Haley claims people are ‘scratching their heads’ over Christie candidacy

by Nick Robertson - 01/06/24 7:48 AM ET

Republican presidential candidates, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, left, talking with former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, right, during a commercial break at a Republican presidential primary debate hosted by NewsNation on Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023, at the Moody Music Hall at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley went after fellow GOP candidate and former Gov. Chris Christie (R-N.J.) Friday, claiming his campaign could be helping former President Trump get reelected.

Christie has struggled to pick up momentum as he focuses campaign efforts in New Hampshire. Multiple GOP operatives, including Haley allies, have called on him to leave the race and back Haley.

“He’s not playing in Iowa. He’s not playing in South Carolina,” Haley said in an interview with the Des Moines Register. “If he wants to defeat Trump, I think he can see exactly how you do that. But that’s for him to see, and that’s for him to decide. I’m not going to tell anybody to get out of the race. I’m just going to run my own.”

Christie has positioned himself as the loudest Trump critic in the race, campaigning on the promise that only he could stop Trump from returning to office for a second term.

Haley said that the efforts are only confusing voters, and could actually assist Trump by taking votes away from other Trump challengers.

“I think it’s left everybody scratching their heads, saying, ‘You know, you say you want to defeat Trump, yet you might be the one person that helps him win?’” she said.

Christie previously attacked Haley and other GOP rivals over their reluctance to aggressively criticize Trump, recently claiming that Haley is only in the race to be Trump’s vice president.

In New Hampshire, where Christie has focused his campaign, he has about 11 percent support, according to The Hill/Decision Desk HQ average of polls. Trump leads Haley in the Granite State by nearly 12 percent, with 41.6 percent of voter support and 29.7 percent, respectively.

“Anybody thinks I’m getting out of this race, they’re crazy,” Christie said in an MSNBC interview this week. “I’m gonna continue to fight this as the only person who’s taking him on directly, and [Nikki Haley] can play for his vice presidential nomination.”

Nationally, Christie has just 3 percent support in the primary, according to The Hill/DDHQ average.

Tags 2024 GOP primary Chris Christie Donald Trump New Hampshire New Hampshire primary Nikki Haley