Chris Christie, former Republican New Jersey governor and Republican presidential candidate, made a surprise stop in Ukraine on Friday, meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“It was an honor to meet with President @ZelenskyyUa in Ukraine and see firsthand Ukrainians have displayed in their fight against Russia,” Christie posted on X.
“America has never moved forward by ignoring the rest of the world. We can’t start now,” he said.
It was an honor to meet with President @ZelenskyyUa in Ukraine and see firsthand the heroism Ukrainians have displayed in their fight against Russia.
America has never moved forward by ignoring the rest of the world. We can’t start now. https://t.co/3Diajbs4Lc
— Chris Christie (@GovChristie) August 4, 2023
Christie’s visit to Ukraine follows fellow GOP presidential contender Mike Pence’s visit there in June. Neither candidate has broken into double digits of support. In fact, Christie has garnered less than 1% support, according to a recent Ipsos/Reuters poll.
2024 National Republican Primary
Trump 47% (=)
DeSantis 13% (-6 from July 17)
Pence 8% (+1)
Ramaswamy 7% (-1)
Haley 5% (+2)
Scott 2%
Hutchinson 1%Ipsos/Reuters | n=355 | August 2-3https://t.co/z9OVzvZnvJ pic.twitter.com/EYFzdrLrGl
— InteractivePolls (@IAPolls2022) August 3, 2023
Christie visited a mass Ukrainian grave in Bucha, the scene of alleged Russian atrocities against Ukrainian civilians after Russian forces invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
Christie pledged his support for Zelensky and Ukraine after the visit.
“I really suspected that if I saw this in person that it would arm me to be a better advocate for support, I think, from the stuff I saw today just now, and the meeting with the president … I think I’m much better off,” Christie said after his meeting with Zelensky, according to the New York Post.
Christie’s visit comes as a new CNN poll showed that most Americans opposed additional funding for Ukraine.
"Most Americans oppose Congress authorizing additional funding to support Ukraine in its war with Russia, according to a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS, as the public splits over whether the US has already done enough to assist Ukraine."https://t.co/qMukvRgT8v
— Kristina Wong 🇺🇸 (@kristina_wong) August 4, 2023
Christie said Zelensky was “very complimentary” of President Joe Biden but said that he thought there was “more that needed to be done.”
Christie took a dig at Donald Trump, the leading Republican presidential contender, during an interview aboard a train with the Washington Post on his way from Poland to Kyiv.
Christie reportedly said he hoped Republican voters would consider which candidates would have the bandwidth to grapple “with the really complicated issues that the next president will have to deal with,” including Ukraine, “and who is going to be dealing with trying to keep themselves out of jail.”
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