Despite being a vocal ally of former President Donald Trump in 2016, one-time New Jersey Republican Gov. Chris Christie has since become one of his most ardent critics.

In what detractors will no doubt regard as a further betrayal, Christie appears ready to challenge Trump for the GOP nomination. 

Official campaign announcement expected to come next week

That's according to Axios contributor Mike Allen, who wrote in an article that the former New Jersey governor plans to kick off his campaign this coming Tuesday during a town hall event at Saint Anselm College.

Allen cited information provided by Christie's campaign team as saying the candidate plans to be "joyful" and "authentic" as "a happy warrior who speaks his mind" and appeals to America's "exhausted majority."

However, that ostensibly upbeat tone did not prevent Christie from damning Trump as a "coward" and a "puppet of Putin" during an interview with radio host Hugh Hewitt.

Allen also quoted an unnamed adviser as saying that Christie plans to run "a non-traditional campaign that is highly focused on earned media, mixing it up in the news cycle and engaging Trump."

Never Trump Twitter account suggests Christie will be a "kamikaze"

Moreover, the former governor's campaign will aim at being "nimble" rather than focusing on any particular geographic region. Still, Allen acknowledged that Christie has "a narrow market in today's GOP."

One Never Trump Twitter account suggested that rather than harboring hopes of winning the White House, Christie is actually seeking to "kamikaze" the former president.

From what I’ve read, Chris Christie knows full well he’s got no chance and is only doing this to kamikaze Trump at the debates. I’m fine with this. If he succeeds, all is forgiven. https://t.co/I8H2WV9c1J

— Country Club Conservative (@alt_ccc) May 31, 2023

It's not clear how realistic such an ambition would be given that a Fox News poll published this week found Christie is supported by just 1% of Republican primary voters.

The former governor has the worst favorability rating among GOP voters

What's more, a recent Monmouth University poll found that only 21% of GOP voters see Christie in a favorable light compared with 47% who regard him unfavorably.

Meanwhile, the same survey showed Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as having 77% and 73% favorability ratings, respectively.

Monmouth noted that Christie "is the only contender of the ten tested in this poll who gets a net negative score from the Republican electorate."

Further, the numbers for Christie and Trump are moving in opposite directions. Whereas Christie's favorability rating has dropped two points since March, the former president's has gone up by six.