Chris Christie to appear at CNN town hall

Former New Jersey Republican Gov. Chris Christie will participate in a CNN town hall event on Monday, June 12, the network confirmed after he formally announced his bid for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024.

Longtime network personality Anderson Cooper will moderate the New York event, which will feature a live audience of Republicans from early primary states, as well as New Jersey and New York.

The New Jersey governor announced his candidacy on Tuesday in a town hall-style event, joining an increasingly crowded primary field that also includes former President Donald Trump, former Vice President Mike Pence, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, tech mogul Vivek Ramaswamy, and radio personality Larry Elder.

Christie last ran for president in 2016, but was unsuccessful.

The network has thus far hosted town hall events with Trump, Pence, and Haley. Trump's town hall event, in particular, drew considerable backlash from the network's viewer base and left-leaning on-air talent, who objected to providing Trump with a platform to discuss his positions at all.

Earlier this week, the network confirmed that CEO Chris Licht had been removed from his position. His departure followed intense internal outrage over the town hall event, but also a period of declining ratings under his leadership.

 Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on Twitter.