Chris Christie says the 'half-full' crowds at CPAC are a sign that Donald Trump's popularity is finally waning

• Chris Christie said the "half-full" crowd at CPAC this weekend is a sign of Trump's unpopularity.
• Christie said Trump may be the GOP's 2024 frontrunner now, but he's not as powerful as he was before.
• "There are lots of indicators here that he's not what he used to be," Christie said.

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said the small crowd at the Conservative Political Action Conference this weekend shows how much former President Donald Trump's popularity has waned. 

"You saw the scenes at CPAC, that room was half-full," Christie said during an appearance on ABC's "This Week" on Sunday.

Christie said that "only the most desperate people showed up at CPAC to even speak, other than Trump or people within Trump's orbit."

Christie added that he suspects Trump isn't holding rallies often now because he knows the crowd size won't "be nearly as big" as it used to be. 

"He measures that as an example of his own power and his own authority, and I don't think he has it anymore,"  Christie said, citing how Trump got upset about having a smaller crowd at his 2017 inauguration than his predecessors. 

—This Week (@ThisWeekABC) March 5, 2023

But Christie conceded that Trump remains the front-runner in the GOP presidential race, mostly because he's a former president running for re-election.

"There are lots of indicators here that he's not what he used to be," Christie said on ABC.

Christie's criticism comes as no surprise — he's a one-time Trump ally turned vocal critic of Trump. And in November, Christie told the Washington Examiner that he'll decide in five to six months if he wants to run for president himself. If he does run, he'll be one of Trump's rivals for the GOP's 2024 ticket.

It's unclear if this year's attendance at CPAC was markedly lower than in previous years. Photos that circulated on Twitter over the weekend appeared to show many empty seats in the auditorium. 

—John Mues (@MuesforMontana) March 4, 2023

It's also unclear if the turnout at CPAC was in any way affected by the conservative group Club for Growth's private retreat in Florida. This event, which clashed with CPAC, was headlined by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, CNN reported.

"The donors and the members and the voters are all looking for the same thing — a strong candidate who can run for president and win back the White House," David McIntosh, the Club for Growth's president, told Fox News in a story published on Friday.

When asked about Trump, McIntosh said Trump was not invited to the Florida retreat because the Club for Growth's donors already "know Trump." 

"They like his record as president, but they're not sure he can win. So they're going to take a look and this will be an opportunity for the candidates to present themselves," McIntosh told Fox News. 

Meanwhile, Trump vowed during a speech at CPAC on Saturday to not drop out of the 2024 presidential race even if he is indicted.

In a Truth Social post on Sunday, Trump said CPAC was "an amazing experience" and that the "place was packed with great American Patriots." In another post on Sunday, he critiqued the Club for Growth, calling it the "Club for No Growth" and slamming it for supporting "Ron DeSanctus." 

Representatives for CPAC and a spokesman for Trump did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.