Suspicious: Chris Christie Presidential Run
The Claim
Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie wants to run for president in the 2024 Republican Primary.
News posted on
Emerging story
On April 21st, 2021, the news website Axios reported that the former governor of New Jersey, Chris Christie, was taking a 2024 presidential bid seriously. The article claimed that three different people who knew Chris Christie had confirmed this information.
Other sources then highlighted this announcement, with some making statements that made it seem like more of a certainty that Christie was mounting a 2024 presidential bid, such as Mediaite, which ran the headline, “Chris Christie Planning to Run for President in 2024,” in a Facebook post. Numerous social media users continued to spread the rumors.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar’s investigation has found that Axios, the site which made the original claim, is a high quality news site that often reports reliable content. However, as the claim of Chris Christie’s planned presidential bid comes from unidentified sources and not Chris Christie himself, it is impossible to state with certainty just how certain the former New Jersey governor’s current presidential ambitions are.
The source itself notes that as recently as December, 2020, Christie stated that he wasn’t ruling out a 2024 bid. It is possible that Christie’s ambitions have become stronger since December, 2020, but the 2024 Presidential election is still many years away. Naturally, Christie’s plans may change during this time.
Additionally, the Axios’ source makes one unusual claim, which casts the report into doubt. It states that Christie has told his sources that he would be the only person who has executive experience running in the 2024 Republican Primary who has previously run for president. This is unusual, as it has been reported that former president Donald Trump is also considering a presidential run in 2024. He, of course, has executive experience.
The nature of the story, the recent public statements of Chris Christie and the unusual statement which defies current speculation about the 2024 presidential bid make this story impossible to state as fact.
