New Christie ad blames Obama, disses Hillary Clinton
In a new 30-second presidential campaign ad, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie claims President Obama has failed to control lawlessness in the U.S. and around the world.
The ad also mentions ISIS and Iranian radicals.
The ad, launched nationally Monday, also cites crime in American “sanctuary cities” in the U.S. with policies designed to shelter illegal immigrants.
“Now Hillary Clinton thinks the law doesn’t apply to her. Really? We need a strong law enforcer as president,” says Christie in the ad.
It makes sense for Christie’s ad to attack Hillary instead of other Republican primary candidates, said Rider University political science professor Ben Dworkin.
“We are still six months away from the first votes being cast. You want the supporters of these people who you don’t believe will make it through the process to come to your side,” said Dworkin. “So the last thing you need to do is to go negative against other Republicans this far away from the election.”
And the ad could help Christie distinguish himself from the other candidates, Dworkin said.
“I think it’s a well-made ad, and I’m sure it’s going to be effective for some people,” he said Monday. “But whether it will launch him into the upper tier of the Republican presidential field remains unclear.”
Fairleigh Dickinson political science professor Peter Woolley was not convinced.
“My expectation is that in this crowd of very conservative Republicans, it’s not going to stand out. I think of Rudy Giuliani going down this road in a previous presidential race,” Woolley said. “It went nowhere.”
Recent polls put Christie far behind leading GOP contenders Donald Trump and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.
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