Chris Christie Exits GOP Presidential Race

0:00

/1861

1×

Facts

• Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie officially announced his decision to leave the 2024 Republican presidential race in a town hall event in New Hampshire on Wednesday, just five days before Iowa's GOP caucus.¹
• This comes as the 61-year-old, who launched his anti-Donald Trump long-shot campaign in June, had faced mounting pressure from Republicans and donors opposing the former president, including Christie's longtime friend and New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, to drop out so as to consolidate support behind Nikki Haley.²
• According to a nationwide Reuters/Ipsos poll completed on Tuesday, Christie was tied with non-candidate former Rep. Liz Cheney among Republican voters at only 2%. Despite low poll numbers, he had vowed not to exit the race in an interview with MSNBC last week.³
• On Wednesday, however, Christie acknowledged that his campaign failed to gain traction, arguing that suspending it was the 'right thing' to do as he seeks to prevent Trump from returning to the White House.⁴
• His departure is likely to boost the prospects of Haley in New Hampshire's Jan. 23 primary, where the former South Carolina governor has been trailing frontrunner Trump by roughly 13 points, as polls show that she is the second choice of those supporting Christie, who was in third at 12%.⁵
• Yet, while offstage before his event in Windham, N.H., Christie was caught on a hot mic apparently saying that Haley was 'going to get smoked' in the GOP presidential race. NBC News further reported, citing an anonymous source, that Christie also called Haley a 'joke' and claimed that she has 'performed terribly.'⁶

Sources: ¹One America, ²Washington Post, ³Washington Free Beacon, ⁴Daily Caller, ⁵USA Today and ⁶NBC.

Narratives

• Pro-Trump narrative, as provided by PJ Media. Christie never stood a chance to win the GOP presidential nomination, especially as his campaign was focused entirely on opposing Donald Trump, so his departure is indeed quite logical and expected. What's surprising about his decision is that he believes that his few supporters will help another alternative to Trump, though not even he can name a better option for the White House.
• Anti-Trump narrative, as provided by American Spectator. Back in 2016, Christie made the terrible mistake of endorsing the then-outsider Donald Trump for the Republican nomination. Now, he and others within the GOP have realized that if Trump ever returns to the White House, he may establish an authoritarian regime. Nikki Haley seems to be the only viable alternative to prevent that outcome — and winning New Hampshire is crucial to that effort.

Predictions