The anti-Trump attack dog is out of the race.
Bloomberg (“Chris Christie to Exit 2024 Race Days Before Iowa Republican Caucus“):
Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie said he is ending his long-shot 2024 campaign centered on denying onetime ally Donald Trump the Republican presidential nomination.
“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,” Christie said at a town hall in New Hampshire on Wednesday.
Before his event, Christie was caught on a hot mic disparaging other GOP candidates who will be courting his supporters. His statements threatened to undermine any effort to shift his support behind one of the other challengers to Trump’s frontrunner campaign.
Christie criticized former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, saying “she’s going to get smoked” in the primary race and noting the amount of money she had poured into the race. “She’s not up to this,” Christie said.
He added that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis called him, sounding “petrified” shortly before the feed was cut.
Christie’s exit still potentially boosts the candidacies of Haley and DeSantis who have emerged as the main alternatives to frontrunner Trump. The pair, scheduled to square off in a debate on CNN later Wednesday evening, have focused their attacks on each other as they duel for the runner-up mantle — or even an upset — in Iowa.
