Former President Donald Trump mocked former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie on Wednesday amid news that Christie was withdrawing from the Republican primary.
“I heard today that Chris Christie is dropping out of the race. You might like him again!” Trump said, mocking Christie.
“Anyway, he was caught saying something very true into the microphone: 'She's going to get smoked… You and I both know that, but she's not going to do that. ''' Trump added.
Indeed, Mr. Christie officially withdrew from the race on Wednesday, joining other candidates who left the race before a single vote was cast, including former Vice President Mike Pence and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott. Joined the. Christie is perhaps the most openly anti-Trump candidate other than former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, even attacking the former president as a dictator.
“The fact is that you go and you're a dictator, you're a bully, you shoot at everyone, regardless of whether you've contributed a lot to them over a long period of time, and you dare them to go against you. When you tell the truth about people, then you can understand why these three people can't say anything about it,” Christie said in a NewsNation debate.
Christie said Trump is “a dictator and a bully who attacks everyone who disagrees with him.” I can understand why these three would be hesitant to say anything about him. Just last week, he said he wants to use the Justice Department to go after his enemies. He is not fit to be president. ” pic.twitter.com/3zqb01iX01
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) December 7, 2023
RELATED — Christie: Second Trump administration likely to be staffed by 'deranged sycophants'
Christie, who President Trump has dubbed “sloppy Chris Christie” several times, predicted that former rival Nikki Haley would “go on smoke” and described Gov. Ron DeSantis as “a bad guy.” It's not like he left without drama because he was heard on the hot mic. “petrified”:
Chris Christie gets caught on the mic before announcing his expected withdrawal from the presidential race:
He said Nikki Haley was “smoked” and a “petrified” Ron DeSantis called him. pic.twitter.com/fGOFEtVDHn
— The Recount (@therecount) January 10, 2024
Recent polling in Iowa shows that Christie's absence from the race makes little difference to the presidential landscape, with Trump still in the Iowa caucuses. It leads its rivals with 54% support from likely participants. With Christie out, Haley scored two points and went from 20 percent to 22 percent. Despite this, Trump still holds a 32-point lead in the Hawkeye State.
