Chris Christie on Wednesday appealed to Republican primary voters not to support former President Trump after the former New Jersey governor withdrew from the race.
Christie announced Wednesday at a campaign event in New Hampshire that he was suspending his presidential campaign, saying he saw no viable path to winning the Republican nomination. At the time of his announcement, he told voters that they should not vote for the former president because he would be choosing him over the American people.
“Donald Trump wants you to be angry every day, because he is angry,” Christie said at an event in New Hampshire. “He wants you to be angry so that you empathize with his anger and vote for him. Understand this: I have known him well for 22 years, and this I know him better than anyone else in the race.”
He continued, “And I can promise you this, when you put him back behind the desk in the Oval Office, a choice will be made and he will make a decision as to whether he will prioritize himself or you.” How much more evidence does he need? He will choose for himself. ”
Mr. Christie has been the most outspoken critic of Mr. Trump among the Republican primary candidates. His withdrawal from the race was a surprise move, as he had previously said he would withdraw from the race if he did not perform well in the New Hampshire primary later this month, although he has long been a distant candidate for the White House.
Trump remains the front-runner in the Republican primary. Two of the opponents, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, are scheduled to appear at a CNN debate in Iowa on Wednesday night. Although Trump is eligible to participate in the debate, he will not attend and will instead host his own town hall event on Fox News.
After Mr. Christie suspended his campaign, Mr. Trump wrote in a social media post: “I might fall in love with Mr. Christie again.” He also commented on Christie's hot mic incident, in which the former governor was heard saying Haley was “going up for smoke.”
“I heard today that Chris Christie is withdrawing from the race. You might fall in love with him again!” Anyway, he was caught on a hot mic saying something very true. “She's going to get smoked… You and I both know that, she's not going to do that,” Trump said.
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