Chris Christie Says He "Might Run For President Again"

The former New Jersey governor said he isn't going to run against Trump, but he told BuzzFeed News' Profile he would run again if he believed he had a chance to win.

Former New Jersey governor Chris Christie doesn't know exactly what his political future will be, but he isn't ruling out another run for president some day.

Asked on BuzzFeed News' Profile about his future, he said, "There may be no political future, or I might run for president again. You know, I don't know. But I can guarantee you this: I won't run for president again if I don't think I can win."

Christie, who published a political memoir this week, underlined that he has no interest in ever being a long shot candidate.

"My personality is about having a chance to win," he said. "I'm competitive. And so if I had a chance to win, I would do it."

He said he's had people come up to him on his book tour already who have said they want him to challenge Trump in 2020. But he ruled that out, saying he's "not interested."

"In 2024, I'll be 62 years old. It's still 10 years younger than the president is now. And like 15 years younger than Joe Biden. So, you know, the field is open. 60 is the new 50."

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Christie said he still speaks regularly with Trump, including about his book earlier this week.

"This is not a tell-all," Christie said of the book. "This is not like ... 'I eat with the president and he's, like, dumped ketchup on his tie,' and you know, 'He wipes his mouth with his sleeve,' and you know, or, 'He said this word that word.' This is about what's the real impact of electing somebody like Donald Trump." Christie pointed to Trump's comments about the book in a New York Times interview, where he called it "very respectful of me."

Christie also isn't closing the door on joining Trump's administration, but only if he was offered one of two roles: attorney general or vice president.

"I turned down six positions with this administration already," Christie said. "Right, so I turned down labor secretary twice, I turned down homeland security secretary, I turned down a special assistant to the president, I turned down ambassador to Italy, I turned down ambassador to the Vatican."

If he were to take a job in DC, he said, "I'd have to really want to do what they were offering me to do to make that sacrifice." He said he told Trump in 2016 that he would only be interested in being vice president or attorney general. "If I got offered one of those jobs, I'd probably take it. But if I don't get one of those jobs, I could pass."

Trump said last November that Vice President Mike Pence would again be his running mate in 2020, but there's still been plenty of speculation as to whether Trump will eventually change his mind or sour on his vice president, like he has with other officials.

Christie is now openly saying he'd take the job off his hands, should it become available. And he has his own thoughts on Trump's potential 2020 competition.

"I think Biden would have the best chance at the moment, because I think he has the best opportunity to appeal to the white working-class voters that switched from Democrat to Republican to Trump," he said. But he added that "what we think two years before an election is really almost insignificant" because "we don't know how the players are going to play."

Christie also said he texted Friday with New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, just after Booker announced his own presidential campaign.

"I know Cory really well and like him. He's a friend," Christie said. "You know, when he announced this morning, I texted him to congratulate him and wish you good luck. And he texted me back and said, 'Thank you.' But you know, I don't know how Cory is going to do on the national stage. You know, he's an outstanding speaker. He's inspirational in many ways. But you know, he's also been moving further and further to the left, I think to try to get to where the energy of his party is. And I don't know if given his record whether people are going to see that move as genuine or opportunistic, and that will determine a lot of that."

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