Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie was caught on a hot mic Wednesday night, appearing to say that Nikki Haley was going to get “smoked” in the Republican presidential race.
Christie’s comments came while he was offstage before his event in Windham, N.H., where he announced that he was dropping his presidential bid. The comments could be clearly heard on the livestream of the event.
“She’s going to get smoked — you and I both know it. She’s not up to this,” Christie said.
He also talked about a call he had with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, saying, “DeSantis called me — petrified.”
The Christie campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the remarks.
A source familiar told NBC News that the Florida governor called Christie earlier today — after hearing rumors that he would be dropping out — and said that regardless of his decision, he appreciated his role in the race.
The source also said Christie went after Haley pretty hard in the conversation, calling her a joke and saying that she has performed terribly and is not up to the task.
