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PORTSMOUTH, N.H. — Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey warned primary voters in New Hampshire that their ballots must be more than “an expression of anger,” and that picking Donald J. Trump as their candidate could hand the White House to Hillary Clinton.

At a town hall meeting in Portsmouth, N.H., Mr. Christie expressed disbelief at Mr. Trump’s comment Saturday that he could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan and lose no support in the 2016 campaign.

“It’s pretty amazing to say it, isn’t it?” Mr. Christie asked.

Briefly slipping into an impression of Mr. Trump — “We’re stupid,” he deadpanned in a throaty baritone — Mr. Christie said he empathized with voters who want to “burn Washington down.”

“But who’s going to rebuild it once it gets burned down?” Mr. Christie said. “That’s what you’ve got to think about.”

By nominating the wrong candidate, he continued, “We could wind up turning over the White House to Hillary Clinton for four more years.”

That prospect, he said, would be “like the eight years we’ve just had, except worse.”

His criticism comes as Mr. Trump has maintained a strong lead in New Hampshire polls. Mr. Trump has led the Republican field here by a wide margin, with his closest competitors bunched up far behind him in the low double digits.

Mr. Christie, who left the campaign trail briefly over the weekend to manage the government response to a snowstorm in New Jersey, repeatedly described himself Sunday as a steady executive tested by crisis, including this weekend’s blizzard and Hurricane Sandy in 2012.

Mr. Christie initially said he would not return home for the storm, drawing criticism from Democrats in his state, but as the forecast darkened on Friday he flew home to deal with heavy snowfall and flooding.

The governor, who has in large party staked the future of his campaign on New Hampshire, also stressed the importance of bipartisanship in government. The state has a sizable bloc of moderate Republicans, as well as

a large and unpredictable group of independent voters who are allowed to vote in Republican primaries.

Defending his opposition to funding Planned Parenthood, Mr. Christie criticized some Republicans for having been “extraordinarily divisive” on the issue of abortion. Should he be elected president, Mr. Christie said, he would reach out to Democrats in Congress to try and get big things done.

Even Nancy Pelosi, the House Democratic leader and a deeply unpopular figure on the right, would be invited on Air Force One, Mr. Christie pledged.

“She can steal the M&Ms,” Mr. Christie said.

