The Chris Christie scandals that make him the least popular 2024 candidate with ... trends now

The Chris Christie scandals that make him the least popular 2024 candidate with ... trends now
The Chris Christie scandals that make him the least popular 2024 candidate with ... trends now

The Chris Christie scandals that make him the least popular 2024 candidate with ... trends now

When the people of New Jersey elected Chris Christie as their governor in 2010 they lapped up his bull-in-a-china-shop approach.

But by the time he left office in 2018 his ratings had plunged, he was mired in scandal after scandal and he was seen more as a bully than a political bull.

As he announces another run for president on Tuesday, entering a crowded field dominated by Donald Trump, his record gives opponents ammunition for attacks, just as it did during his ill-fated 2016 campaign.

A Monmouth University poll last week revealed the challenge facing him. The survey of 655 Republican voters found he was viewed favorably by just 21 percent and unfavorably by 47 percent.

He was the only one of 10 candidates to be given a net negative score by the people he will need to win the nomination.

For many people in New Jersey, this 2017 photograph summed up Chris Christie's time in office. He and his family were seen on a deserted beach during a holiday weekend, while state parks were closed because of a state government shutdown

For many people in New Jersey, this 2017 photograph summed up Chris Christie's time in office. He and his family were seen on a deserted beach during a holiday weekend, while state parks were closed because of a state government shutdown

Chris Christie is the least popular candidate with Republican voters according to a poll published last week which gave him a net favorability rating of negative 26

Chris Christie is the least popular candidate with Republican voters according to a poll published last week which gave him a net favorability rating of negative 26

Bridgegate 

At one time, Christie was considered a frontrunner for the 2016 nomination. He was a hard charging former prosecutor who had managed to win over a predominantly Democratic state.

But his campaign unraveled amid allegations that his aides closed lanes on a bridge into New York City to retaliate against a local mayor. 

The scandal broke just after Christie won reelection as governor. And it involved triggering traffic jams on access lanes to the George Washington Bridge to punish Fort Lee's mayor for not backing his reelection campaign. 

Two Christie aides were sentenced to 13 months and 18 months in prison, before their fraud convictions were overturned by the Supreme Court.

Even so the 2020 ruling hardly amounted to a finding of evidence. In its judgment, the court said the evidence 'no doubt shows wrongdoing — deception, corruption, abuse of power,' even if the aides did not profit from their actions.

Among the evidence, was a damning email sent by aide Bridget Anne Kelly to an official at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which manages the bridge.

'Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee,' she wrote. 

Christie always denied any knowledge of their plan and was not prosecuted. Yet it was still seen as the death knell for his political career and his 2016 presidential hopes.

Christie was once seen as a likely future Republican nominee. But in 2016 a scandal over lane closures leading to the George Washington Bridge derailed his run before it began

Christie was once seen as a likely future Republican nominee. But in 2016 a scandal over lane closures leading to the George Washington Bridge derailed his run before it began

Aides ordered traffic lanes closed in September apparently in retaliation against a local mayor who refused to back Christie's reelection campaign. The result was gridlock

Aides ordered traffic lanes closed in September apparently in retaliation against a local mayor who refused to back Christie's reelection campaign. The result was gridlock

Matt Katz, author of 'American Governor: Chris Christie's Bridge to Redemption,' said the scandal, involving misaligned traffic cones, may seem a little quaint in retrospect. But at the time it undermine the governor's reputation as a corruption busting prosecutor.

'It struck at the heart of who Christies said he was and that damaged his reputation because it damaged his

read more from dailymail.....

NEXT In news vacuum, rumours and concern swirl over Catherine mogaznewsen