During an appearance on CNN This Morning on Friday, former New Jersey governor Chris Christie criticized former ambassador and GOP rival Nikki Haley for her remarks on the Civil War and slavery earlier this week.
He referred to her as a “slippery, slick politician” who was attempting to position herself as former President Donald Trump’s running mate for next year.
“Here’s the bottom line on this. Nikki Haley, as I defended her in the fourth debate, as you’ll remember, is a smart woman and she knows better. Look, she’s been having this problem for decades in terms of her answer about this. If you go back to her running for governor in 2010, she said that the Civil War was about change versus tradition. She called slavery a tradition. And change versus tradition — it’s not change versus tradition, Phil. It’s right versus wrong.” Christie said.
“And, you know, let’s stop with the, you know, with the comments about “Well, I’m from the South, so you know that.” Well, then she should have said that and known that the first reason given in the secession notice from the South Carolina government at the time the Civil War began was because the North opposed the expansion of slavery to the Western territories.” he continued.
“Now, Nikki knows all that, and she’s not saying it because she’s afraid to say it because this has been her whole campaign. She does not want to offend anyone. She won’t tell the truth about Donald Trump, even though she knows that he was the cause of January 6. She won’t say it even though she knows that he regularly lies. She won’t say it.” he added.
Christie on Haley: “She's smart & she knows better. And she didn't say it because she's a racist…the reason she did it is just as bad, if not worse, and should make everybody concerned about her candidacy. She did it because she's unwilling to offend anyone by telling the truth” pic.twitter.com/EUYAVZ6LGR
— Alex Thompson (@AlexThomp) December 29, 2023
“And even last night, Phil, she was asked by a voter again in New Hampshire, would she categorically rule out being Donald Trump’s vice president? And she won’t answer the question. These are simple questions to a smart woman. And when she doesn’t answer them, you have to believe she’s being a slippery, slick politician who wants to be everything to everybody. And it’s too late in this game to do that.” he concluded.
Subsequently, host Phil Mattingly presented a video clip featuring Haley stating to a voter that the sole distinction between herself and Christie is that the former is “obsessed” with Trump, while she maintained a more expansive perspective.
[READ MORE: Judge Rules Against Elon Musk in Attempt to Oppose California Law on Social Media Moderation]
