Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie was caught on a hot mic seemingly criticizing former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley ahead of his dropout announcement in New Hampshire.
“She’s gonna get smoked. And you and I both know, and she’s not up to this,” Christie was heard saying, seemingly in reference to Haley’s potential against former President Donald Trump in the 2024 Republican primary.
Haley’s campaign did not provide comment to the Washington Examiner.
The hot mic moment came minutes before Christie began his campaign event where he announced the suspension of his 2024 campaign.
Christie’s campaign did not provide comment to the Washington Examiner.
In the audio, which did not seem to be intended for public consumption, Christie is asked, “She’s still 20 points behind Trump in New Hampshire, right?” which Christie confirmed.
“And he’s still gonna carry Iowa?” the unknown male voice asked.
“Oh yeah,” Christie said.
“I talked to—DeSantis called me petrified that I would,” Christie began before being cut off.
During the audio, Christie also remarked, “She spent $68 million so far, just on TV, spent $68 million so far.”
“$59 million by DeSantis, and we spent $12 [million],” the former New Jersey governor said. “I mean, who’s punching above their weight and who’s getting a return on their investment?”
When asked for comment on the audio, DeSantis’s campaign referred the Washington Examiner to a social media post from the Florida governor. “I agree with Christie that Nikki Haley is ‘going to get smoked,’” DeSantis wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
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His campaign did not provide further comment on the portion of the audio mentioning an alleged call between himself and Christie.
Trump pounced on the hot mic moment in a post on Truth Social: “I hear Chris Christie is dropping out of the race today — I might even get to like him again! Anyway, he was just caught on a hot mic making a very truthful statement: ‘She’s gonna get smoked…You and I both know it, she’s not up to this.’”