Mangu-Ward Christie’s vision of America seems to be one where Donald Trump is not president. For some, perhaps that is inspiring enough.

McCarthy His vision for America is New Jersey, and most Republicans, at least, find that unsettling.

Imagine you’re a G.O.P. operative or campaign manager. What’s your elevator pitch for a Christie candidacy?

Bruni By the Iowa caucuses, Trump could be under multiple indictments and in such a flamboyant mental tailspin that Republicans must listen seriously to his rivals. Are they really going to prefer DeSantis’s whine to Christie’s roar?

Coaston New Jersey normalcy.

Cottle Takes a bully to smack a bully.

Douthat Don’t want Trump? The rules are clear: Only a tristate-area Republican can defeat another tristate-area Republican.

French No one is more dangerous than a man with nothing to lose.

Hemmer You want a straight-talking, no-holds-barred candidate who will pummel your enemies but stop short of fomenting an insurrection? Christie’s your guy.

Mangu-Ward Spicy words, bland policies.

McCarthy Wouldn’t it be fun to see him debate Joe Biden?

Ross Douthat and David French are Times columnists.

Frank Bruni is a professor of journalism and public policy at Duke University, the author of the book “The Beauty of Dusk” and a contributing Opinion writer.

Michelle Cottle (@mcottle) is a member of the Times’s editorial board.

Jane Coaston is a Times Opinion writer.

Nicole Hemmer (@pastpunditry) is an associate professor of history and director of the Rogers Center for the American Presidency at Vanderbilt University and the author of “Partisans: The Conservative Revolutionaries Who Remade American Politics in the 1990s” and “Messengers of the Right: Conservative Media and the Transformation of American Politics.”

Katherine Mangu-Ward (@kmanguward) is the editor in chief of Reason magazine.

Daniel McCarthy is the editor of “Modern Age: A Conservative Review.”