voters for Christie to end her White House bid so that the anti-Trump vote could coalesce around Haley.
Christie has repeatedly pushed back against the calls by saying he is Trump’s only rival in the race to directly confront the former president. He told Fox News Digital earlier this month that “he’s not going anywhere, so let’s be clear about that.”
Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more in our Fox News Digital election hub.
