> Chris Christie: "The Trump era is over"

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) is considering a White House run in 2028, telling his party to go in “a completely different direction” after sizable midterm losses.

In an interview with Politico on Wednesday, Christie said he sees himself as better positioned to run than other prominent Republicans — specifically Vice President Vance — because he has consistently criticized President Trump during his second term. He called out Vance’s post blaming GOP losses on the Iran war, which Vance has publicly supported.

“The vice president to me has no credibility. He’s been sitting in the White House now for the last two years,” Christie told Politico. “[i] haven’t heard him say a negative word, you know, until this past Wednesday, and he limited it just to the war in Iran, which is not the only problem we have here.”

The two-time presidential candidate may launch a third campaign in 2028, he told Politico, saying he would make that decision “in the next few months.”

During his 2024 campaign, Christie urged the party to move on from Trump rather than nominate him again and was one of the only candidates who was willing to take on the president directly.

“The Trump era is over,” he told Politico. “We need to look forward to new leadership in our party and our country.”

After ending his campaign, Christie did not endorse a 2024 candidate.

Major midterm losses for the GOP, coupled with the president’s unpopularity, could mean that the party chooses to pivot away from Trump in the 2028 presidential primaries.

Jockeying is already underway for those primaries. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), usually a Trump ally, called the midterms a “rebuke” of the president.

Christie also singled out DeSantis in his Politico interview, accusing him of seeking “a way to be relevant.”

“I think the governor is getting ready to leave office, and he’s looking for a way to be relevant,” Christie said. “And I think he looks like he’s talking out of both sides of his mouth.”

Other Republicans releasing election postmortems include Texas Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn, who criticized their party and encouraged it to focus more on cost-of-living issues. Cruz and Cornyn’s home state was the site of major political upsets Tuesday as Democrats swept the statewide races. Cruz, also a previous presidential candidate, is considered a possible contender in 2028.

Candidates for the next presidential election could announce bids in the coming weeks or months. In 2022, Trump announced he would run again right after the midterms.

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/6 … -election/