Is Chris Christie Entering the Democratic Petting Zoo?

Chris Christie has nothing to lose with Republicans, but plenty to gain from Democrats.
Chris Christie has nothing to lose with Republicans, but plenty to gain from Democrats. Photo: Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
Peter Hamby
July 24, 2023

Here’s a little 2024 media story guaranteed to make Republican eyes roll: I’m told that G.O.P. spoiler candidate Chris Christie will be appearing on Pod Save America this week, taping an interview for Thursday’s podcast with Crooked Media co-founder Jon Lovett. Yes, you read that correctly. The first presidential candidate of the 2024 cycle to appear on the popular progressive podcast won’t be Joe Biden—it will be the Bridgegate-stained former Republican governor of New Jersey who was once one of Barack Obama’s loudest critics.

The booking is obviously a nice get for Crooked, which routinely scores big interviews with friendly Democrats but never big-name Republicans. Why, though, would Christie choose to wade into liberal podcast waters when he’s ostensibly trying to win the Republican nomination? Especially with Lovett—a fearless comedian who isn’t afraid to roast the candidate, a Trump supplicant-turned-critic, in a way that Anderson Cooper or George Stephanopoulos never would. The simple answer is that Christie really has nothing to lose with Republicans, but plenty to gain from Democrats.