What to watch for during Chris Christie’s CNN town hall

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie barged into the Republican presidential primary last week with a scathing rebuke of front-runner and former President Donald Trump.

Now, less than a week after formally entering the race and on the eve of Trump’s court appearance in South Florida on an indictment over his alleged mishandling of classified documents, Christie, at a CNN town hall Monday night, will have another opportunity in front of a national audience to make the political case against Trump – and for himself.

In New Hampshire last week, Christie said he did not view those two efforts to be in conflict. Instead, he argued, they should be viewed as natural complements.

“The reason I’m going after Trump is twofold,” Christie explained to a friendly crowd. “One, he deserves it. And two, it’s the way to win.”

Christie also used that forum to jab his primary rivals over their reluctance to directly engage with the former president, pointing to an event hosted by Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst days before in Des Moines.

“Not one of (the primary candidates there) mentioned his name. They would say cute little things like ‘new generational leadership’ or ‘we need a leader who looks forward, not backwards,’” Christie said, mocking the catchphrases used by other Republican candidates determined to go around, not through, Trump on the campaign trail.

All told, it was a dramatic first step onto the campaign stage. The question now: Where does he go from there?

Here are four things to watch at the town hall with Christie on Monday:

Christie’s first volley against the former president last week at his campaign kickoff provided the most comprehensive case against Trump’s bid for a second White House term of any of the 2024 GOP candidates.

He won’t exactly be hard-up for new…