Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley wrist-flicked the idea of former Gov. Christ Christie’s (R-NJ) endorsement on the eve of the New Hampshire primary.
“At the end of the day, you don’t want all of those politicians’ endorsements,” Haley told the far-left NewsNation of Christie Friday. “That’s part of the problem. You want people who actually move the ball.”
Haley added she has “plenty” of campaign cash to remain in the race. She added, “I don’t need” Christie’s endorsement.
“Donors have complimented me and have seen I am very frugal with how I spend, because that’s how I spend tax dollars, my dollars and campaign dollars,” said the former South Carolina Governor.
FLASHBACK — Chris Christie: Nikki Haley ‘Slippery, Slick Politician’ Running to Be Trump’s VP
“Trump is hammering me like a drum and, at the end of the day, I get excited about that because that means we’re doing something right,” Haley said, adding that she refuses to “hate on” the former president.
As far as dismissing the idea of a Christie endorsement in New Hampshire, the only state where a Christie endorsement could do her any good, Haley is probably still smarting over the comments Christie made not long after he defended her in a debate and not long before he dropped out — all in an obvious move to bolster the Haley campaign against The Donald.
As my colleague Wendell Husebo reported at the time, this exchange was caught on a hot mic:
“[Haley] has spent $68 million so far, just on TV,” Christie said, “$59 million by DeSantis, and we spend $12 [million]. I mean, who’s punching above their weight and who’s getting a return on their investment?”
“She’s gonna get smoked,” Christie added. “And you and I both know, and she’s not up to this.”
“She’s still 20 points behind Trump in New Hampshire, right?” Wayne asked Christie.
“Yeah. Oh, yeah,” Christie replied.
Much has been made of Christie’s “get smoked” comment, but his yammering about how “she’s not up to this” was an even deeper cut.
And as if to prove she’s not up to this, Haley is throwing shade at the one endorsement, the one (former) presidential candidate who might give her a much-needed boost in the primary that will determine whether her campaign has anything close to a future.
According to the polls, Haley did benefit from Christie dropping out of the race on January 10. Since then, her support in the RealClearPolitics average poll of New Hampshire polls has jumped from 29 to 37 percent. But this has done her little good against the frontrunner, Trump, whose support leapt from 43 to 54 percent. Before Christie dropped out, Haley was 14 points behind Trump. Today, she is 17.5 points behind, and Trump’s lead continues to grow.
In the only New Hampshire tracking poll, Trump is pulling away from Haley. Monday found him 19 points ahead of the second place Haley, 57 to 38 percent. How Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) dropping out and endorsing Trump Sunday will affect the race is anybody’s guess. He was at six percent in the most recent poll.
Anyway, back to the Haley v. Christie battle… It is fun watching RINOs fight.
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