Who is Chris Christie, former governor and Republican presidential candidate?

(NewsNation) — Former Republican presidential candidate and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has made a name for himself as a conservative governor of a Democratic state with a track record of tackling “big problems.”

Because of his role as governor of New Jersey, Christie was considered by some to be the favorite for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination. However, his involvement in the Bridgegate scandal damaged his chances. Christie ran for president again in 2024, but withdrew just days before the Iowa caucuses.

Despite his unsuccessful campaigns in 2016 and 2024, Christie’s name is in the conversation now that current Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has to announce his nomination for vice president.

According to The Hill, Trump suggested that people would not be “too surprised” by his choice as vice president.

When Fox News’ chief political anchor Bret Baier asked Trump about the issue at a town hall meeting in January, he replied that he was willing to consider any opponent.

“I’ve already started to like (Chris Christie) more,” Trump said, although the relationship between the two has not always been consistent at times.

Nevertheless, Christie said earlier in a Newsmax interview that he would not accept the position.

“I spoke to Mike Pence. The job doesn’t sound so great,” Christie said said.

Who is Chris Christie?

Christie was born in New Jersey on September 6, 1962, and remained in the state until he attended the University of Delaware. He then returned to New Jersey to study law at Seton Hall University.

After graduating from law school, Christie opened a private practice. In 1994, he was elected to the Board of Chosen Freeholders in Morris County, New Jersey, and three years later, he became its director.

Christie became U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey in 2002. According to the National Governors Association, his administration “focused on fiscal responsibility, job creation, pension and health care reform, and education reform.”

In the 2009 New Jersey gubernatorial election, Christie defeated Democrat Jon Corzine and would hold the office for the next eight years.

Christie’s popularity soared during his tenure as governor after he led New Jersey through Hurricane Sandy, Vox wrote, but his reputation was tarnished by the Bridgegate scandal, which resulted in four days of traffic jams on the George Washington Bridge over the Hudson River between New York and New Jersey.

Christie and his wife Mary Pat have four children.

The relationship between Chris Christie and Trump

The New York Times reported that Christie was introduced to Trump by his sister in 2002.

Years later, in 2015, the two men declared their candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination in the 2016 election.

Two months after Trump announced his presidential bid, Christie said in an appearance on Fox News that he did not have the “temperament” or experience for the office. Trump, meanwhile, “mocked” Christie, then the governor, for his absence from New Jersey, the Times wrote. But when it became clear that Trump would win the nomination, Christie endorsed him after he ended his campaign, became his debate coach and led his presidential transition team.

However, things soured between the two when Trump claimed fraud after his loss in the 2020 election to current President Joe Biden. Christie said he urged Trump to concede defeat to Biden. Trump said he would “never, ever, ever, ever do that,” Christie said, “and that was the last time we spoke.”

Christie repeatedly attacked Trump ahead of the 2024 primaries, calling the former president a “lonely, self-centered, self-absorbed mirror pig” who is “obsessed with the mirror, who never admits a mistake, who never admits a mistake, who always blames someone else and something else for everything that goes wrong – but who finds every reason to take credit for everything that goes right.”

At the same time, Trump attacked Christie with insults, calling his former opponent a “bum” and making derogatory remarks about his weight.

Despite the two feuding, Trump suggested that Christie is not completely out of the running for vice president. The former governor, meanwhile, has continued to voice his opposition to Trump but still rules out voting for President Joe Biden in November.

“In my opinion, we have two terrible choices here,” he said during an appearance on “The View” in February. “The only thing I promise is: I will not vote for Trump under any circumstances.”

What are Chris Christie’s political views?

While Christie is a conservative, he has broken with not only Trump but other Republicans on several issues. For example, he advocated for the U.S. to provide more aid to Ukraine even as support for it waned among other GOP politicians. In addition, Christie has criticized Democratic President Joe Biden on a number of issues, but also took aim at Trump’s positions on China and immigration.

abortion

• Christie describes herself as “pro-life.”
• He supports exceptions to the abortion ban in cases of rape, incest and when the mother’s life is in danger.
• He does not support a federal ban on abortion, arguing instead that the issue should be addressed at the state level.

Border crisis and immigration

• Christie blamed Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for the border crisis, but said Trump bears even more blame for the country’s failed immigration policies.

Prohibition of assault weapons, gun control and crime

Attitude towards Israel and Palestine, war in Ukraine

• Christie visited Israel in November 2023 and said the US must stand “shoulder to shoulder” with Israel in the war against militant Hamas.
• Christie was the second Republican presidential candidate for 2024 to visit Ukraine during his now-canceled campaign, touring devastated villages and meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv.
• He said that the impressions he gained during his visit to Ukraine had further highlighted the need for continued US assistance.

Inflation and economy

• Christie criticized both Biden and Trump for the current economic situation. He called Biden “the Jimmy Carter of the 2020s.”
• Christie criticized the Democrats’ anti-inflation bill, calling it “an error.”

Education, culture wars and curriculum

• In an interview with USA Today last July, Christie sharply criticized the culture war in education, saying the government is “no better parent than the parents.”
• At a Republican debate in September 2023, Christie attacked First Lady Jill Biden’s status as a member of the teachers’ union. “This public school system is no longer run by the public. It is run by the teachers’ unions of this country,” Christie said.
• He also lashed out at Florida’s Republican governor, DeSantis, over his response to the Florida Board of Education’s standards for teaching African-American history in schools.

Foreign policy of China and Taiwan

• Christie criticized the Biden administration’s approach to dealing with China, saying Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s trip to Beijing in June 2023 came “a day late and a dollar short.”
• Trump’s “trade wars” with China have fueled inflation, Christie said last year. “You can’t say he was good at trade, because he didn’t trade. He didn’t change a single Chinese policy. He failed,” Christie said at the time.

Fentanyl crisis, opioid epidemic

Climate change

• When asked about net zero emissions by 2050, Christie said he favored an “everything is everything” strategy in the energy sector.
• For 2022, Christie called for an increase in domestic oil production.
• Christie was one of the first to address climate change and acknowledge its reality before many others in his party. In 2015, Christie said he believed climate change was real and that humans were contributing to it. “I believe global warming is real. I don’t think you can deny that,” Christie said at an event in New Hampshire, according to MSNBC. “And I believe human activities are contributing to it.”

Social Security, Health insurance

• At the RNC debate in Miami in November, Christie took aim at “rich people,” saying they “shouldn’t be on welfare.”
• “I don’t know if Warren Buffett is on welfare, but if he is, ‘Shame on you,'” Christie said. “You shouldn’t take the money.”
• He also said that cuts to Social Security and Medicare were a necessary “political risk” in today’s economy.

NewsNation’s Cassie Buchman, Tyler Wornell and The Associated Press contributed to this report.