Nikki Haley says Chris Christie’s hot mic moment that she’ll be ‘SMOKED’ by Trump was not a surprise: ‘These fellas have been talking like that from the beginning’

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley dismissed comments former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie overheard on the hot mic that she will be “smoked” by former President Donald Trump, calling them “no surprise” on Thursday .

In the moments before Christie dropped out of the presidential race in New Hampshire on Wednesday night, the livestream picked up a conversation the 2024 hopeful had with his New Hampshire campaign chairman Wayne MacDonald and a woman.

Christie is heard saying of Haley, “And she’s going to get smoked, and you and I both know this, she’s not ready for this,” adding that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis also called the former governor back in 2024 and ‘petrified’ sounded. ‘

“Look, it’s not a surprise,” Haley told Fox & Friends on Thursday morning. “These guys have been talking like this since the beginning, when it was the fourteenth candidate and I was at 2 percent.”

‘For us it has always been slow and steady to win the race. It is the people who decide,” the former UN ambassador and South Carolina governor added.

She said she spent eleven months campaigning across the country.

“We spent our money well,” she added. “And we’ve focused on relationships with people on the ground and earning their trust.”

During Wednesday night’s Republican debate, she slammed DeSantis — the only other candidate to appear on the debate stage — for funneling $150 million in campaign donations.

“And that’s why you see this has become a two-person race between me and Donald Trump,” she continued. “And even though everyone wants to belittle us, we keep moving, and there’s a reason for that.”

She later told NBC News, “I don’t have to convince people he’s wrong because no one in that crowd asks me about that,” Haley said of Christie’s diss.

“I mean, they see that politics isn’t personal to me. It’s for the guys, it’s not for me,” she added.

Haley took a strong second place in New Hampshire and is battling DeSantis for second place in Iowa, despite the Florida governor focusing more on the Hawkeye State.

Trump remains by far the frontrunner in the race.

Christie also did not focus on Iowa, where voters tend to be more conservative, so his exit from the race is unlikely to change the trajectory of the caucuses.

But in New Hampshire, his voters — a majority of whom consider Haley their second choice — could help the former U.N. ambassador get on par with Trump, whom she trails by an average of 14.3 points.

However, the hot mic moment may give them second thoughts.

Christie is heard saying for the first time that Haley spent $68 million on her campaign, while DeSantis spent $59 million, while the former New Jersey governor just spent $12 million, noting that he was the one “above their weight protruded’.

He then says that Haley isn’t up to the task and that DeSantis gets scared.

MacDonald IHe was heard telling Christie that Haley was trailing Trump by 20 points in New Hampshire, then asked the governor if he believed Trump would win Iowa.

“Yes,” Christie replied before revealing his phone call with Florida’s governor.

MacDonald then said he expected DeSantis to drop out of the 2024 race after Monday’s caucuses — something the Florida governor has denied several times.

The video clip is then deleted. The video is no longer online.

Moments later, Christie appeared on stage in Windham, New Hampshire and pulled the plug on his presidential bid.

In his exit speech, Christie denounced the “smallness of the campaigns that spend more time arguing and worrying about who should drop out of the race than they have spent chasing the front-runner.”

He delivered the same message to DeSantis, Haley and Ramaswamy during last month’s GOP debate in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

Christie ended his comments on Wednesday without endorsing any other candidate.

In 2016, Christie withdrew from the presidential race and endorsed Trump, a decision he now says he regrets.

Trump responded to Truth Social about Christie’s dropout with glee.

‘I hear Chris Christie is dropping out of the race today – I might even start liking him again!’ Trump said.

“Anyway, he just got caught on a hot mic making a very truthful statement: ‘She’s going to get smoked… You and I both know, she can’t handle this,'” the ex-president added to.

DeSantis responded to Christie’s hot mic moment by taking the opportunity to go after Haley.

“I agree with Christie that Nikki Haley is ‘being smoked,’” the Florida governor said posted on X.

Haley called Christie a “friend” in a statement following his suspension from the campaign.

“Chris Christie has been a friend for years. I commend him for his hard-fought campaign,” Haley said. “Voters have a clear choice in this election: the chaos and drama of the past or a new generation of conservative leadership. I will fight to earn every vote so that together we can build a strong and proud America.”

New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu, who is supporting Haley, had pushed Christie to drop out of the race to give the former South Carolina governor a clear path to becoming Trump’s biggest enemy.

Sununu has long said that once candidates know there is no path to the nomination, they should drop out of the race so one of them can take on Trump, who has a roughly 50-point lead nationally.