Dennis Van Tine/ZUMA
On Tuesday morning, Chris Christie, the brash and gruff scandal-tainted governor of New Jersey, announced he was officially entering the GOP race for president. Flanked by his wife Mary Pat Foster and his four kids, Christie hit the stage at his high school alma mater to Bon Jovi’s “We Weren’t Born To Follow,” and he declared, “We must tell each other the truth about the problems we have and the difficulty of the solutions.”
Once upon a time, Christie was widely regarded as a potential leader of the GOP pack; he was a favorite of Republican-leaning billionaires (Koch Brothers and others) and a GOPer who could boast success in a Democratic state. His entry into the contest would have been major news. But after Bridgegate and various economic setbacks in New Jersey, he’s fighting for to be at the top of the second tier. (There are now 14 contenders officially in the race.) A recent poll found that only 4 percent of Republican voters want to see Christie as president. And his announcement hardly set the Internet on fire.
Here’s some of the immediate reaction on Twitter, which was, to tell it like it is, a bit underwhelming:
Ann Coulter
Watching @GovChristie is giving me a flashback to the worst Convention speech in world history.
— Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) June 30, 2015
Laura Ingraham
TELLING IT LIKE IT IS: “Chris Christie launches for 2016 bid” http://t.co/3MjqN7eEVx
— Laura Ingraham (@IngrahamAngle) June 30, 2015
Ted Cruz
I’m glad to welcome @govchristie into our diverse field of candidates: https://t.co/9JNjMtJwCb
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) June 30, 2015
Greta Van Susteren
http://t.co/jEMCt3Jd7y editorial – OUCH! “After 14 years of watching Christie, a warning: He lies” http://t.co/11KLkT8Yop
— Greta Van Susteren (@greta) June 30, 2015
Mark Murray
Also, Christie’s approval rating in NJ is at 30% — lower than Jon Corzine’s ever was http://t.co/tmBOtVu8VZ
— Mark Murray (@mmurraypolitics) June 30, 2015
Nate Silver
We were among the first on the “Chris Christie is toast” bandwagon. But his problems have kept getting worse. http://t.co/8edy75LhC0
— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) June 30, 2015
Fortune
Christie’s New Jersey pension problems could plague his campaign http://t.co/NcIFCr6kYD pic.twitter.com/kQV24a5ADW
— Fortune (@FortuneMagazine) June 30, 2015
Deborah Wasserman Schultz
Christie is making his presidential announcement at a school that experienced massive budget cuts under his admin: http://t.co/WzfM9SnLgn
— D Wasserman Schultz (@DWStweets) June 30, 2015
Seton Hall Law
The first @SetonHallLaw graduate to announce a run for President, NJ Governor Christopher J. Christie ’87: https://t.co/rdsMIxYWTy
— Seton Hall Law (@SetonHallLaw) June 30, 2015
Mashable
Well, at least one guy is really pumped that @GovChristie is running for president http://t.co/bjDqKHi4yU http://t.co/psg1k3mgjG
— Mashable (@mashable) June 30, 2015
Chris Christie has gone from telling people to sit down and shut up to having to ask them for attention.