(NewsNation) — Republican presidential candidate and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie says his strong performance on the Miami debate stage in November qualified him for the fourth primary debate on Dec. 6.
Christie, who also ran in 2016, is positioning himself as a conservative blue state governor with a track record of dealing with “big issues,” just as Ronald Reagan did, including Social Security and immigration.
He served as governor of New Jersey from 2010 to 2018. In 2016, Christie was considered by some to be a front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination, but his involvement in the Bridgegate controversy hurt his chances.
While former President Trump leads the primary pool by a wide margin, Christie recently said he intends to stay in the GOP primary race through the Republican convention, dismissing the idea of dropping out to consolidate support behind former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley. Haley has been coming in second to Trump in some recent polling data, close in numbers to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Ahead of the 2024 election, NewsNation is committed to covering the issues that matter most to voters so they can make the most informed choices possible at the polls. Read about the policy positions of former President Donald Trump, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum.
Here’s a look at Christie’s policy positions and political views as he competes for your vote:
Abortion
- Christie describes himself as “pro-life.”
- He supports exceptions to abortion bans in cases of rape, incest and when the mother’s life is at risk.
- He does not support a federal ban on abortion and instead has argued that the issue should be addressed at the state level.
Border crisis and immigration
- If elected president, Christie has said his first action would be sending the National Guard to the border.
- Christie has blamed President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for the border crisis and criticized them for not visiting the border last year: “What politician doesn’t want to go to the scene of crisis? Only if they created the crisis themselves.”
- He has also mocked former President Donald Trump’s stance. At one point, he delivered a scathing impression of Trump claiming he would build a southern border wall at Mexico’s expense and said Trump was more to blame for the country’s failed immigration policy than Biden.
Assault weapons ban, gun control and crime
Stance on Israel and Palestine, the war in Ukraine
- Christie visited Israel at the beginning of November and said the U.S. must stand “shoulder-to-shoulder” with Israel in its war against the Hamas militant group. Christie was the first candidate for the 2024 Republican nomination to visit Israel.
- During an interview on “Meet the Press,” Christie said he “absolutely” believes Israel is following international law as it fights Hamas. He said he would not call for a “freeze” in West Bank settlements amid the escalating violence in the region.
- Christie was the second 2024 Republican presidential hopeful to visit Ukraine, touring ravaged villages and meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv.
- He has said what he saw during his Ukraine visit further impressed upon him the need for the U.S. to continue aid.
Inflation and economy
- Christie has criticized both Biden and Trump for the current state of the economy. He’s called Biden “the Jimmy Carter of the 2020s.”
- He told CNN that everything in the market is “17% more expensive today than it was” when Biden took office. “Interest rates are at … our highest level in 25 years, making it much more expensive for people to buy a home, to buy a car, to be able to invest in their business and grow it to create jobs.”
- Christie told NewsNation’s Chris Cuomo he would work with Congress on reining in government spending: “We’ve got to deal with the budget because all of this overspending that we’ve done over time has caused the inflation that has ravaged this country over the last number of years and is bankrupting our kids and our grandkids.”
- Christie has criticized Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act, calling it “a mistake.”
Education, culture wars and curriculum
- During an interview with USA TODAY, Christie slammed education culture wars and said the government is not “a better parent than parents.”
- Christie took a swipe at first lady Jill Biden’s status as a teachers union member at a GOP debate in September. “This public school system is no longer run by the public. It is run by the teachers unions in this country,” Christie said.
- He has also gone after DeSantis over his response to the Florida Board of Education’s new standards for how African American history will be taught in schools.
China and Taiwan foreign policy
- When asked about military action against China, Christie said he “would do what needs to be done in terms of using the U.S. military against China” to defend Taiwan.
- Earlier this year, Christie criticized the Biden administration’s approach to dealing with China and said Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s trip to Beijing came “a day late and a dollar short.”
- During a Fox News interview, Christie attacked his rival Vivek Ramaswamy’s comments on foreign policy. Christie believes that “foreign policy starts in Ukraine” and said the U.S. should not do “what Joe Biden did in Afghanistan.”
- “We’re not going to abandon our friends and leave them on the battlefield. That’s going to send a very clear message to China, that if they tried to make any aggressive moves towards Taiwan, the juice will not be worth the squeeze for them in a Christie administration,” he said.
Fentanyl crisis, opioid epidemic
Climate change
- Earlier this year, when asked about net-zero emissions by 2050, Christie said he favors an “all-of-the-above strategy” with energy.
- In 2022, Christie called for more domestic oil production.
- Christie was an early adopter when it comes to climate change, acknowledging its realities before many in his party. In 2015, Christie said he believes climate change is real and that humans contribute to it. “I think global warming is real. I don’t think that’s deniable,” Christie said at a New Hampshire event, according to MSNBC. “And I do think human activity contributes to it.”
Social Security, Medicare
- At the November RNC debate in Miami, Christie took aim at “rich people” and said they “should not be collecting Social Security.”
- “I don’t know if Warren Buffett is collecting Social Security, but if he is, ‘Shame on you,’” Christie said. “You shouldn’t be taking the money.”
- He also said that Social Security and Medicare cuts are a necessary “political risk” in today’s economy.
Child care crisis
- Christie has not yet made his stance on the child care crisis known.
NewsNation’s Cassie Buchman, Tyler Wornell and The Associated Press contributed to this report.