Former Governor, Chris Christie of New Jersey suspended his Presidential campaign on Wednesday, January 10, 2024 but he undermined his effort to stop Donald J. Trump when he dismissed his Republican rivals during a hot-mic moment.

Coming before his announcement in Windham, N.H., Mr. Christie could be heard on the event’s livestream, in a reference to the Former South Carolina Governor, Nikki Haley, saying, “She’s going to get smoked, and you and I both know it.” “She’s not up to this.”

Mr. Trump utilizing the remarks, wrote on Truth Social that Mr. Christie’s comments about Ms. Haley, who appears to be the most significant obstacle to a Trump victory in New Hampshire, were a “very truthful statement.”

Dashing the hopes of Republican moderates, Mr. Christie in his speech did not endorse any of his rivals nor address their prospects against Mr. Trump.

In fact, Mr. Christie denounced his opponents’ long-running public deference to the Former President, and offered no positive remarks about their candidacies.

“I would rather lose by telling the truth than lie in order to win,” he said. “And I feel no differently today because this is a fight for the soul of our party and the soul of our country.”

His stepping down effectively ends a phase of the Republican Presidential contest, removing from the field its most aggressive Trump critic.

Christie was the only prominent contender who declared that Mr. Trump was unfit for office.

Notwithstanding, Mr. Christie used the final moments of his campaign to further criticize Mr. Trump, eviscerating his policies, lamenting on the direction in which he has taken the country and emphasizing that he did not have the nation’s best interests at heart.

Christie opined, “Imagine just for a moment if 9/11 had happened with Donald Trump behind the desk.”

“The first thing he would have done was run to the bunker to protect himself. He would have put himself first, before this country.”

His speech doubled as a dark warning for a party — and a country — that the Former Governor portrayed as “veering dangerously off course”, criticizing “the hate and the division and the selfishness of what our party has become under Donald Trump.”

Irrespective of Mr. Christie’s criticisms of his rivals, his decision could turn the primary election in New Hampshire on Jan. 23 into a two-person race between Mr. Trump and Ms. Haley.

Haley’s positions on foreign policy, national security and the rule of law broadly overlap with Mr. Christie’s, and she will hope not to consolidate Trump Republicans and independents behind her.

Following Mr. Christie’s speech, Ms. Haley praised him as “a friend for many years,” commending him in a statement “on a hard-fought campaign” but made no reference to the hot-mic comments. “I will fight to earn every vote,” she said.

Meanwhile, recent polls have shown Ms. Haley narrowing the gap against Mr. Trump in New Hampshire, and her backing combined with Mr. Christie’s support has sometimes equaled or bettered the former president’s.

A CNN/University of New Hampshire poll released Tuesday, January 9, 2024, found Mr. Trump with 39 per cent support, Ms. Haley with 32 per cent and Mr. Christie with 12 per cent.

“The future of this country is going to be determined here,” Mr. Christie told a crowd at a New Hampshire brewery in September, 2023.

It was a warning he would issue at nearly every campaign stop. “If Donald Trump wins here, he will be our nominee. Everything that happens after that is going to be on our party and on our country. It’s up to you.”

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