Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie laid out his game plan for defeating former President Donald Trump in the Republican presidential primary.
Christie, who lost to Trump in the 2016 GOP primary before endorsing him, spoke at St. Anselm’s College in New Hampshire on Monday.
Trump declared his candidacy in November. So far, he has drawn Nikki Haley – his former ambassador to the United Nations – as an opponent. It is widely believed several other Republicans will challenge the former president, including Christie, perhaps.
“You better have somebody on that stage who can do to him what I did to Marco because that’s the only thing that’s gonna defeat Donald Trump,” Christie told the audience, referring to a notable moment from a primary debate in 2016 where he gave Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) the business. “And that means you gotta have the skill to do it and that means you have to be fearless because he will come back and right at you.”
Christie went on to say that “it’s not gonna end nicely,” adding, “His end will not be a calm and quiet conclusion.”
“And so, if I run again, I can’t imagine that I would continue to do it the same way,” he continued. “But this time if I run, I would just hope that you come to a better conclusion than you did the last time.”
Christie’s remarks elicited laughs from the crowd.
The 2016 New Hampshire primary was won by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), who was Trump’s last opponent standing before he suspended his campaign.
