I’ve tossed the idea out there that Chris Christie is playing bad cop to Haley’s good cop when it comes to Donald Trump. The NJ Governor runs the smear campaign so Haley can take the high road. If she gets the job, Christie gets one, too.
It might only look like that, but it feels right, and a recent report from a Haley Town Hall in New Hampshire makes it feel right, too.
A 9-year-old on Thursday labeled former UN Ambassador and presidential hopeful Nikki Haley the “new John Kerry” at a town hall event in New Hampshire, adding that they agree with her political opponent Chris Christie that she is too soft on former President Donald Trump.
“So Chris Christie thinks you’re a flip-flopper on the Donald Trump issue and, honestly, I agree with him. You’re basically the new John Kerry,” the boy, who self-identified as, Adam, told Haley, prompting laughter from the audience. “How can you change your opinion like that in just eight years, and will you pardon Donald Trump?”
Haley said at the town hall that if Trump, who currently faces 91 felony counts, is convicted, she would pardon him.
Haley has said nice things about her former boss, but she’s convinced he’s not the guy we need now. She is – High Road.
Another report, not too far separated in the arc of this supposed plot, calls for Christie to drop out so Haley (or DeSantis) can benefit from his voters. By which I mean Haley.
Chris Christie is directly pushing back on calls for him to drop out of the 2024 Republican presidential primary in a new seven-figure ad buy debuting in New Hampshire on Thursday, according to details shared exclusively with CNN.
“Some people say I should drop out of this race. Really? I’m the only one saying Donald Trump is a liar,” the former New Jersey governor, who trails the former president significantly, says in a direct-to-camera ad launching on broadcast and digital platforms.
Christie says he can’t drop out. He’s the only Not-Trump candidate taking it to the former president. The low road. He’s in it to smear Trump, and he’s got the TV ad buys to prove it, which should not be construed as Christie trying to improve his standing in either Iowa or New Hampshire. He’s got no chance in hell. He’s less liked than every other candidate by a wide margin. All the numbers are against him, so there is no reason to drop a 7-figure ad buy unless it’s to help someone who can win.
“I told you, I think he was the right president at the right time. I told you that I agreed with a lot of his policies. But do I think he’s the right president to go forward? No,” Haley responded to the child, saying that both “pro-trumpers” and “anti-Trumpers” disagree with her critical approach to Trump. “We can’t handle the chaos anymore.”
Christie has sharpened his response to voters who question why he stays in the race, arguing that he’s the only one taking on the GOP front-runner directly. …
He told a voter at a house party in Portsmouth last week that if Haley showed him “she was actually running against Donald Trump,” then he “might” consider supporting her.
But, Christie argued, “Nikki won’t answer the question” as to whether she would accept a vice presidential role from Trump, something he and DeSantis have both said they would reject.
Maybe I’m wrong, but I still believe this is all for the show. If Haley has real momentum (and that’s subject to debate), she will need Trump fence-sitters and Trump voters to get there. They won’t vote for her if she smears him. She is also the most viable not-Trump candidate this week, and Chrsite will never be viable. It is also the former NJ governor’s mission, and that of his donors, to sideline Trump, and he has performed well as a conduit for campaign cash aimed in that direction.
It makes more sense if true, but when did political decisions or campaigns ever have to make sense?
