Last week’s launch of the second quarter’s fundraising figures for the 2024 presidential candidates produced two notable information tales.
One was that Joe Biden and his related fundraising arms raised $72 million between his late April re-election launch and June thirtieth. This monetary haul, double what Donald Trump raised within the second quarter, poured 72 buckets of chilly water on the “Dementia-Joe-isn’t-supported-by-Democrats” narrative that had gained foreign money, pushed and peddled by Republicans.
And it was equally unhelpful to the wishful considering in Republican circles that Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., the candidate from Pluto, poses a “headache” for the President. This isn’t the case, besides maybe on Pluto.
The different information was that former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, whose uphill battle for the GOP presidential nomination was initially deemed by pundits to be destined for a fast flame-out, had already collected contributions from over 40,000 donors within the first 35 days of his candidacy. This lifted him over one of many qualifying thresholds for Republicans hoping to take part within the celebration’s August twenty third presidential debate.
Christie will not be on the controversy stage but – he has to ballot at 1% or extra amongst Republicans in three authorized polls. But with a current Morning Consult ballot displaying him at 3%, he’s getting there. Meanwhile, a Super PAC supporting Christie, known as Tell It Like It Is, appears more likely to generate substantial monetary backing from those that want to see Trump flattened within the debate, and who see Christie as the one challenger able to exposing the twice-indicted former president for the fraud that he’s in prime time.
A former prosecutor, Christie has not minced phrases about Trump, which units him very far aside from his fellow candidates, who’re all mince, on a regular basis. The purpose for Trump’s felonious pilfering of labeled paperwork, Christie says, is as a result of “he wants to pretend he’s still president.”
While different Republicans have hemmed, hawed and hidden when requested whether or not they would pardon Trump if he’s convicted and so they’re elected, Christie is unhesitatingly unafraid of heresy. “I would have a hard time considering any pardon,” he says.
As for Trump’s risk to skip subsequent month’s debate, Christie is blunt in regards to the outdated draft dodger’s newest case of bone spurs. “If Donald Trump doesn’t show up,” Christie says, “he’s a coward.”
When it involves Trump, Christie goes the place no different Republican dares to go, which, in fact, isn’t essentially saying a lot. When it not too long ago emerged that the Money-Funneler-In-Chief had had one in every of his committees pay Melania Trump $155,000 for “event planning and consulting,” Christie unloaded on them each.
“Trump is shameless,” he tweeted. “A billionaire using donor money to pay personal legal fees and now paying his wife more than 2x what the average American makes just to pick some tableware. There’s grifting, and then there’s Trump grifting. Undisputed champs.”
On issues referring to Donald Trump, the Republican subject runs the gamut from kneeling to groveling. To say that Christie stands out is an understatement. A “tell” that Trump doesn’t relish having Christie hanging round on a protracted foundation to inform the reality about him got here with the previous president’s assault on Christie for recommending that he appoint FBI Director Christopher Wray. “[Wray] was recommended very strongly by Chris Christie, who is, you know, a sad case,” Trump advised Fox’s Maria Bartiromo this previous weekend.
Christie isn’t inclined to again down. “I think Chris Wray has done a very good job,” he says.
A brand new ballot of New Hampshire Republican voters confirmed Christie in a tie for second place with Ron DeSantis, and poised to overhaul the Florida governor, who’s in free-fall.
Evidently tens of hundreds of thousands in money available can’t remedy a repellant character. But an terrible lot must occur to ensure that a Republican base so ill-disposed to acknowledging the reality about Donald Trump to reward somebody like Chris Christie for telling it. In the meantime, nevertheless, Christie, a congenital brawler, appears to be all in, and is serving discover that he intends to maintain on punching.
Jeff Robbins is a Boston lawyer and former U.S. delegate to the United Nations Human Rights Commission.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”