Chris Christie was caught on a hot mic Wednesday telling a former New Hampshire Republican Party chair that Nikki Haley is "gonna get smoked" in the GOP primary, before he announced that he was suspending his 2024 presidential campaign.
"And you and I both know it. She's not up to this."
The Daily Beast reported that Christie was speaking to Wayne MacDonald.
A person familiar with Christie's reasoning for leaving the race said it was partially because he "had no interest in allowing Haley or others to use him as a scapegoat."
Haley in a statement after Christie's announcement said the lawmaker "has been a friend for many years."
"I commend him on a hard-fought campaign."
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis ran with the unscripted moment. In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, DeSantis said, "I agree with Christie that Nikki Haley is 'going to get smoked.'"
On his Truth Social account, former President Donald Trump wrote, "I hear Chris Christie is dropping out of the race today — I might even get to like him again! Anyway, he was just caught on a hot mic making a very truthful statement."
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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