The Note: Chris Christie Becomes A Candidate
— -- NOTABLES
--CHRISTIE MAKES IT OFFICIAL: Today, Gov. Chris Christie will formally declare his candidacy for president of the United States at his alma mater, Livingston High School in New Jersey, becoming the 14th Republican candidate to enter the 2016 presidential race, ABC's ADAM DESIDERIO notes. Over the weekend, Christie unveiled a short video previewing his message: "I get accused a lot of times of being too blunt and too direct and saying what's on my mind just a little bit too loudly," Christie says in the video. "I know if my mom were still alive, she would say to me, "I taught you that in a trusting relationship, you don't hold anything back." In an ABC News/Washington Post poll last month, 22 percent of Americans said they see Christie favorably, while 48 percent see him unfavorably.
--ANALYSIS -- ABC's RICK KLEIN: The New York Times calls it "combative charisma." The Washington Post says his style is "part former federal prosecutor and part suburban dad yelling at a soccer game." Whatever it is, it is the strongest factor Gov. Chris Christie has going for him as he enters the presidential race on Tuesday. In the classic political sense, his biggest strengths are also his biggest weaknesses. Call him brash, call him blunt, call him a bully, there's a reason the lane-closing story at the George Washington Bridge stuck to him more than your average pol. Christie is anything but average, a style he attributes (again, and again) to his Irish father and a Sicilian mother. It means he shouldn't be counted out, and Christie allies say he's fine with not being counted "in" either. A clear-eyed analysis suggests that Christie comes to the race with most of the problems that a moderate from a northeastern state would normally face, and starting at a lower level - only Donald Trump is less popular than him in the GOP field - he once claimed. But once traffic is moving steadily, New Jersey baggage may end up weighing just a bit less in New Hampshire.
IN THE NOTE'S INBOX
MARCO RUBIO TO GIVE FIRST DOMESTIC POLICY SPEECH AS A CANDIDATE. From a Rubio aide: "On Tuesday, July 7, Marco Rubio will deliver a policy speech on technology and the 21st century job market at 1871 in downtown Chicago. Marco will discuss the need to overcome our economic challenges by fostering the American innovation that will create high-paying modern jobs and by equipping all Americans with the skills needed to fill them. Following the speech, Marco will participate in a moderated discussion."
TODAY ON THE TRAIL with ABC's CHRIS GOOD: Ted Cruz will release his book "A Time for Truth: Reigniting the Miracle of America." Donald Trump will be in Bedford, New Hampshire to "attend a reception in his honor." Bobby Jindal will be in Iowa, where he'll visit the Saints Avenue Cafe in Boone at 1:30 pm ET. He'll deliver a closed-press speech to a pro-life group at 3:30 pm ET and attend a town-hall in Waukee at 7 pm ET. Rick Santorum will be in Charleston, S.C., where he'll hold a national-security town-hall at The Citadel at 12:30 pm ET. His two oldest sons are both cadets there.
--ALSO HAPPENING TODAY: The State Department will release a batch of Hillary Clinton's emails, per a judge's order to turn them over on a rolling basis. These are general, not Benghazi specific.
THE BUZZ
HOW OBAMA WELCOMED A PRESIDENT HE SPIED ON. When Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff learned in 2013 that the National Security Agency was listening in on her phone calls and reading her emails, she was none too pleased. She canceled a long-planned state visit to the United States and used an address at the United Nations General Assembly to blast the United States for what she called a "totally unacceptable" violation of her country's sovereignty and accused the United States of breaking international law. But tonight, over two years later, Rousseff was wined and dined by President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden during a private "working dinner" at the White House, ABC's JORDYN PHELPS and ARLETTE SAENZ note.
--BACKSTORY: It's part of a two-day fence-mending trip and an opportunity for the two presidents to move beyond what the White House acknowledges as a "turbulent patch" between the Western hemisphere's two largest economies. The two leaders participated Tuesday in a series of formal meetings and also held a joint news conference. This will be the second meeting for Obama and Rousseff since the NSA spying revelations in 2013. They previously met on the sidelines of the Summit of Americas in Panama in April. http://abcn.ws/1RMK3VV
WHAT WE'RE READING
"A COLLEGE BALKS AT HILLARY CLINTON"S FEE, SO BOOKS CHELSEA FOR $65,000 INSTEAD," by the Washington Post's Philip Rucker and Rosalind S. Helderman. "When the University of Missouri at Kansas City was looking for a celebrity speaker to headline its gala luncheon marking the opening of a women's hall of fame, one name came to mind: Hillary Rodham Clinton. But when the former secretary of state's representatives quoted a fee of $275,000, officials at the public university balked. "Yikes!" one e-mailed another. So the school turned to the next best option: her daughter, Chelsea. The university paid $65,000 for Chelsea Clinton's brief appearance Feb. 24, 2014, a demonstration of the celebrity appeal and marketability that the former and possibly second-time first daughter employs on behalf of her mother's presidential campaign and family's global charitable empire." http://wapo.st/1JnTB7O
WHO'S TWEETING?
@edatpost: COMING TODAY: @JebBush to release 33 years of tax returns http://wpo.st/n4qO0
@EliStokols: "If you are in that center-right cluster, New Hampshire has become absolutely essential to you." http://www.politico.com/story/2015/06/betting-it-all-on-new-hampshire-119571.html#ixzz3eXsanaP2 …
@ShaneGoldmacher: NEWS: Ken Langone, Chris Christie's billionaire backer, tells me in interview he won't be cutting any 8-figure checks http://www.nationaljournal.com/2016-elections/chris-christie-s-biggest-backer-would-i-write-a-check-for-10-million-no-20150630 …
@realDonaldTrump: I love the Mexican people, but Mexico is not our friend. They're killing us at the border and they're killing us on jobs and trade. FIGHT!
@sahilkapur: Ted Cruz and multiple conservative groups come out against blowing up the filibuster to repeal Obamacare: http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-06-30/what-some-conservatives-aren-t-willing-to-do-to-kill-obamacare …