Chris Christie allies form super PAC ahead of potential presidential run

Longtime allies of former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie have formed a political action committee to support Christie as he considers a 2024 presidential bid, two people familiar with the plans tell CBS News.

The new super PAC, called Tell It Like it Is, reflecting Christie's direct delivery and persona, comes as Christie's presidential plans are likely to be formally announced in the next two weeks. The New York Times first reported the formation of the Christie-aligned super PAC.

The super PAC will be led by veteran GOP operative Brian Jones. Jones advised both Sen. Mitt Romney when he ran for president in 2012 and the late Sen. John McCain in 2008.

Christie, who ran for president in 2016, views himself as someone who can stand up to and contrast himself with former President Donald Trump, the early front-runner in the polls.

"You better have somebody on that stage who can do to him what I did to Marco [Rubio], because that's the only thing that's gonna defeat Donald Trump," Christie said in March at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College. "And that means you have to be fearless, because he will come back, and right at you."

Recent CBS News polling, however, shows most likely GOP primary voters want someone who is either loyal to Trump or doesn't talk about Trump.

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