Chris Christie slammed Nikki Haley, his long-awaited rival for the 2024 Republican nomination, for failing to campaign against front-runner Donald Trump, saying she was only interested in becoming his vice president or trying to win in 2028.
Former South Carolina Governor Haley has come under heavy fire as her stock in the race has risen.
On Wednesday, during an appearance on The View, Christie made a pointed impression of her campaign, her strange explanation of the Civil War and her lust for power.
And he even managed to compare former President Donald Trump unfavorably to Jefferson Davis, the Confederate president who also had trouble with the Fourteenth Amendment, which bars anyone from holding office if he or she is involved in an insurrection or rebellion against the US.
Asked why he didn't back her as the best chance to stop Trump, he said, “Because Nikki Haley can't beat him… because she doesn't want to.”
Instead, she was focused on not alienating the Trump supporters she might need if she runs in 2024, he added.
Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie appeared on The View on Wednesday. He said he did not plan to endorse Nikki Haley as the best candidate to stop Donald Trump
Christie said Haley never agreed not to take up the post of vice president under Trump
“Give DeSantis credit for this. He said that under no circumstances would he be vice president under Trump,” Christie said.
“I said I would not become vice president under Trump.
“Nikki Haley won't say.
“And I talked to a politician in South Carolina this weekend who knows her very well. And I said, “Am I reading this wrong?”
“And he said to me, 'Governor, she would eat glass to get the vice presidential nomination under Trump. That's how ambitious she is.'
He said he would happily endorse anyone with two qualities: they had a better chance of winning than him, and they were happy to campaign against Trump.
As usual, he reserved his deepest contempt for Trump, even as he said it was foolhardy to try to use the Fourteenth Amendment to keep him from voting, as several states are trying.
That risked causing conflict if he was defeated fair and square in an election, and that could resolve the question of his fitness for office.
One of the presenters brought up the case of Davis, who was never convicted but was disqualified from participating under the Fourteenth Amendment.
“It never happened, it was never tested,” Christie said. “Because Jefferson Davis, if you can imagine saying this, the president of the Confederacy had some class and decided never to run for office.
A series of strong debate performances and major endorsements have helped Haley rise in the polls.
Christie is in fifth place in the polls and is betting on a strong performance in New Hampshire, the second state where Republicans choose their favorite candidate
Jefferson Davis was the first and only President of the Confederate States of America from 1861 to 1865
She is now nearly tied with DeSantis in FiveThirtyEight's moving average of primary polls.
But that still leaves her far behind Trump, who has a 50-point lead over his nearest rival.
Last week, she got into hot water and avoided mentioning slavery when asked about the problems that caused the Civil War.
Christie brought up the blunder during his appearance.
“Look, she's a smart woman. “I have known her for 13 years,” he said.
'She's smart and not a racist. There is not a racist bone in her body.”
“That's just not there.”
Whoopi Goldberg disagreed with his assessment.
“I have to tell you her You better get started with that, because it really didn't come across that way,” she said to loud applause.
“It never looks good pretending to be something you're not,” Christie said.
“So she's saying the Civil War was about change versus tradition. And look, it's pretty clear, it was about right versus wrong.”