Allies of former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie reportedly launched a super PAC to support his likely run for the presidency.
The New York Times, citing unnamed sources, reported Monday that Christie's 2024 campaign kickoff is expected in the next two weeks.
The political action committee, called Tell It Like It Is, will be led by Brian Jones, an aide who advised Sen. John McCain's presidential bid in 2008 and Sen. Mitt Romney's in 2012.
Also on the Christie team are William Palatucci, his longtime adviser and member of the Republican National Committee; Russ Schriefer, who will oversee messaging as a senior adviser; and Brent Seaborn, who will focus on voter targeting, the Times reported.
In a statement to the Times, Jones said Christie "is willing to confront the hard truths that currently threaten the future of the Republican Party. Now more than ever we need leaders that have the courage to say not what we want to hear but what we need to hear."
Christie faces an uphill battle.
A May 24 CNN poll shows former President Donald Trump as the top White House choice of 53% of primary voters, followed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis at 26%. Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and former Vice President Mike Pence received 6%. Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., and Christie got 2%.
The Times noted that Christie will have to explain his transformation from informal adviser for Trump in 2016 to a full-throated critic of the former president on Nov. 4, 2020, questioning Trump's declaration that there had been widespread fraud in the election.
According to the Times, Christie will travel to places where his message is most appealing.
He's already taken aim at DeSantis, describing his fight with Disney as an overreach.
"Where are we headed here now that, if you express disagreement in this country, the government is allowed to punish you? To me, that's what I always thought liberals did. And now all of a sudden here we are participating in this with a Republican governor," Christie said in April, the Times reported.
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