Unfortunately, no one was surprised as Chris Christie, former New Jersey governor, dropped out of the 2024 presidential race just days before the Iowa caucus.
On Wednesday, Christie tells a few dozen supporters, who assembled at a chapel in Windham, New Hampshire, that he is conceding.
The former governor said, “I would rather lose by telling the truth than lie in order to win.”
“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.”
However, Christie seemed to not back down in criticizing Trump. He said, “No one will tell the truth about Donald Trump.”
“No one will tell the truth about his divisiveness, his stoking of anger for his own benefit.”
His decision comes after he repeatedly claimed that he is “not going anywhere”, denying rumors that he intends to resign from the race.
Before announcing his “painful” exit, Christie slammed New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu’s statement that his campaign was considering shutting down on CNN.
“It pains me to say this, but Gov. Sununu is a liar,” says Christie.
Christie had long been attempting to make it even in Republican primaries but repeatedly failed.
He announced his second attempt at the presidential contest last June. He previously tried to run in 2016 but failed to gather enough support to make it through the race.
Just as with any other GOP politician, Christie has tried to fight off Trump. He was one of Trump’s fiercest critics during the 2016 presidential election, but eventually dropped out and endorsed the Republican leading nominee. He briefly led Trump’s transition team but was fired for his involvement in the Bridgegate scandal and how he flooded his team with lobbyists, the very same people that Trump campaigned against.
As the 2024 presidential race began, Christie tried again to trim his image as the “only one who could beat Trump.”
His recent campaign ad slammed Haley and DeSantis for giving Trump a free pass and attacked each other instead. He also tried to win disillusioned voters who previously believed in Trump.
He also blamed Trump for the GOP’s past election failures.
However, many Republicans also lacked confidence in Christie. In an article by the New York Times, Republican donors, strategists, and pundits publicly pressured him to follow the lead of Tim Scott and Mike Pence and formally end his campaign.
