Chris Christie Drops Out Of 2024 Presidential Race
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) has announced the end of his 2024 presidential campaign.
Christie — who consistently polled at 3% or less in virtually every national poll in recent weeks — suspended his campaign after failing to gain enough support in New Hampshire, where he had “staked his entire operation,” according to The Daily Wire.
The establishment Republican candidate focused his campaign almost entirely on attacking former president and current GOP primary frontrunner Donald Trump, which gave him a lot of interview opportunities on left-leaning news networks like CNN and MSNBC, but did not elicit much support from the GOP voter base.
Christie made the announcement in a speech to a small group of supporters in Windham, New Hampshire — where he continued to attack Trump, vowing that he will spend his time trying to prevent a second Trump presidency.
“It’s clear to me tonight that there isn’t a path for me to win the nomination,” he said. “Which is why I’m suspending my campaign for president of the United States.”
“I want to promise you this,” Christie added. “I’m 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 ambition.”
He went on to attack his fellow Republicans who dare to support Trump, calling them “cowards” and specifically condemning Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) and Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN), both of whom recently endorsed the former president.
Christie was also caught on a hot mic before his announcement, where he was heard criticizing fellow GOP primary candidate Nikki Haley — declaring that the former South Carolina governor is “gonna get smoked. You and I both know it, she’s not up to this.”
He was also heard claiming that another presidential candidate, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), was “petrified” about the upcoming Iowa caucuses during a phone call.
Trump responded to Christie’s decision to drop out and his hot mic audio in a post on Truth Social.
“I hear Chris Christie is dropping out of the race today — I might even get to like him again!” he wrote. “Anyway, he was just caught on a hot mic making a very truthful statement: ‘She’s gonna get smoked… You and I both know it, she’s not up to this.’”
Christie is not expected to endorse any of his fellow candidates any time soon, especially as he has already vowed to break his agreement to support whichever candidate wins the GOP primary. The Republican National Committee (RNC) required all candidates to sign the “Beat Biden Pledge” before joining the debates. Christie signed it, but later bragged on MSNBC that he had no intention of following through on his promise.
The agreement stated: “I affirm that if I do not win the 2024 Republican nomination for President of the United States, I will honor the will of the primary voters and support the Republican presidential nominee in order to save our country and beat Joe Biden. I further pledge that I will not seek to run as an independent or write-in candidate, nor will I seek or accept the nomination for president of any other party.”