Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie announced on Wednesday that he is dropping his longshot bid to win the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. It’s an announcement that was both sudden and long-coming. Christie was on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” just last week insisting that “anyone who thinks I’m getting out of this race, they’re crazy.” And yet he languished in single digits in poll after poll, failing to make the stage for CNN’s final debate before the Iowa caucuses.
With his exit, so goes the most prominent voice in the race willing to directly challenge former President Donald Trump’s grip on the GOP. But there was no hint of altruism or greater purpose in Christie’s lonely crusade. Instead, it is clear that it was merely the lane the two-time contender for the nomination saw for himself as a means to get on the top of the ballot in November. He was right that the lane was wide open for him — but it’s unsurprising that he’s completely stalled out.
When Christie first jumped into the race in June, his persona as the anti-Trump candidate was already fully formed.
When Christie first jumped into the race in June, his persona as the anti-Trump candidate was already fully formed. “The person I am talking about who is obsessed with the mirror, who never admits a mistake, who never admits a fault and will always find someone else — and something else — to blame for whatever goes wrong but finds every reason to take credit for anything that goes right is Donald Trump,” Christie said at his campaign launch event.
From that moment, there was never any doubt about what Christie’s overarching message would be. There were never any of the shakeups and strategy shifts that we’ve seen from other floundering campaigns, like that of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. He has remained laser-focused on Trump even as his fellow candidates have tried to gingerly step from his shadow while still embracing the former president’s policies and base…
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