What They're Saying About Chris Christie's Announcement Speech on June 30, 2015

What They're Saying About…
“A Vintage Chris Christie Speech, Impassioned, Defiant, From The Heart …”

Headlines…
“Christie Bounds In”
– The Wall Street Journal
“Why No One Should Count Chris Christie Out”
– New York Post
“Christie kicks off presidential bid saying he's ready to 'restore America'”
– The Bergen Record
“Vowing To Fix D.C. Dysfunction, Chris Christie Becomes 14th Republican To Enter Race”
– The Daily Caller
“How Christie's Speech Set Him Apart From 2016 Rivals”
– Star-Ledger
“Chris Christie Announces Run, Pledging ‘Truth’ About Nation’s Woes”
– The New York Times
“Christie Announces Run, Bashes Hillary as Obama's 'Second Mate'”
– The Weekly Standard
“Promising Truth and Compromise, Chris Christie Launches Presidential Campaign”
– Breitbart

What They’re Saying…
Fox News’ Eric Shawn: “They got a vintage Chris Christie speech, impassioned, defiant, from the heart, off-the-cuff, no teleprompter needed. He slammed Washington, both political parties for dysfunction. He says the country needs leadership on the economy, jobs, and threats from abroad saying I say what I mean, I mean what I say. He was blunt in his direct style saying our country needs to be respected again.” (Fox News, “Shepard Smith Reporting,” 6/30/15)
New York Post Editorial Board: “In a rousing speech launching his White House run Tuesday, Chris Christie gave the nation a glimpse of why he was once a front-runner — and could be again.” (Editorial, “Why no one should count Chris Christie out,” New York Post, 6/30/15)

• “Forceful but loose, passionate but funny, tough but sentimental, the Jersey governor spoke with no TelePrompTer and often off-the-cuff. He’ll make a real impact not just in town hall events, but in the debates. And his themes will echo deeply.”
• “But Chris Christie on Tuesday looked anything but beat up — and no one truly knows how this huge GOP field will shake out. Then, too, it’s never smart to think you’ve got a Jersey guy beat.”
Fox News’ Bret Baier: “This is some of the best of Chris Christie, when he talks not scripted. He is talking from the heart and also saying how he is will stand up to say what he means and do what he says, and he has a track record of doing that.” (Fox News, “Happening Now,” 6/30/15)

• “He played to optimism. He played to Washington doesn't work as it is now. He played to the President doesn't talk to Congress. Congress doesn't talk to the President. He said he is a guy that can make things work, a doer and again a straight talker. I think he is trying to appeal to all of those groups.”

• “It is truth telling because those entitlement programs have to be reformed eventually but it is like turning the aircraft carrier. It has to happen slowly. In other words, in order for them to work long term. He is doing it bluntly.”
The Bergen Record: “Governor Christie officially launched his long-awaited campaign for the White House on Tuesday, embracing his image, cultivated over years, as a fearless dispenser of truths who can turn around a dysfunctional, broken government and return America to greatness.” (Melissa Hayes, “Christie kicks off presidential bid saying he's ready to 'restore America'’” The Record, 6/30/15)

US News’ David Catanese: “This was an impressive performance by Chris Christie knowing what goes into these speeches. Every word is litigated. The advisors know that this is the moment for their candidate to shine, to introduce themselves to most of the country.” (Fox News, “Happening Now,” 6/30/15)

• “And look, he did this without notes, without a prompter and roamed around a stage and hit all his points pretty flawlessly, so I give him pretty high marks on the performance aspect of his announcement.”
Larry Sabato, University of Virginia: "(Christie) basically said: 'You think you know me, but you don't. I am throwing away notes and teleprompters. You are going to see the unvarnished me. And either you like it or not.” (Brent Johnson, “How Christie's speech set him apart from 2016 rivals,” Star-Ledger, 6/30/15)

• “‘He was much better than most of the other candidates,’ he added. ‘Because it was real.’”
The Daily Caller: “The announcement resembled a town hall, with Christie roaming the stage with a microphone and his family standing behind him.” (Alex Pappas, “Vowing To Fix D.C. Dysfunction, Chris Christie Becomes 14th Republican To Enter Race,” Daily Caller, 6/30/15)

• “During his speech, Christie called for reforming entitlements, growing the economy at 4 percent or greater and a foreign policy that projects strength across the world.”

CNN’s John Berman: “They like the idea of Chris Christie being out there and being a fighter, and what we just saw wasn't subtle. I mean he was saying he's going to fix entitlements even if he has to do it by force. He said he's ready to fight. These are the words he's using whenever he can.” (CNN, “At This Hour with Berman and Bolduan,” 6/30/15)

Fox News Contributor Larry O’Connor: “I love the comparison of Chris Christie and Hillary Clinton. I mean, she is pre-programmed, robotic. Everything is market tested before she says it.” (Fox News, “The Real Story with Gretchen Carlson,” 6/30/15)

Bloomberg’s John Heilemann: “A pretty good announcement speech. Very impressive. No prepared text. No teleprompter. Just a couple of note cards sitting on a podium that he glanced at occasionally. He had his family up there on stage with him. It was a loose, compelling, energetic performance.” (Bloomberg, “Bloomberg Markets,” 6/30/15)

• “[T]he other thing I’ll give him credit for is that right now, he’s the most substantive candidate in the Republican field … None of the other candidates have done one big policy speech. He’s done four or five.”

Wall Street Journal’s Daniel Henninger: “And if you talk to him, when he has come in to talk to us at the Wall Street Journal, it’s very amusing, he’s fun, the big personality. But he has facts at his fingertips. He really does marshal his arguments. And I think when he gets out there into New Hampshire and meets with people one-on-one his numbers are going to rise.” (Fox Business Network, “After the Bell,” 6/30/15)

Mashable: “Ahead of the event, 20-year-old supporter Victoria Vesce told Mashable she thinks Christie's straightforward approach ‘shows his character and honesty.’ ‘He is incredibly personable, he is easy to understand and is not using terms we don't get,’ said the first-time voter, who attended Tuesday's event with her family.’” (Megan Specia, “Jersey boy Chris Christie becomes GOP candidate No. 14,” Mashable, 6/30/15)

The Blaze’s Jonathon M. Seidl: “#Christie rocking old school black, adjustable podium. No prompter. Common man.” (Twitter, @jonseidl, 6/30/15)

Los Angeles Times’ Kurtis Lee: “Christie, highlighting blunt style he'll showcase on trail, notes: 'I mean what I say and I say what I mean and that’s what America needs.'” (Twitter, @kurtisalee, 6/30/15)

National Journal: “Christie presented himself as a Washington outsider, saying that both parties have ‘failed’ there.” (Shane Goldmacher, “Chris Christie Is Running For President. But Is He Too Late?,” National Journal, 6/30/15)

• "‘It doesn't even pretend to work. We have a president in the Oval Office who ignores the Congress and a Congress that ignores the president.’ That's where Christie comes in.”

• “Quick-witted and with an uncanny ability to connect with small audiences …”