Winning or losing are relatively less important so long as Christie remains a key supporting figure in the story.
Remember when, in The Simpsons, local nerd Martin got an above-ground swimming pool and his house suddenly became the most popular summer destination for the children of Springfield? How they all crowded into its circular wooden-slatted confines until, after one last child attempted to squeeze into the throng, the entire structure exploded outwards, flooding the yard?
This of course brings to mind former New Jersey governor Chris Christie, who is expected to cannonball himself into the waters of the 2024 Republican presidential primary next week with a New Hampshire announcement event. Everybody’s getting into the pool now, regardless of whether there’s room or not.
Speaking solely for myself, it is hard to believe there is room for Chris Christie, whose candidacy serves no purpose save to remind Republicans of how he embroiled himself in scandal as governor, then ran a losing presidential campaign in 2016 whose twin impacts were the destruction of Marco Rubio’s national political aspirations (it was a fair hit, it must be admitted) and his haste to endorse Donald Trump afterward in return for a cabinet position that never came.
That was seven years ago. Where is the relevance now, to anyone except NY/NJ-based media who remember him as an interesting interview? His positioning, per Axios’s brief summary, will be as a man “who speaks his mind, takes risks and is happy to punch Donald Trump in the nose.” That is fine; it is a profile that would wear well on, say, a sitting governor or someone of any recent political relevance. It is a virtue without purpose in the hands of Christie, fine barding wasted upon a clunky, wobbling pantomime horse of a candidate.
This observation is not meant as a defensive critique on behalf of Ron DeSantis — Christie presents a notable charisma challenge to DeSantis in a northeastern retail state like New Hampshire, and if DeSantis’s team isn’t prepared to brutally block and tackle its way through him on its own, then it’s not ready for Trump either. But it’s also hard not to notice Christie’s overweening ego: He comes across as a man who constantly measures himself against all other players on the Republican scene and, despite their success and his notable lack of it, considers his political sidelining an outrage to his dignity that he can undo with “one last campaign.” He starts from the premise of criticizing Trump in order to claim the mantle of his major opponent; once his hopelessness as a candidate becomes clear, that will likely shift to lashing out at any available target of opportunity. And at the end of the day, he will seek consolation as he did in 2016: “At least I had an impact on the race.” Chris Christie simply wants to matter; winning or losing are relatively less important so long as he remains a key supporting figure in the story.
One spot of good news for the Christie campaign: According to Axios, he has secured the support of former Trump White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci. It may just put him over the top.