The 2024 race is about to kickoff massively. But one Republican has thrown in the towel.
And a top Republican called off their campaign in a shocking turn of events.
Chris Christie, the former governor of New Jersey, called down his presidential campaign on Wednesday.
Christie also took a few digs at challenger Nikki Haley as he made his announcement and in a hot mic moment prior to his address, warning she would get “smoked.”
Christie, who was making his second bid for the White House, dropped out of the race at a town hall event in Windham, New Hampshire, saying “it’s clear to me tonight that there isn’t a path for me to win the nomination. Which is why I’m suspending my campaign tonight for President of the United States.”
Christie, a long-shot for the nomination in a campaign dominated by former President Donald Trump, has faced increasing pressure from fellow Republicans and some voters in recent weeks to abandon his bid in order to help Haley bridge the gap with Trump.
Haley, a former two-term South Carolina governor who later served as Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations, has risen in recent months to become the former president’s principal challenger in his third presidential bid.
In ending his White House bid, Christie said “I know, and I can see from some of the faces here that I’m disappointing some people by doing this. People who believe in our message and believe in what we’ve been doing.”
And the former governor, one of the most vocal Trump critics in the GOP, emphasized “I also know though, this is the right thing for me to do. Because I want to promise you this – I am going to make sure that in no way do I enable Donald Trump to ever be President of the United States again. And that’s more important than my own personal ambitions.”
The audience applauded when he made that remark.
Christie had 12% support in the most recent public opinion surveys among probable voters in New Hampshire’s Republican presidential primary, which were released on Tuesday, putting him in third place, significantly behind Trump and Haley.
Christie told reporters last week that “I also know when I’m not doing well, and I dropped out after the New Hampshire primary eight years ago because I didn’t do as well as I thought I would.”
“I have no interest in doing this if it doesn’t lead to success. So that’s the bottom line.”
Christie was overheard on a microphone, reportedly without realizing it, suggesting that Haley was “gonna get smoked” by Trump, who is the overwhelming favorite for the nomination as he seeks a third term in office.
“She’s not up for this,” he said.
Trump praised Christie’s remarks about Haley getting “smoked” as “a very truthful statement.”
And DeSantis took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to write “I agree with Christie that Nikki Haley is ‘going to get smoked.'”
Christie remarked on the hot mic that DeSantis had phoned him and that he was “petrified.”
A source in DeSantis’ political orbit verified to Fox News that DeSantis contacted Christie to express his appreciation for Christie’s efforts in the election regardless of his role in the race. According to the source, Christie then criticized Haley on the call.
Stay tuned to the DC Daily Journal.
