A battle for the Republican nomination for the presidential race in the 2024 election continues to heat up with more than 10 candidates fighting for the nomination.
After the first Republican debate primary, one candidate dropped out. In the meantime, former president and frontrunner Donald Trump is calling for another candidate to head for the exit.
What Happened: The first Republican primary debate saw eight candidates share ideas on their campaign and policies and also provide insight into their thoughts on Trump.
One candidate who spoke negatively of Trump at the debate was former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who was once an ally of the former president.
Trump has now called for Christie to drop out of the race.
“SHOULD DROP OUT OF THE RACE. HE IS GOING NOWHERE AND IS VERY BAD FOR THE REPUBLICAN PARTY!” Trump posted on his Truth Social account referencing Christie as “Sloppy Chris Christie.”
In an interview with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, Christie shared his rebuttal.
“He only wishes I was going away. It’s great, you know, Kaitlan, to live rent-free in Donald Trump’s head,” Christie said.
Christie said that Trump can’t stand when someone credible is talking about his problems, adding that he knows how deep Trump’s problems are.
“Maybe he should think about getting out of the race, since he’ll be spending most of March and half of April in a courtroom in Washington D.C., not fighting the fight against Joe Biden like I’ll be doing every day.”
Christie told Collins that Trump reminds everyone what he’s done to the country with his mug shot post the latest example. The presidential candidate said Trump put his own selfishness ahead of the American people, fighting to stay in office ahead of a peaceful transfer of power.
“As president, you need to put the country first.”
Christie said the Republican debate showed that he’s willing to fight against Trump as he was one of only two candidates who didn’t raise their hand in saying they would support the former president’s re-election.
Christie also took on presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy in his comments with Collins. Christie was asked about Ramaswamy’s attack on Christie for embracing President Barack Obama following Hurricane Sandy.
“It shows his immaturity and he’s showing that every day,” Christie said of Ramaswamy.
Christie said he knew the only way to build and recover in New Jersey after Hurricane Sandy was to partner with federal government and that he put his citizens ahead of politics.
“You take an oath of office, not an oath of party. When I’m president that’s what I’ll do, put the needs of citizens ahead of the party.”
Related Link: 2024 Election Betting Odds, Where Does Chris Christie Rank?
Why It’s Important: The comments from Christie come after Miami mayor and presidential candidate Francis Suarez dropped out of the 2024 election race. Suarez was not a part of the first Republican debate.
Christie scored poorly in a recent poll asking who performed best at the first debate, ranking fifth among respondents as the top performer and ranking first among respondents as the worst performer.
In the latest Morning Consult poll of Republican voters, Christie has only 3% of support, ranking towards the bottom of the candidates.
While Trump chose to sit out the first Republican primary debate, an appearance by the former president and Christie at the second debate could lead to some fireworks. The second debate will be held on Sept. 27 and air on Fox Business, a unit of Fox Corporation FOXFOXA and will be livestreamed on Rumble Inc RUM.
Christie has previously criticized Trump for skipping the debate and accused him of being afraid of the competition from other Republican candidates.
While Christie was a former Trump ally and once a potential vice president candidate, the former New Jersey governor wants nothing to do with the potential of serving under Trump.
Read Next: Chris Christie Picks Up Support From Republican Donors, One Billionaire Is Still On The Sidelines
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