Former Gov. Chris Christie says Harris candidacy 'absolutely changes the race'
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie told ABC News' David Muir Sunday night that Kamala Harris' entry into the presidential race will have a big impact.
"Look, this absolutely changes the race, David. I think anybody who says this doesn't change the race doesn't understand politics," Christie said. "But here's the big question, 'How does it change the race?' And none of us know that [answer] yet. And the reason we don't is because that's going to depend almost exclusively on the performance of these two candidates now."
Christie, who ran for the 2024 GOP nomination for president but dropped out during the primaries, said running for president is different than campaigning for vice president.
"[S]he's going to be under a different level of scrutiny, a different level of pressure, and there's a different expectation level for her than there has been before," Christie said. "So how does she perform, and how does Donald Trump change his approach? He's now not running against 81-year-old Joe Biden. He's running against a much younger woman. And that's going to change the dynamic, too."
Christie said Trump will need to change his tone with Harris coming to the fore.
"Look, when I ran the first time for governor, David, I ran against an incumbent, democratic male. When I ran for reelection, I ran against a woman. And the pace of that race and the way you conduct yourself as a male candidate [against] the female candidate has to have a bit of a different tone to it," Christie said. "The question for me is going to be, 'Can Donald Trump adjust to that, and how will he react to this new dynamic? So, we're to see some very interesting developments over the course of the next number of weeks."
-ABC News’ Jolie Lash
