Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie confirmed that he’s considering another presidential bid in 2024 on Monday, Insider reports.
Christie has been mulling a bid since last month, according to reports. He said in an interview on the “Ruthless” podcast that he will wait until after the midterm elections before he makes a decision.
"For me, what I want to do is to try to lead the party in a productive and smart way, for us to continue to argue for populist-type policies but not to be reckless with our policies, not to be reckless with our language," Christie said, adding that some of the "recklessness of the past four years" has cost the party votes in the suburbs.
Christie backed Trump after his failed primary run and has served as an ABC News commentator since.
Other potential 2024 Republican contenders include Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.
Christie won’t wait on Trump decision:
"I'm also not going to be one of these people who's going to say, 'Well, I'll wait to see what President Trump's going to do.' I'm not going to defer to anyone if I decide that's what I want to do and that I think I'm the best option for the party and for the country," Christie said. "I think if you say you're deferring to someone, that's a sign of both weakness and indecision, and we've already got that in the White House."
The comment appeared to be a jab at Haley, who said earlier this year that she won’t run for president if Trump does.
Christie has criticized Trump’s false claims about the election but has praised his accomplishments in office.
"The fact of the matter is that there were some things that happened specifically at the end of the presidency that I think had some things that clouded his accomplishments, and that's why we as a party need to emphasize the issues you just talked about," Christie told Fox News earlier this month.
Christie least popular NJ governor:
Christie’s comments came ahead of a new poll that found that Christie is the least popular living governor among New Jersey residents.
Just 26% of New Jerseyans view Christie favorably while 64% view him unfavorably. But that’s still better than his 22% favorable rating in the last poll, taken after he left office amid the “Bridgegate” scandal.
Just 10% of respondents said they would like to see Christie run for president again and 70% of respondents said he would not make a good president.
