Christie pledge that his campaign would be “without spin and without pandering” and that he wouldn’t worry about what is popular, but what is right. He also portrayed himself as a fighter and someone willing to compromise when necessary.
Referring to his 13 years as attorney general and then governor he said, “That fight has not made me more weary. It has made me stronger, and now I am ready to fight for the people of the United States of America.” He suggested that his experience in the Democratic-leaning Garden State made helped make him skilled at building sometimes unlikely coalitions. “We have to do it together; we have no choice but to work together. This country has no choice but to work together again, not against each other.”
Christie’s speech also focused heavily on foreign policy and he repeatedly said President Obama failed to offer strong leadership and emboldened U.S. foes. At one point, he said President Obama “lives in his own world, not in our world,” adding, “after seven years of a weak and feckless foreign policy … we better not turn it over to his second mate, Hillary Clinton.”
Christie’s national standing took a dive following lackluster economic progress and “the hug,” when he embraced President Obama after Superstorm Sandy in 2012. Also, a controversy over the “Bridgegate” scandal and questions about spending have damaged his standing in the Republican Party.