9 months ago
Chris Christie is no longer ruling out a third-party presidential bid.
The former New Jersey governor had repeatedly dismissed the idea of running on a No Labels ticket while competing for the GOP presidential nomination. But nearly a month after exiting the race, he declined Tuesday to shut the door to the idea.
“Oh, I don’t know. There'd be a long conversation between me and [my wife] Mary Pat, I can guarantee you that,” Christie said when asked on “Good Morning America” if he would consider running on a No Labels ticket.
Christie said No Labels has not asked him to run on a potential ticket. However, NBC News reported the group had made overtures to his allies about the possibility before he dropped out of the GOP primary.
Christie argued on Tuesday that a “strong Republican” on the ticket might be able to chip away at former President Donald Trump’s support, rather than siphon votes from President Joe Biden.
The former New Jersey governor, who had served as the GOP field’s most vocal Trump critic, warned in his first interview since suspending his campaign of the dangers of returning the former president to the White House for what Christie said would be a “vendetta” second term.
But Christie also declined to endorse Trump’s sole remaining Republican rival, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who he was caught trashing on a hot microphone minutes before leaving the race in January.
Christie said Tuesday that the hot-mic moment — in which he was overheard telling a prominent New Hampshire supporter that Haley was “gonna get smoked” and that “she’s not up to this” — “was a complete mistake” but that there’s “no apology warranted.”
He said he spoke with Haley the next day in a cordial “45-second conversation” in which she mentioned the remarks and he did not apologize.
“She told me, 'I know it's a personal decision to get in a race, and it's a tough decision to get out. I heard everything you said last night, including the hot mic.' And I said, 'Uh-huh.' And she said, 'Well, good luck.' And I said, 'Good luck to you,'" Christie recalled.
Even as Haley has ramped up her attacks on Trump in recent weeks, Christie said he doesn’t see himself supporting her. He has criticized Haley in the past for saying she would pardon her former boss if he’s convicted of any of the 91 felony charges he’s facing and would vote for him if he’s the GOP nominee.
Asked if Haley has any chance in the upcoming South Carolina GOP primary — in which she trails Trump by more than 30 points in polling averages — Christie said, “It doesn’t look like it.”
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