Chris Christie has strong words for Republicans tiptoeing around 2024
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
Any Republican thinking about running for president in 2024 needs to go public as soon as they've made a decision, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) says — not wait to find out what former President Donald Trump intends to do.
During an interview with Axios on HBO that aired Sunday, Christie said he believes those who "say they will defer to Donald Trump have disqualified themselves from being president. Because if you're not willing to stand up to someone ... how are you gonna be standing up for everyone when you're president?" It should be a given, he added, that "if you believe you have the talent, the ability, the skills to be president of the United States, you shouldn't defer to anyone if you believe you're the best person."
Christie is making the rounds promoting his new book Republican Rescue, and has said he's going to wait until the 2022 midterms to decide whether he'll run for president in 2024. He didn't just talk with Axios on HBO about the next presidential race; Christie also discussed at length his serious case of COVID-19, which he caught at the White House last fall while helping Trump prepare for a debate against President Joe Biden. That, he said, is "the only regret" he has about assisting Trump in his re-election efforts.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
While fighting COVID-19, Christie spent seven days in a hospital intensive care unit, and said the experience was "very scary." He had body aches "like I've never felt in my life," Christie said. "I had very, very high fevers, sweating, difficulty breathing, and brutal headaches. ... I definitely felt I could die." He suggests that those who have yet to be vaccinated against COVID-19 "talk to people like me who have had it, talk to the family members of people who died from it, and talk to your doctor."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Local elections 2026: where are they and who is expected to win?The Explainer Labour is braced for heavy losses and U-turn on postponing some council elections hasn’t helped the party’s prospects
-
6 of the world’s most accessible destinationsThe Week Recommends Experience all of Berlin, Singapore and Sydney
-
How the FCC’s ‘equal time’ rule worksIn the Spotlight The law is at the heart of the Colbert-CBS conflict
-
Witkoff and Kushner tackle Ukraine, Iran in GenevaSpeed Read Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held negotiations aimed at securing a nuclear deal with Iran and an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine
-
Pentagon spokesperson forced out as DHS’s resignsSpeed Read Senior military adviser Col. David Butler was fired by Pete Hegseth and Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin is resigning
-
Judge orders Washington slavery exhibit restoredSpeed Read The Trump administration took down displays about slavery at the President’s House Site in Philadelphia
-
Kurt Olsen: Trump’s ‘Stop the Steal’ lawyer playing a major White House roleIn the Spotlight Olsen reportedly has access to significant US intelligence
-
Hyatt chair joins growing list of Epstein files losersSpeed Read Thomas Pritzker stepped down as executive chair of the Hyatt Hotels Corporation over his ties with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell
-
Judge blocks Hegseth from punishing Kelly over videoSpeed Read Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pushed for the senator to be demoted over a video in which he reminds military officials they should refuse illegal orders
-
Trump’s EPA kills legal basis for federal climate policySpeed Read The government’s authority to regulate several planet-warming pollutants has been repealed
-
House votes to end Trump’s Canada tariffsSpeed Read Six Republicans joined with Democrats to repeal the president’s tariffs
