Former Governor of New Jersey Chris Christie is set to drop out of the Republican primary election for the 2024 presidential nomination, according to a source familiar with the matter. His resignation comes just days before the Iowa caucus, the first vote of the ’24 election season.
Christie had already failed to qualify for the next Republican debate, which is set to be hosted by CNN. Only Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis will be debating. Ramaswamy did not qualify either, and will be holding a live town hall with podcaster Tim Pool instead. Trump will be skipping the debate and holding a separate event, as he has done with every debate so far this election cycle.
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Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk aptly predicted that Christie’s forfeiture is likely intended to make room for Nikki Haley. Christie came to the defense of Haley numerous times during the last Republican debate, and the two have taken a hardline stance against the “America First” populism of both Donald Trump and Vivek Ramaswamy.
BREAKING: Chris Christie to drop out of the GOP primary. Likely a move to consolidate support around Nikki Haley in New Hampshire. https://t.co/JVsj4CS9Dd
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) January 10, 2024
According to a source spoken to by Reuters, however, Christie did not share his plans to drop out with Haley.
A hot mic clip of Christie also surfaced ahead of his presumed announcement speech on Wednesday evening. Christie is heard complaining that his anti-Trump message can’t connect with GOP voters (“they don’t wanna hear it”) and that Nikki Haley is going to “get smoked” in the primary. If he was planning to endorse Haley in his resignation speech, that is probably now jeopardized.
“She spent $16M so far… $59M by DeSantis, and we spent 12. I mean, who’s punching above their weight and who’s getting a return on their investment? … She’s going to get smoked, you and I know it, she’s not up to this.” He also said DeSantis had called him recently, whom he described as “petrified.”
Chris Christie is caught on a hot mic ahead of his expected announcement that he's dropping out of the presidential race:
He says Nikki Haley is "gonna get smoked" and a "petrified" Ron DeSantis called him. pic.twitter.com/fGOFEtVDHn
— The Recount (@therecount) January 10, 2024
Shane Devine is a writer covering politics, economics, and culture for Valuetainment. Follow Shane on X (Twitter).
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