Former New Jersey Governor and Republican Presidential Candidate, Chris Christie, has taken a break from his attacks on former President Donald Trump to focus on Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Christie spent Tuesday criticizing DeSantis’ refusal to meet President Joe Biden following Hurricane Idalia. The storm ravaged the Sunshine State, causing massive damage.
Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie is ramping up attacks on his 2024 rival Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis this week.
In three separate interviews with the media on Tuesday, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie called DeSantis “a big government” Republican. He also criticized his voting record for disaster relief, and accused him “of playing politics” for not visiting with President Biden while he was in Florida following Hurricane Idalia. DeSantis, who had cancelled campaign events in order to help with the hurricane response efforts in Florida, is now set to resume his campaign after cancelling campaign events.
Christie, who had worked with the then-President Obama to coordinate Hurricane Sandy relief efforts in 2012, attacked DeSantis’ refusal to meet Biden as the president visited areas affected by disaster.
“He played politics with it but that was his choice.” Christie told “The Brian Kilmeade show” on Tuesday that he was not surprised at all that he did this. “You are the governor of your state. “The President of the United States is here and you are asking for significant assistance, as Ron DeSantis does, from the President or Congress, especially if you had voted against Sandy aid 10 years ago, you should be there to welcome this aid.”
As governor, it is your job to guide the president on a tour. Christie said that the purpose of the tour is to ensure the president can see your people and the damage they have suffered. They also need to know what needs to be done in order to rebuild the city. “Unfortunately, he placed politics before his job.”
Christie’s remarks come as DeSantis is preparing to resume his campaign, after having put it on hold to deal with disaster. DeSantis’ meeting with Christie is a question that has been asked by many. Why would he agree to meet a man who constantly attacks him and other conservatives?
In the last few years, the president hasn’t exactly been gracious with the Florida Governor. Biden made a subtle dig at DeSantis during an event to mark a monument in honor of Emmett till.
Biden stated at an event held Tuesday to establish a monument in honor of Emmett Till. The Black teenager, whose brutal 1955 lynching galvanized civil rights, was the inspiration for the movement.
Biden didn’t mention DeSantis, but he used the opportunity to make a comparison with one of his 2024 top rivals.
We can’t choose what we want to learn. We must learn about what we ought to know – we ought to know – about our country. Biden said, “We should know everything – the good, bad and the truth about who we are as nation.”
The president’s team has repeatedly referred to “MAGA Republicans” as “extremists,” and used this label to portray people who disagree as dangerous bigots that threaten “democracy.”
DeSantis’ team claimed that he was too busy with preparations for security and that meeting with Biden would hinder recovery efforts. Christie claimed that Christie was playing politics but it appears he avoided politics in order to focus on the needs of his state.
Christie may believe that going after DeSantis or Trump will boost his campaign. According to the most recent FiveThirtyEight survey, Christie’s unfavorable ratings are 51.7%. RealClearPolitics has Christie polling at just 3 percent for the primary elections. If he is serious about turning this around, then he should focus on his own strengths and not attack his opponents.
