Christie makes small-town presidential speech at high school
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie announces his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination during a kickoff rally on Tuesday at Livingston High School in New Jersey. (Photo: Brendan McDermid/Reuters)
Chris Christie assured Americans he wasn’t running for prom king or “most popular guy” when he announced his presidential campaign in the gymnasium of his high school in Livingston, N.J., on Tuesday morning.
“When I stand up on a stage like this in front of all of you, there is one thing you will know for sure: I mean what I say, and I say what I mean, and that’s what America needs right now,” Christie said, flanked by his wife and four children.
But the provincialism of his speech and venue suggest that the two-term governor is banking on his hometown fans — some of whom supported his bid to become class president in this very school 35 years ago — to help him cultivate an image rooted in small-town American values and free of Washington taint.
Christie is emphasizing his brand for bluntness and New Jersey straight talking in an attempt to overpower the “Bridgegate” lane closure scandal that’s led to the indictment of several members of his staff and tanking poll numbers for the governor.
The governor’s announcement speech ignored any mention of the global and domestic events transforming America in favor of folksy, homespun charm that was light on details and heavy on personal biography. Compared to some of his other GOP rivals’ speeches, it felt a bit insubstantial, but Christie is clearly hoping his gritty authenticity will distinguish him in a presidential race that is increasingly scripted and stage-managed.
Christie, who did not use a teleprompter at the event, mentioned Livingston eight times in his speech, and at one point promised to use the presidency “to restore the American dream to each one of our children, whether they live in Livingston or Mendham, Newark or Camden, Paterson or Jersey City.” Other American cities escaped mention.
He criticized President Obama for having a “weak and feckless foreign policy” but did not specifically name or discuss any challenge he would face, such as the rise of the Islamic State or nuclear negotiations with Iran. He also slammed the president for being trapped “in his own world,” which seemed a bit dissonant given that Christie was announcing his intention to be the leader of the free world from the gym of his high school.
The high school is very much Christie’s world, and the ardent supporters who showed up for him are its inhabitants. Just down the hall from the gym, the two-term governor is memorialized on the wall in a photo of the 1980 Lancers baseball team. Christie was the team’s catcher. His former math teacher and one of his best friends from high school introduced the governor Tuesday morning, again emphasizing his deep roots in the community.
Many of the supporters who crowded into the gym to witness the governor’s presidential announcement have known Christie for decades, and remembered his high school days.
“He was very popular, very sports-minded,” said Garrett Whitman, a supporter whose son was in the same high school class as Christie. “I’m happy with him. I’d like to see him succeed.”
