Chris Christie: New Jersey Governor To Deliver Keynote Speech At GOP Convention

Chris Christie may have opted against a run for president in 2012, but he still will take a front-stage role at the GOP convention in Tampa later this month.

The New Jersey governor has been selected to give the keynote speech at the convention, the Associated Press reported. Christie had flirted with a 2012 presidential bid before eventually putting an end to the speculation and saying he would not enter the race. He later endorsed Mitt Romney.

In New Jersey, Christie has gained a reputation for cutting the state’s budget and reining in public sector unions. His brash and sometimes combative style have earned him more attention on the national stage where he is seen as one of the rising stars of the Republican Party.

Though Republican officials have yet to officially announce Chris Christie as the convention’s keynote speaker, the engagement was confirmed by several high-ranking officials and Christie himself, USA Today reported. An official announcement is planned for later on Tuesday.

Chris Christie said the speech will address pressing issues in his typical blunt style.

“I’ll try to tell some very direct and hard truths to people in the country about the trouble that we’re in and the fact that fixing those problems is not going to be easy for any of them,” Christie told USA Today.

The situation in New Jersey, where nearly everything has been on the table for cuts in the name of deficit reduction, is proof that “the American people are ready to confront those problems head-on and endure some sacrifice,” Christie noted.

They keynote speech has been known to thrust politicians onto the national stage, and Chris Christie might be hoping to catch some of the magic from another former keynote speaker. In 2004, the Democrats’ keynote speaker was a little known Illinois state politician named Barack Obama.

Photo by Bob Jagendorf from Manalapan, NJ, USA (NJ Governor Chris Christie) [CC-BY-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons