When Chris Christie announces his run for the White House inside the gymnasium at Livingston High School Tuesday, the governor will seek to rejuvenate conservatives, depicting himself as a blunt New Jerseyan not afraid to take on politically polarizing issues and, as his campaign slogan will claim, “tell it like it is.”
To reinforce the plainspokenness theme and differentiate himself from the always-staged President Barack Obama and the more risk-averse Republicans running for the White House, Christie will not speak from a teleprompter or from prepared remarks.
“He’s going to talk about how it’s time now — after six years of having an administration that is the least transparent — to have a leader that you know where they stand,” an aide said.
His political advisers have determined many Americans have heard of Christie but don’t know him well, and so the plan for Tuesday’s announcement is to “go back to his roots” and tell the story of his quick rise.
Speaking from inside the school in Livingston, N.J., where he graduated in 1980 and served as class president, Christie will be surrounded by supporters, including longtime high school friends and family.
Re-elected as governor with more than 60 percent of the vote in 2013, Christie was once seen as a top contender for 2016 but his popularity took a hit both in the state and nationally after the “Bridge-gate” scandal where aides ordered the closure of lanes leading to the George Washington Bridge.
His campaign plans to reintroduce him to voters by stressing several points in his speech, the aide said: His upbringing in New Jersey and his path that took him from serving as U.S. Attorney to being a Republican governor of a blue state, where he had to make deals with a Democratic legislature to accomplish things.
Christie will also point to his recent series of policy speeches, like his plan to reform entitlements, as evidence that he has laid out substantive solutions on risky political issues and is willing to have “an honest conversation” with voters despite the political risks, the aide said.
In a preview video released by his campaign ahead of the announcement, the Republican is shown at a town hall saying: “I get accused a lot of times of being too blunt and too direct and saying what’s on my mind just a little bit too loudly.”
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Referencing his outspoken mother, Christie said: “I know if my mom were still alive, she would say to me, ‘I taught you that in a trusting relationship, you don’t hold anything back. And if you’re going to run for president of the United States and you’re going to ask these people for their vote…you better tell them exactly what you’re thinking and exactly what you’re feeling.’”
Portraying himself as a so-called compassionate conservative, Christie is also likely to reference the things he has done of governor to help drug addicts. Pastor Joe Carter of The New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, the childhood church of Whitney Houston where Christie recently held a forum on addiction, will speak during Christie’s announcement event, an aide said.
After making his announcement, Christie plans to appear in Sandown, N.H. Tuesday evening for a town hall meeting — the type of forum that helped make Christie a YouTube famous governor and the political environment aides says he thrives in.
Since being elected governor of New Jersey in 2009, Christie quickly developed a national profile, becoming a national hero and viral video star.
“If what you want to do is put on a show and giggle every time I talk, well then I have no interest in answering your question,” Christie told a teacher in 2010 during a townhall.
“Get the hell off the beach,” he instructed residents during a mandatory evacuation of beaches during Hurricane Irene in 2011.
“You must be the thinnest skinned man in America,” he once told a local journalist.
During the Republican primary in 2012, Christie was woo-ed by big donors in the party to make a late entry into the race. He thought about it, but decided against running, explaining he didn’t feel ready to be president at the time.
After his re-election, Christie was seen as a frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination. But as he was sworn in for a second term, he quickly became embroiled in the Bridgegate scandal. (He maintains that he had no prior knowledge of the closings.)
Christie’s task now is to try to recapture the enthusiasm Republicans once had for him. According to the Real Clear Politics national polling average, Christie is in ninth place with just 4 percent.
In New Hampshire, a state Christie has visited often in recent months, he places in sixth place with 5.6 percent according to the RCP polling average.
Running as an alternative to former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Christie will also face threats from two other governors set to enter the race soon: Scott Walker of Wisconsin and John Kasich of Ohio.