Former Republican New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie claimed to be the only candidate who could potentially beat former President Donald Trump in the 2024 Republican primary.
Christie gave a speech March 27 at Saint Anselm College in Goffstown, New Hampshire. He reminded the crowd of a time in the 2016 primaries when he left Republican Florida Sen. Marco Rubio seemingly frazzled, accusing him of being an inexperienced politician and resorting to a “memorized 25-second speech,” the New York Post reported at the time.
“You better have somebody on that stage who can do to [Trump] what I did to Marco, because that’s the only thing that’s gonna defeat Donald Trump,” Christie said at Saint Anselm, according to CBS News.
Christie tells NH crowd he is only one who can topple Trump https://t.co/X0QKLWjPlT pic.twitter.com/zHRWGxv5Vj
— New York Post (@nypost) March 28, 2023
Christie, who has yet to officially declare his intentions for 2024, dropped out of the 2016 race shortly after coming in last place in the New Hampshire primary.
He maintained during his Monday speech that he would be the only declared and potential hopeful “fearless” enough to call Trump out.
Christie argued “you have to be fearless, because [Trump] will come back and right at you,” the NY Post reported.
“Because it’s not going to end nicely, no matter what,” Christie continued, speaking about a hypothetical matchup against Trump. “His end will not be a calm and quiet conclusion.” (RELATED: ‘Trying to Console Himself’ At Roy Rogers: Trump Mocks Chris Christie’s Weight)
Christie, who advised Trump and later served on his White House transition team in 2016, was critical of the former president and blamed him for a slew of Republican losses in 2018, 2020 and 2022. Accusing Trump of “extreme divisiveness,” Christie argued it was “naive” to think the former president would get support in 2024, particularly from suburban women, who have allegedly “had enough” of Trump’s antics.
Christie was also critical of Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is widely expected to announce a 2024 bid. He accused the Florida governor of “downplaying” Russia’s invasion into Ukraine, according to The New York Times (NYT).
Christie told Fox News Digital on Sunday he will make an announcement regarding his decision to run within the next 60 days.