NEW YORK: Former New Jersey governor Chris Christie, a vocal critic of former president Donald Trump, officially withdrew from the 2024 US presidential race on Wednesday, reported Xinhua.
During an event in New Hampshire, Christie announced his decision and reiterated his opposition to Trump’s campaign in the presence of an audience of less than 100.
“I am going to make sure that in no way I will enable Donald Trump ever to be president of the United States again,” Christie said.
Christie’s exit is seen as a potential boost to other Republican candidates. Political analysts suggest that former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley could benefit, as she gains ground against Trump in New Hampshire polls. A recent poll indicated that without Christie in the race, Trump would lead Haley by a margin of 32 to 47 per cent, according to US media.
However, Christie did not endorse any candidate upon his withdrawal. He was overheard on a hot mic stating that Haley is “going to get smoked” at the New Hampshire gathering Wednesday.
Christie also directly criticised Haley during his speech for failing to acknowledge slavery as a cause of the Civil War, an incident that sparked a huge backlash against her recently.
Despite this, Haley expressed admiration for Christie, sharing on X, formerly Twitter, “Chris Christie has been a friend for many years. I commend him on a hard-fought campaign.”
Christie had consistently maintained that he intended to remain in the race at least until the New Hampshire primary on Jan 23. He seemed poised to surpass his 2016 performance, where he finished in sixth place with only seven per cent of the vote.
Supporters of Haley, such as New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu and other Republicans opposed to Trump, had been encouraging Christie to withdraw from the race, so that his supporters would back Haley and boost her odds against Trump.
This shift could transform the Republican nomination race into a two-candidate contest between Haley, viewed as the party’s most moderate candidate, and Trump, currently holding a wide lead for the nomination, US media said.
The New Hampshire poll, where Christie was polling at 12 per cent, indicated that approximately two-thirds of his supporters would choose Haley as their alternative preference. – BERNAMA-XINHUA
