Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie snapped when radio host Hugh Hewitt pressed him to drop out of the 2024 presidential race in an interview on Thursday.
Christie has faced growing calls to drop out because of his significant support in New Hampshire that could potentially help defeat former President Donald Trump in the key primary state if it swung to rival candidate Nikki Haley. Hewitt pushed Christie on dropping out of the race and whether he would vote for Trump against Biden in the 10-minute interview. (RELATED: JPMorgan CEO Calls For ‘Liberal’ Dems To Back Nikki Haley’s Presidential Bid To Beat Trump)
“You’re not going to put this over on me,” Hewitt asserted. “Your staying in the primary undeniably helps Donald Trump get the election, doesn’t it?”
“No, it doesn’t,” Christie responded. “The fact is that we’re going out. We’re the only one running against Donald Trump. We’re the only one trying to beat Donald Trump. No one else in New Hampshire is trying to beat Donald Trump. We are, and so no, Hugh, I don’t think that’s true.”
Christie is polling at 10.5% in New Hampshire while Haley is polling at 24.8%, with both trailing Trump who is at 46.3%, according to RealClear Polling. Christie told Hewitt that 15% of his supporters would vote for Trump if they dropped out.
“I’m not saying that that is a definite occurrence,” Christie explained. “You asked me if I had any reasons to believe that any Christie voter would vote for Trump, and so I gave you a statistic that we have. I don’t know whether that’s accurate or not.”
Hewitt then asked him about whether he would vote for Trump, which the candidate said he would not.
“This is not news. I’ve been saying this from the beginning. I’m the guy who didn’t raise my hand in the stage when they asked me if I would support him if he was a convicted felon. I have to tell you the truth, Hugh. You have interviewed me probably a hundred times. I’ve never had a less substantive interview with you in my life,” Christie said.
Hewitt pressed Christie again at the end of the interview, asking when Christie would inform the public about his final decision on whether he would drop out of the New Hampshire primary.
“I don’t even understand your question,” Christie responded.
“Everybody is waiting for you to drop out,” Hewitt said. “I talk to Republicans across the country, because I’m Switzerland. Everyone talks to me. They all think you’re going to drop out.”
“Well, good for them,” Christie retorted.
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