Chris Christie, who dropped out of the GOP primary on Wednesday evening, was caught on a hot mic mocking “petrified” Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and former Gov. Nikki Haley about their slim chances of defeating former President Donald Trump.
The incident may accidentally kneecap DeSantis and Haley as Christie exits the race. In the last few days, pressure mounted on Christie to drop out to coalesce support behind Haley.
“We know we’re right, but they don’t want to hear it,” Christie said speaking to a man identified as “Wayne.” “They don’t want to hear it. We know we’re right, but they don’t want to hear it.”
“We couldn’t have been any clearer. We couldn’t have [been] any more direct or worked any harder,” Christie reflected on his failed campaign.
Christie then pointed towards campaign spending to demonstrate how comparatively well his campaign performed over DeSantis’s and Haley’s.
“She has spent $68 million so far, just on TV,” Christie said, “$59 million by DeSantis, and we spend $12 [million]. I mean, who’s punching above their weight and who’s getting a return on their investment?”
“She’s gonna get smoked,” Christie added. “And you and I both know, and she’s not up to this.”
“She’s still 20 points behind Trump in New Hampshire, right?” Wayne asked Christie.
“Yeah. Oh, yeah,” Christie replied.
“And he’s gonna still gonna carry on,” Wayne asked.
“Oh, yes,” Christie responded.
“I talked to DeSantis – called me — petrified that I would —” Christie said before the mic turned off.
DeSantis previously called Christie to say that regardless of his decision to stay or drop out of the race, he appreciated Christie’s role in it. Christie was one of Trump’s strongest critics throughout the primary, a source confirmed to NBC News.
Christie also criticized Haley on their call, “calling her a joke, saying she’s performed terribly and she’s not up to the task,” the source told NBC News.
Chris Christie is caught on a hot mic ahead of his expected announcement that he's dropping out of the presidential race:
He says Nikki Haley is "gonna get smoked" and a "petrified" Ron DeSantis called him. pic.twitter.com/fGOFEtVDHn
— The Recount (@therecount) January 10, 2024
Wendell Husebo is a political reporter with Breitbart News and a former GOP War Room Analyst. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality. Follow Wendell on “X” @WendellHusebø or on Truth Social @WendellHusebo.
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