for a deeper look at Chris Christie's campaign launch and the presidential race as a whole I'm joined by Democratic strategist Dan Bryan and Republican strategist Chris Russell Dan Bryan Chris Russell good to have you both with me tonight Chris let me ask you first what is Chris Christie's Lane here we know that Trump is more than a durable candidate and Republicans back him even more now than they did in 2016. well there's a there's a lane that's an anti-trumpling and that's got to be the lane Christy takes there's no other lane for him to have right now Ron DeSantis is in that lane and I don't think there's room for two people in it so Chris Christie's Lane has got to be figuring out how can he supplant get around get through DeSantis to become Trump's foil because the Trump Lane is trumps and he's going to keep it so I think for Christy he's going to have to use his political skills which are very very vast and immeasurable he's a great politician and his communication skills and he's going to have to make noise and new news for himself to get into that lane and hopefully desensis for him falters I wonder though how much he can do that when it's unlikely he's going to get a ton of media coverage right and he's got this Super PAC but is he going to have the funds to keep up with the amount of attack ads really that he's going to need for a race like this I think one leads to the other right I think I would disagree that he's not going to get news I think his whole strategy has got to be about getting news he has no other path other than to make noise so I think you're going to see a really outside the box campaign by him I think he's going to say some stuff that is edgy and probably over the top because he needs to get attention and if he gets that attention then maybe the money comes in there's people in the party looking for an alternative to Trump Christy realizes that he realizes to become that to get the money and the only way it does that is to make a lot of noise rights out of the box so he maybe plays to some of the more moderate Republicans but is that in your face style which you know well Dan just from his time in state politics going to be enough to Galvanize you know a and really the the base he's going to need to turn out to go up against someone like a DeSantis or a trump yeah listen I think the style isn't going to be this issue right this issue is going to be Donald Trump Donald Trump is as we sit here right now running away with this nomination so the only path that he has is through Donald Trump now if that's of Chris Christie's making another making or something else and Donald Trump doesn't run then I think he may have a path as we sit here right now Donald Trump is the Republican nominee and it's not even close um I agree with Chris I think that Chris Christie is incredible um uh candidate an incredible messenger he's he's going to get a lot of media the media loves him um but as of right now I don't see with Donald Trump in the race I don't see a path does he add that sort of breath of fresh air my words Chris not yours but basically what you were alluding to um in a race where that oxygen is being sucked up listen I think he clearly presents a different alternative for the Republican party than what they have out there right now with uh you know Ron DeSantis Nikki Haley and Donald Trump he's not talking about wokism he's not he's talking less about the cultural issues and more about how how he delivered as a governor and he's got a fantastic team around him I will say that as well but again you've got one guy in the race the end of race right now that has about five or six people that have declared that it's pulling at about 50 60 percent until that guy goes away I don't see it Elaine does he Chris Christie really want to win and be president or does he just want to take down Trump listen I can't imagine you get into this and not want to win at some level right he's got to want to win he's a competitor he's a successful Governor he got elected here twice there's no doubt he wants to win does he think he can win today I always tell candidates if you can't get out of bed in the morning and think you can win why put yourself through this your family through this so I think he's realistic that there's a narrow path but I would doubt that he wakes up the morning looks out in the mirror and says Ah you can't win this and keeps going yeah nobody throws their hat in a ring like this if they don't think that they have a viable chance but uh okay let me let me switch gears though actually Dan respond to that because I can see it's on the tip of your tongue no sure listen I think that's exactly right and he's also done it before right so he has run a race before I think everyone thought he ran a respectable race the results weren't there for him but he's done it before he's been in the National Pro uh National profile now for a very long time so he knows the game I don't think he'd be getting in if he didn't see a path that said I do think it's a slim path he does know the game uh it's a good point another Jersey guy throwing his hat in the ring we just learned Princeton long time Princeton Professor Cornell West he's a very Progressive activist uh what are your thoughts there Chris on you know a third party candidate and what we know about that historically in a presidential race well I mean there there is no path for that in terms of winning but I think someone like Cornell West is in to get his ideas on the table in the discussion so I could see something like that opposite what I just said right he could be getting the race to want to make issues a piece of what the conversation is um whether he's able to punch through or not I know he's been around a long time obviously but I don't think there's any room in our politics nationally right now for a third party [Music] thank you