Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) left the door open to launching a third-party run with No Labels following his decision to drop out of the Republican presidential primary contest last month.
During a “Good Morning America” interview that aired Tuesday, Christie said that No Labels, a centrist third-party group, hasn’t directly approached him about joining their ticket. He also said that he would need to have a “long conversation” with his wife, Mary Pat, regarding a potential third-party run and definitely “see a path” to 270 electoral votes to align with the group.
Last month, NBC News reported that No Labels had reached out to people close to Christie to inquire whether he would be interested in teaming up with the organization. According to its website, the group intends to offer a bipartisan “unity ticket” for the 2024 presidential election (although the group may not include a Democrat on its ticket).
Christie dropped out of the Republican primary race in January ahead of the Iowa caucuses, saying he saw no way to win the party’s nomination.
During his “GMA” appearance, Christie said it “doesn’t look like” Nikki Haley has any chance of defeating Donald Trump, adding that he is unlikely to endorse her given she hasn’t been critical enough of the former president on the campaign trail.
“Imagine the position I’d be in if I endorsed someone who then turned around and endorsed Donald Trump,” he said of Haley. “I’m not going to be put in that spot again.”
Christie himself endorsed Trump in February 2016, a move that he described as politically motivated.
“It was the biggest mistake I’ve made in my political career and I’m just not going to repeat that mistake for anybody,” he said.
In a Tuesday interview with CNN, Christie weighed in on a federal appellate court’s decision to reject Trump’s claim that he is immune from prosecution over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election because he was president at the time.
Trump has until next week to appeal the decision.
Christie said he thinks the Supreme Court would be unlikely to take up another election-related case given they are already due to hear arguments Thursday on whether Trump should be allowed to stay on the ballot in Colorado.
“I think it’s a very tight, concise decision,” Christie said of the appeals court ruling. “I don’t think there’s any grounds for appeal. I don’t know why the Supreme Court would want to take it.”
The former GOP presidential candidate added that he anticipates Trump’s Jan. 6 trial will be completed before the Republican convention in July in Milwaukee and said the former president will ultimately be found guilty.
“My guess is that he’ll be a convicted felon when he gets on the stage to accept the Republican nomination for president,” Christie said.