Chris Christie lays into Trump at 2024 campaign launch
Former New Jersey governor Chris Christie launched his campaign for president on Tuesday evening at a town hall event in Manchester, New Hampshire.
This is the second time Mr Christie has made a bid for the White House, the first being in 2016 when he lost to former president Donald Trump.
Though Mr Christie lent his support to Mr Trump in 2016 when he dropped out of the race, he has since changed his opinion of the former president and become a vocal critic.
That was evident on Tuesday, as he denounced his former ally as a corrupt narcissist and vowed to draw blood in his quest for the Republican nomination. He did so several times during the town hall event, notably by tearing into the former president’s family for “breathtaking” levels of corruption and “grift”, which he said had followed them through the White House and beyond.
The former New Jersey governor plans to position himself as a moderate Republican alternative to both Mr Trump and Florida governor Ron DeSantis, while promising an aggressive campaign unafraid to punch at his rivals.
His attacks have already drawn a vicious response from the former president on social media.