EXETER, New Hampshire – Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie was not in a cheerful mood at a recent campaign stop here — dodging questions from the press that clearly violated his “tell it like it” campaign slogan.
“Not taking any questions from the media,” Christie said when The Post approached him after his Dec. 20 appearance at a brewery in Exeter, 30 miles east of Manchester, the state’s largest city.
It’s not the first time the 61-year-old has been camera-shy at a seemingly inopportune time; Christie also skipped appearing in heavy media rotation at three of the four Republican primary debates held this year.
Christie has staked the viability of his campaign on a strong performance in New Hampshire, where he has focused his campaign to the exclusion of other early states.
That focus didn’t pay off in the Granite State poll, where Christie polled a clear but distant third with 10.5% support, according to the RealClearPolitics average, behind front-runner Donald Trump (46.3%) and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (24.8). . %).
Chris Christie does a Q&A with members of the New Hampshire beer caucus at Sea Dog Brewing Company. Diana Glebova/NY Post
There doesn’t seem to be a hidden reservoir of Christie support either.
Most of the dozen or so residents who attended the event at Sea Dog Brewing Company didn’t express much enthusiasm for him, instead saying they were either “open” to supporting the former governor or having another candidate.
New Hampshire state Sen. Tim Lang, who introduced Christie, even joked that he was in the “top two” — a reference to the Garden Stater touting locals saying he was in their “top three” during the 2016 election.
One New Hampshire voter said he would be “open to voting strategically,” but would not reveal whether Christie is his top choice.
Some attendees said they liked Christie’s no-BS image.
Christie is currently polling in third place in New Hampshire. Getty Images
“You can trust what he says. He calls it like he sees it, instead of making it up like everybody else,” local Steve Johnson told The Post.
“We’re here to see what he has to say,” said another voter who declined to give his name, before adding about Christie: “… hopefully he’ll get some momentum.”
“At least he’s trying to tell the truth, it seems,” said registered Democrat David Doyon, who added that he would consider voting for Christie if he made it to the general election. “I’ll give him that. He said the things that needed to be said, so I give him a lot of credit.”
The former governor has named himself as candidate No. 1 anti-Trump in the race, and has criticized his rivals for refusing to directly attack the former president.
About a dozen voters attended the Christie event Wednesday afternoon. Diana Glebova/NY Post
Christie is “angry, but at least he’s angry for the right reasons,” according to Doyon. “Everyone else is just angry for being angry.”
Christie has called on Democrats to consider voting for him in New Hampshire, but the deadline to change party registrations passed Oct. 6.
Independents or unaffiliated voters can vote in either party’s primary on Jan. 23 — giving Christie less than a month to pull off a miracle.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
