Chris Christie loves the limelight of being Trump’s loudest critic in the Republican primary. That’s why he recently got upset when asked if he’d drop out of the primary and back candidates who can actually beat Trump in the primary, UN Ambassador Nikki Haley.
When questioned about his plans to participate in the race until the New Hampshire primary, Christie adamantly stated that he anticipates staying in the primary until the convention.
The Hill writes:
“This idea of people just doing math and adding up numbers, that’s not the way voters vote,” Christie said in an interview Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “And, so, I would say to everybody out there: Let’s let the campaign move forward.”
“I think Governor Haley and I both have the same goal, and that is to be president of the United States. And I think we’re showing great momentum in New Hampshire. We have been gaining over the last couple of weeks. I think we’re going to continue to gain in that — in that fight,” he said. “And I think we’re going to do very, very well in New Hampshire on January 23.”
Christie and Haley have emerged as two candidates with overlapping platforms — both are staunch supporters of Ukraine and Israel, and both are seen as more serious candidates with governing experience. While Christie has been more critical of former President Trump — the distant GOP front-runner in the race — Haley’s platform is more similar to his than to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s platform, which embraces a more expansionist view of executive power.
“This race has consolidated very nicely. You really now, in my view, have four major contenders for the nomination: Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, me and Nikki Haley. And the fact is that we’re the major contenders for the nomination. And everyone else who’s still hanging around the fringe of the race is not a serious contender,” he said.
It’s becoming clear that while Christie doesn’t want to hear it, he’s clearly taking votes from Haley in New Hampshire.
The good news for Haley in the new CNN NH poll: She's up to 20%, in 2nd, and with Christie sitting at 14% there's at least potential for consolidation that could move her into contention.
The bad news: The overall dynamics are reminiscent of W/McCain '00https://t.co/AHYucgmV02
— Steve Kornacki (@SteveKornacki) November 16, 2023
Then again, anyone really paying attention knows that winning the nomination is probably not what Christie wants anyway.
This is the kind of thing you say when you’re running not to win the GOP presidential nomination but to secure a gig as a cable news Republican. https://t.co/FGaEgVyLLd
— Varad Mehta (@varadmehta) November 27, 2023
[Read More: DeSantis Has Message For Voters Regarding Trump]
