Chris Christie Announces Presidential Run

Chris Christie announced his presidential bid on Tuesday morning, telling supporters he is “ready to fight for the people of the United States of America.”

The governor of New Jersey joins a crowded Republican primary field of 13 other contenders, including recent entry Donald Trump.

“Both parties have failed our country. Both parties have stood in the corner and held their breaths,” he told the crowd assembled at the New Jersey high school he attended. “Both parties have led us to believe that America — a country that was built on compromise — that compromise is somehow a dirty word.”

Christie, a former federal prosecutor, has served as New Jersey governor since January 2010. He famously helped the state recover from Hurricane Sandy in 2012. However, the Bridgegate scandal has been a dark cloud over his governorship during the past year and a half, taking a major toll on his reputation.

A Christie staff member and political appointees were accused of creating traffic jams in Fort Lee, N.J. by shutting lanes of traffic approaching the George Washington Bridge to allegedly punish the mayor of the city for not endorsing the governor’s re-election.

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