The knives are out in the 2024 Republican presidential battle. Chris Christie held a town hall in New Hampshire as he launches his GOP presidential primary candidacy, slashing at Donald Trump, calling him “a bitter, angry man” and claiming his time as president was a failure.
“A lonely, self-consumed, self-serving mirror hog is not a leader,” said Christie.
Trump hit back with a personal attack of his own, making fun of the former governor and federal prosecutor’s weight on Truth Social.
“Beware of the leader in the country who you have handed leadership to who has never made a mistake, who has never done anything wrong – that it’s always someone else’s fault – and who has never lost,” said Christie, taking more jabs at Trump.
A photograph of former President Trump hangs on the wall as Republican Presidential candidate former, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie listens to a question during a gathering, June 6, 2023, in Manchester, N.H. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Christie is just one of three newcomers to the expanding GOP field. North Dakota’s Governor Doug Burgum is also announcing his bid leading to 12 GOP presidential hopefuls in the race by the week’s end.
Former Vice President Mike Pence has now released a video formally launching his campaign for the Republican nomination for president, promising “the best days” of the United States are yet to come.
In the aftermath of the contested 2020 election, Pence cut ties to Trump. “Different times call for different leadership,” Pence now says. “Today our party and our country need a leader that’ll appeal, as Lincoln said, to the better angels of our nature.”
Even as the GOP field grows, Trump is in the lead. His strongest rival is Florida Governor Ron DeSantis who is already on the campaign trail criticizing his policies, including the influence of Anthony Fauci during 2020 while Trump was aiming to fight to pandemic.
“Fauci-ism was destructive, Fauci-ism should have never happened,” DeSantis said to a crowd in South Carolina.
As Republicans fight for footing with the American people, Trump is throwing punches on Truth Social, bashing opponents like DeSantis, pointing to his dropping poll numbers and a “lack of personality.”
As the primary field expands, Republican leaders not in the running, like New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, are encouraging those who don’t have a shot against Trump to drop out.
“If you’re sitting in low, you know, single digits (in the polls), get your butt out of the race now,” Sununu said on CNN. “Get this thing down to two or three candidates and really figure out where the party’s ‘gonna’ go.”
New Republican National Committee debate rules could limit the GOP primary field – establishing a key fund-raising threshold while requiring candidates to pledge support for the eventual party nominee. The first debate is scheduled for August 23rd.
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