2024-01-11 00:58:29
Chris Christie, former governor of New Jersey and main critic of Donald Trump, decided on Wednesday to suspend his campaign for the presidency of the United States. His withdrawal comes five days before the Iowa caucuses which open the ball in a race dominated by the former US president.
Published on: 01/11/2024 – 01:58
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Struggling in the polls, Chris Christie, the only candidate in the Republican primaries who bluntly criticized Donald Trump, announced that he was throwing in the towel on Wednesday January 10, a few days before the Iowa caucuses.
“It is certain tonight that there is no path for me to win the nomination” of the Republican Party for the White House, “so tonight I am suspending my campaign for the presidency of the United States,” he said. he declared to his supporters from Windham, in the state of New Hampshire.
Former governor of New Jersey, the 61-year-old was once a supporter of Donald Trump but has since portrayed the billionaire as egocentric and dishonest.
He was so low in the polls that he did not meet the criteria set by the party to participate in Wednesday’s debate.
Trump, favorite in the Republican primaries
The last two Republicans in the running with Donald Trump, Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis, will try on Wednesday to present themselves as the best alternative to the big favorite during a televised face-to-face.
They are playing a bit of double or nothing during this last debate before the choice of voters in Iowa on January 15. Because a good electoral performance on Monday, in the state of Iowa where the stakes are high, would serve as a springboard for them to hope to catch Donald Trump and defy the predictions.
Read alsoAmerican presidential election: Nikki Haley, rival of Donald Trump, relies on “electoral dynamics”
The billionaire once again chose to snub the debate, believing he had too big a lead and that he had nothing to gain by exposing himself to a possible barrage of criticism. But he once again took care to organize counterprogramming, with a campaign event in the same city broadcast by the conservative channel Fox News while his two rivals debate on CNN.
This attitude earned him a dig from his former ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, who judged in a press release that “it was time for Donald Trump to show up”. “As the field of debaters shrinks, it becomes harder for him to hide,” assured the former governor of South Carolina.
Still, the former president is probably reassured by a new poll (Suffolk University/USA TODAY) indicating that 51% of Republican voters do not plan to watch this debate, a sign that the proposed poster may be lacking a little flavor to their taste.
According to poll aggregator RealClearPolitics, Trump leads the way in Iowa with 52.3% of voting intentions, far ahead of Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis each at around 16%. Nationally, the businessman is credited with 51.5%.
His lead does not weaken despite the legal proceedings against him, the calendar of which is almost intertwined with that of the primaries. On the contrary, the tycoon has integrated indictments and trials into his campaign strategy, going so far as to use his mugshot on mugs and t-shirts.
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