Christie ends presidential campaign, says Nikki Haley is 'gonna get smoked'

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie ended his 2024 presidential campaign on Wednesday, having drawn much attention as the Republican primary's main Donald Trump critic but failing to gain widespread traction in the polls.

«I would rather lose by telling the truth than lie in order to win,» he said during a town hall event where he announced he was suspending his bid, which he called «the right thing for me to do.»

«Because I want to promise you this: I am going to make sure that in no way do I enable Donald Trump to ever be president of the United States again — and that's more important than my own personal ambition,» he said. «So we have to decide now, we have to decide in the next 10 months who we want to be as a country.»

Christie's exit is a notable twist in the closing days of campaigning before voting begins in the Republican primary starting with Iowa on Monday.

Ahead of his announcement at the town hall, the former governor was heard on a microphone — apparently without realizing it — that rival Nikki Haley was «gonna get smoked.» Christie also said that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, another 2024 candidate, had called him and was «petrified.»

«We couldn't have been any clearer. We couldn't have been any more — any more direct or worked any harder,» Christie was heard saying before his speech.

This was Christie's second campaign for the nation's highest office. He ran in 2016 before suspending his bid and endorsing Trump, who went on to win the White House later that year.

Christie led Trump's transition team and advised him while in office before eventually becoming one of Trump's most vocal detractors within the GOP.

He defined his 2024 primary campaign in large part around renouncing Trump, calling his past support of