Speaking to voters during his town hall in New Hampshire on Wednesday, Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie announced that he's ending his 2024 presidential campaign, using the occasion to poke at Donald Trump on his way out.
"I want to promise you this," Christie said. "I’m going to make sure that in no way do I enable Donald Trump to ever be president of the United States again. And that’s more important than my own personal ambition."
On his reason for bowing out, he was solemn but realistic, saying, "It’s clear to me tonight that there isn’t a path for me to win the nomination."
News of Christie's announcement bounced around the internet shortly before he confirmed it himself, with journalist Mark Halperin posting to his Substack that his campaign had reportedly briefed allies on the sudden change, and that he would not be making an endorsement, which ended up checking out.
.@MarkHalperin scoops that Chris Christie is expected to exit the GOP race today at 5pmET. Not looking like he’ll be endorsing yet.https://t.co/moJuypDAkx pic.twitter.com/pZXvRNGLwJ
— Steve Krakauer (@SteveKrak) January 10, 2024
"I hear Chris Christie is dropping out of the race today — I might even get to like him again," Trump weighed in on Truth Social.