Gov. Chris Christie visits campus and offers perspective on the gubernatorial and presidential elections in New Jersey

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie spoke to a packed Whig Senate chamber Tuesday evening at a highly anticipated American Whig-Cliosophic Society event.

His talk covered his views on New Jersey’s next gubernatorial race, heavily criticizing Democratic candidate Sean Spiller and taking aim at his close ties to teachers’ unions. Christie also shared his views on President-elect Donald Trump’s re-election and criticized newly announced Cabinet appointments.

Christie, a Republican, served as the 55th governor of New Jersey from 2010 to 2018. He later ran as the Republican presidential candidate in the 2016 and 2024 Republican primaries, but failed each time. He previously served as U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey from 2002 to 2008.

When asked by conversation moderator Kyler Zhou ’27 about the highlights of his term as governor of New Jersey, Christie said, “the first was winning” against an incumbent Democratic governor – Jon Corzine – in a blue state. Zhou is a former news writer for The Prince.

“I think rebuilding and recovering the state is something I’m proud of,” Christie said, referring to Hurricane Sandy, a 2012 storm that devastated the New Jersey coast during his administration . “Think about rebuilding 346,000 homes. That’s a lot.”

“I was out there, I was visible,” he continued, “they knew I cared. They knew I was listening. They knew I was trying to do my best.”

After Christie left the governor’s office in 2018, Democrat Phil Murphy took the helm of the Garden State. However, Murphy is barred from running for a third term, meaning a new governor will be elected next fall.

When asked what he thinks the next governor’s priorities will be, Christie first turned to the issue of the state’s education system. He called for the creation of more charter schools, saying that simply increasing charter schools does not improve student outcomes.

“Go to Paterson, go to Jersey City and look at the level of education of these kids,” Christie said. “We’re paying $35,000 a year per student, and these kids aren’t getting an education.”

Christie blamed the union bureaucracy for the state’s public education problems.

“I have a lot of respect for teachers,” Christie said. “I wish they had a union as good as they have, because they don’t.”

Of the contenders for governor in 2025, Christie expressed particular disdain for Sean Spiller, president of the New Jersey Education Association, and reiterated his criticism of teachers unions.

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“I couldn’t support the teachers union president running for governor,” Christie said. “If you can imagine something more catastrophic, write to my email address.”

Thoughts on the presidential election

At the start of the conversation, Christie described his transition from a supporter of Trump to a harsh critic of the president-elect.

During the 2016 presidential election, Christie endorsed Donald Trump after he suspended his own campaign and was named head of Trump’s transition planning team. However, he later withdrew his support for Trump after the January 6 attack.

Christie attributed what he called hesitancy to join the first Trump administration in 2016 to personal moral concerns. He reportedly turned down several offers for Cabinet positions during the first Trump administration.

“I think these people are people who have just decided that their ambition is more important than doing what they would normally think is right,” Christie said. “They make the compromises and rationalizations for his behavior and actions that I just couldn’t make anymore.”

Christie also criticized Trump’s recent wave of controversial nominations of Matt Gaetz and Pete Hegseth in 2003 to key positions within his administration.

“I think it’s pretty clear from the number of people Trump named that they haven’t been vetted,” he noted.

Christie noted that the future of the Republican Party is closely tied to Trump. Despite his critical comments, he expressed an optimistic view of the country’s future, saying it is “an extraordinarily strong country” and that Trump will “not ruin America.”

He also reflected on his own battle for the top job in 2016 and 2024 — and his eventual retirement.

“It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life,” Christie said, referring to the campaign process. “There’s nothing that compares to how unrelenting and grueling it is, how bright the spotlight is, how hard it is on your family and your friends, and when you do that you want to believe that you have a chance to win.” .”

Christie’s 2024 presidential campaign came years after leaving the governor’s mansion six years earlier and had a historically low approval rating of 14 percent. Christie’s popularity as a Republican governor in a Democratic-leaning state peaked early in his term, although he ultimately decided not to run in 2012.

Christie told the audience that he “didn’t feel ready to be president” in 2012, brushing aside a comparison one attendee made to New York Gov. Mario Cuomo’s last-minute decision not to run in 1992.

“I made a decision on a specific basis: Can you look someone in the eye and ask them for their money … and say I’m the best person to be president of the United States,” Christie said. “I couldn’t do that.”

Reflecting on the recent presidential election, Christie also shared his thoughts on Vice President Kamala Harris, who lost the presidential election but won the state of New Jersey by a narrow margin of 5.5 percentage points. From his perspective, she was the obvious candidate to run.

“I don’t know if she was the best candidate for the Democrats or not, but I will tell you this,” Christie said. “She was the only Democratic candidate who could have taken over with 107 days to go.”

Eojin Park is a news writer for The Prince.

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