'Haley Is Gonna Get Smoked' - Christie Caught On Hot Mic Before Quitting GOP Race
Chris Christie's withdrawal from the 2024 GOP presidential field surely brought smiles to rival Nikki Haley -- until a hot mic caught the former New Jersey governor scoffing at Haley's political prospects as he chatted backstage moments before officially announcing he was bailing out. "She's gonna get smoked," said Christie.
Christie's candor offered an amusingly blunt counterpoint to Big Media's relentless attempts to bolster the warmongering Haley as the establishment's last hope of eliminating Trump -- through standard means, anyhow.
According to Daily Beast, just before he took the stage at a Windham, New Hampshire venue, Christie was talking to former New Hampshire Republican Party chair and Christie-backer Wayne MacDonald. The audio of the two discussing the race with an unidentified woman was heard by anyone tuned into the event livestream:
“People don't wanna hear it, Wayne. We know we're right, but they don't wanna hear it. We couldn't have been any clearer, we couldn't have been any more direct or worked any harder... I mean, look, she's spent $68 million so far -- just on TV -- $59 million by DeSantis, and we've spent 12. I mean, who's punching above their weight, and who's getting a return on their investment? And she's gonna get smoked. And you and I both know it, she’s not up to this.”
As the two continue chatting, Christie goes on to say, "DeSantis called me, petrified that I would—." Unfortunately, the audio cuts off, leaving observers to speculate over what Ron DeSantis was purportedly scared of -- a Christie endorsement of Haley?
The audio of Chris Christie’s hot mic moment is clear and high quality.
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) January 10, 2024
Just disappointed that it ends where it does. pic.twitter.com/4RjodHvdmi
When primary candidates drop out, the remaining contenders always hope for an endorsement. In his farewell speech, Christie gave none, choosing instead to take shots at both DeSantis and Haley for being too deferential to Trump. “I would rather lose by telling the truth than lie in order to win,” he said. “And I feel no differently today because this is a fight for the soul of our party and the soul of our country.”
An anti-Trump attack dog for the establishment, Christie's kamikaze campaign against the popular former president never gained traction. As of this week, he was in last place at 3.5% in the RealClearPolitics average -- unless you count former Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson (0.5%), whom most people haven't heard of.
In his final campaign speech, Christie reiterated his condemnation of Trump, and vowed he wouldn't do anything to help him return to the Oval Office.
I promise you this: I will make sure that in no way do I enable Donald Trump to ever be President of the United States again. That’s more important than my own personal ambition. pic.twitter.com/f9epxUxRM0
— Chris Christie (@GovChristie) January 10, 2024
Meanwhile, Donald Trump and DeSantis jumped on the opportunity to amplify Christie's resounding non-endorsement of Haley...
I agree with Christie that Nikki Haley is “going to get smoked.”
— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) January 10, 2024