Chris Christie says Nikki Haley is not ‘dumb’ or ‘racist’ but slams her for being ‘dishonest’ with voters when she didn’t say slavery was the cause of the Civil War

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said Thursday that his 2024 rival Nikki Haley did not want to offend potential voters. That's why she didn't say slavery when asked what caused the Civil War.

The GOP presidential hopeful appeared at a campaign rally in Epping, New Hampshire, and brought laughter to Haley's gaffe.

Christie noted that Haley did not rule out slavery “because she is stupid.”

“That's not true, she's smart and she knows better,” the ex-governor told the crowd. “And she didn't say it because she's a racist, because she's not. I know her well and I don't believe Nikki has a racist bone in her body.”

But Christie warned that “the reason she did it is just as bad, if not worse, and everyone should be concerned about her candidacy.”

“She did it because she doesn't want to offend anyone by telling the truth,” Christie said.

During her own campaign stop in New Hampshire, presidential candidate Nikki Haley said Christie was “obsessed” with Trump. “He sleeps, eats and breathes it every day,” the former South Carolina governor said

'AAnd so she's not willing to say the same things about abortion in New Hampshire that she does in Iowa because she doesn't want to offend people in Iowa who have different feelings than people in New Hampshire,” Christie said.

“But then she comes to New Hampshire, she doesn't want to offend them either,” he continued. “And she's not willing to tell the truth about Donald Trump. She says he was the right president at the right time.”

Christie accused Haley of saying Trump “should have been given a break” after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

“She says chaos and drama follow him everywhere for some reason. This is like the arsonist saying, “For some reason, burning buildings follow me wherever I go.” Chaos and drama follow him because he creates them,” Christie said.

For example, the former governor of New Jersey encouraged the public to read Trump's Christmas post.

'Where he said: anyone who disagrees with him can rot in hell. And then he said, 'Merry Christmas,'” Christie said, laughing.

Haley, Christie said, “was unwilling to stand up and say slavery caused the Civil War because she is afraid of offending voters in another part of the country.”

He also hammered her for refusing to say Trump was unfit to serve.

Christie questioned how Haley could be an effective leader against Democrats in Congress or Russian President Vladimir Putin if she is “not willing to stand up to this.”

“She's not racist, it's worse in some ways. “If you want to be president, it's even worse to be able to be unfair to people, and that's what's happening here: she's holding back,” he continued.

“I'm sure Nikki will see this, so I want to talk to her directly, okay. The Civil War was not a choice between change and tradition. It was a choice between good and evil, and that was it, and we had to be on the side of good,” Christie added.

Christie has positioned himself among Republican candidates as Trump's toughest critic, despite working for the ex-president during the 2016 transition and helping him with debate preparation in 2020.

While he has occasionally defended Haley — including during the Alabama debate earlier this month — he has also gone after him for not being more critical of her ex-boss.

She was Trump's ambassador to the United Nations.

During a campaign stop Thursday, also in New Hampshire, Haley said Christie was “obsessed” with the former president.

“I mean, God bless him, he's a friend. He's obsessed with Trump,” Haley said. “He sleeps, eats and breathes it, every day.”

“I think bigger than that,” Haley said. “If we do that, we will be no different than Trump.”

Haley's comment came after a 9-year-old compared her to John Kerry, the Democrats' 2004 presidential candidate, who was criticized for being a “flip-flipper” on issues.

“So Chris Christie thinks you're a flip-flopper when it comes to the Donald Trump issue,” a kid named Adam boldly told her. 'And honestly, I agree with him. You're basically the new John Kerry,” the child said, laughing.

“How can you change your mind so much in just eight years and want to pardon Donald Trump?” the 9-year-old then asked.

She responded that she has failed to satisfy “anti-Trumpers” and “pro-Trumpers” with her position on the ex-president, who leads the Republican Party's primary group.

“I told you I agreed with many of his policies. But do I think he's the right president to move forward? No,” Haley replied. “We can't handle the chaos anymore.”