New Jersey Governor Chris Christie recently returned from a business trip in Mexico, having met with many members of the Mexican government as well as CEOs and founders of several Mexican businesses. According to Christie, he is very impressed with recent achievements led by Mexican President Peña Nieto, and wants to deepen the economic relationship between the USA and Mexico. Additionally, he is looking to further New Jersey's business market and hopes to attract prospect businesses to open and invest in the state of New Jersey.
However, it seems more and more that this excursion is a set up for Christie to demonstrate his diplomacy skills, especially since he is potentially planning to run for the Republican party candidate for President. He jampacked his trip with many meetings in idealistic settings, supposedly trying to wade into the field of international politics in order to face off with his potential rival, Hillary Clinton.
Although I understand that publicity is always central to a politician's life, I still think Christie's trip might have been a little too... staged. According to New York Times, Christie met with a room of "2,00 cheering children, many of them waving the New Jersey flag – a crowd that would rival anything he might draw in Iowa." Perhaps that's a little over exaggerated, Christie, especially since the lunchroom where Christie ate that afternoon had more than a dozen patrons inside, and none of them recognized him.
Would you consider this trip to be a good strategy for a potential upcoming Presidential candidate? Do you have qualms about the way Christie set himself up, or is politics really an anything is fair game kind of world? Especially considering the fact that Christie did not focus on some of the more pressing issues of the American-Mexican relationship, was his trip really a valuable asset to deepening our relations?
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3 comments:
I think that Christie could have done something more productive with his time. New Jersey is not anywhere close to being a border state so I am confused as to why he is meeting with the Mexican government. I agree that this seems like a bid to build up foreign policy cred to use in the 2016 election. However, one trip to Mexico is not going to come even close to Hillary's experience. I think it would be better for Christie if he focused on improving his state instead of focusing on his possible future.
I agree with Cleo's point that Christie's trip to Mexico was not only staged for the upcoming election, but that it was also quite illogical. Going out of the country to render support for his possible American presidential election does not seem like a good use of his time. From that NY times article, it also points out that his aids had specific orders on how other diplomats should greet Christie and where they should sit so that Christie had the best lighting for the cameras. All of these attempts to look good for the press and help his image are blatantly obvious in regards to what his intentions for the trip were. It also overshadows the real diplomatic issues or partnerships he was working on, which would have probably been better press for the image he is trying to create.
Cleo-
I definitely agree with your statement: claiming to be meeting with Mexico for the benefit of New Jersey seems a little farfetched, especially considering that New Jersey is in the Northeast of the USA. Also, not only do I agree with the fact that a single trip could not possibly rival Clinton's experience as Secretary of State, but I'd also like to point out that Christie was even unwilling to discuss immigration! I think he definitely needs to work on his strategy.
Netta-
Unfortunately, it does seem quite superficial how the meetings were set up. Would you say that this is a norm for politicians though? I know that one could claim many politicians do things simply for "press image," so Christie might not be too out of norm.
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