Chris Christie drops out of 2024 race, takes shots at Haley while ending Republican presidential campaign

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie on Wednesday suspended his campaign for president.

And as he made his announcement and in a hot mic moment prior to his speech, Christie took a couple of shots at rival Nikki Haley, saying she would get "smoked."

Christie, who was making his second bid for the White House, dropped out of the race at a town hall event in Windham, New Hampshire, saying "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 tonight for President of the United States."

Christie, a long-shot for the nomination in a race dominated by former President Donald Trump, in recent weeks had faced increased calls from fellow Republicans and from some voters to end his bid to give Haley a boost as she aims to close the gap with Trump.

Haley, a former two-term South Carolina governor who later served as ambassador to the United Nations in the Trump administration, has soared in recent months, becoming the main rival to the former president, who's making his third straight White House run.

CHRISTIE RAMPS UP ATTACKS ON HALEY AS SHE CLOSES THE GAP WITH TRUMP 

In ending his White House bid, Christie said "I know, and I can see from some of the faces here that I'm disappointing some people by doing this. People who believe in our message and believe in what we've been doing."

And the former governor, one of the most vocal Trump critics in the GOP, emphasized "I also know though, this is 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 ambitions."

That comment brought applause from the crowd listening.

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The two most recent public opinion polls among likely voters in New Hampshire's Republican presidential primary, which were released on Tuesday, both indicated Christie at 12% support, in third place, far behind Trump and Haley.

Christie told reporters last week that "I also know when I’m not doing well, and I dropped out after the New Hampshire primary eight years ago because I didn’t do as well as I thought I would. I have no interest in doing this if it doesn’t lead to success. So that’s the bottom line." 

Ahead of his announcement on Wednesday, Christie was heard on a microphone, apparently without knowing it, saying that Haley was "gonna get "smoked" by Trump, who is the commanding front-runner for the nomination as he makes his third straight White House run.

"She's not up for this," he added.

Christie also took two digs at Haley during his speech. 

He mentioned the Civil War, saying "which we know was caused by slavery."

Haley sparked controversy late last month when failing to mention slavery when answering a question about the causes of the Civil War. Both Christie and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, another top rival for the nomination, had repeatedly criticized Haley for her omission.

And he once again criticized Haley, who along with nearly all the other presidential candidates on the stage at the first GOP primary debate in August, raised their hands when asked if they'd support Trump as their party's nominee even if he was convicted in court. Christie and former Arkansas Gov. Gov. Asa Hutchinson were the only two candidates not to raise their hands.

Haley, taking to social media, wrote that "Chris Christie has been a friend for many years. I commend him on a hard-fought campaign. Voters have a clear choice in this election: the chaos and drama of the past or a new generation of conservative leadership. I will fight to earn every vote, so together we can build a strong and proud America."

Trump, pointing to Christie's comments about Haley getting "smoked," called them "a very truthful statement."

And DeSantis took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to write "I agree with Christie that Nikki Haley is "going to get smoked."

Christie, in his hot mic moment, said that DeSantis had called him and was "petrified."

A source in DeSantis' political orbit confirmed to Fox News that DeSantis called Christie to say that regardless of his decision he appreciated Christie's role in the race. The source said tht Christie then criticized Haley on the call.

Sources in Christie's orbit indicated to Fox News that the former governor would not be announcing an endorsement for anyone in the 2024 presidential race at this time. One of the sources speculated that Christie would wait until after the results of next Monday's Iowa caucuses — the first contest in the GOP presidential nominating calendar — before making any potential endorsement announcement.

Considered one of the best communicators in the GOP, Christie was once a strong Trump ally but became one of the former president's most vocal GOP critics.

Christie, who was first elected governor of deep-blue New Jersey in 2009 and overwhelmingly re-elected in 2013, first ran for president in the 2016 cycle.

He placed all his chips in New Hampshire, but his 2016 campaign crashed and burned after a disappointing and distant sixth-place finish in the state. He was far behind Trump, who crushed the competition in the primary, boosting him towards the nomination and eventually the White House. 

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Christie became the first among the other GOP 2016 contenders to endorse Trump, and for years was a top outside adviser to the then-president and chaired Trump’s high-profile commission on opioids. However, the two had a falling out after Trump’s unsuccessful attempts to overturn his 2020 election loss to President Biden. 

Christie publicly mulled a 2024 presidential run for over a year and a half before formally announcing his candidacy at an event in New Hampshire last June. Similar to his 2016 White House run, Christie once again placed most of his chips in the Granite State, where independent voters and moderates play an influential role in the state's storied presidential primary.

The former governor, known for the kind of in-your-face politics that Trump has also mastered, criticized his rivals for not being more aggressive in taking on Trump. And he argued that he was the only contender with the chops to potentially take down Trump on the debate stage. But the former president skipped out on the debates, depriving Christie of any face-to-face confrontation with Trump.

Christie becomes the latest Republican to drop out of the increasingly slimmed down field of GOP presidential contenders.

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum ended his bid early last month. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina dropped out in November. Former Vice President Mike Pence suspended his presidential campaign on Oct. 28, during his address to the Republican Jewish Coalition's annual leadership summit in Las Vegas, Nevada.  

Four lesser known candidates who all failed to qualify for the GOP presidential debates had already suspended their campaigns. There are former CIA spy and former Rep. Will Hurd of Texas, Mayor Francis Suarez of Miami, Florida, business leader and quality control expert Perry Johnson, and 2021 California gubernatorial recall election candidate and former conservative talk radio host Larry Elder.

Hutchinson, an extreme long-shot for the nomination, remains in the race.

New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, a longtime Christie friend and a fellow vocal Trump critic in the GOP who last month endorsed Haley, said in a statement that "Chris ran a hard-fought campaign and is coming to this decision at a critical time. Defeating Donald Trump requires a consolidated field and Nikki Haley has the momentum to do so."

Sununu has repeatedly said in recent weeks that Christie didn't have a realistic path to the nomination.

The Democratic National Committee took a shot at Christie as he departed the race.

"Chris Christie accepted what the rest of the world already knew: He is never going to be president of the United States," DNC national press secretary Sarafina Chitika said in a statement.

Fox News' James Levinson contributed to this report

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