Conservative praises Chris Christie’s Trump-bashing campaign — but tells him to 'drop out'

Of all the 2024 GOP presidential primary candidates competing with frontrunner Donald Trump, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is by far the most aggressive in his attacks. Most of the criticism of Trump during the primary has been mild or tepid, but Christie has been downright scathing at times.

In a Daily Beast opinion column published Friday, Never Trump conservative Matt Lewis praises Christie for his anti-Trump comments. And he argues that Christie's "brash style" could help him win "contrarian" New Hampshire's GOP primary.

Nonetheless, the Beast columnist urges Christie to drop out of the race — arguing that the former New Jersey governor takes votes away from former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who he views as the Republican candidate with the best chance of overtaking Trump if anyone can do it.

"Indeed, it seems likely that a Christie win in the idiosyncratic state of New Hampshire would do little other than bolster Christie's ego and prevent Haley or someone else from having the chance to catch fire," Lewis writes. "And that is the best-case scenario. You may ask why my focus is on Haley. Well, it's partly because I believe she has the best chance to defeat Trump and (President Joe) Biden, partly because I think she is the most sane and decent candidate running, and partly because Christie's exodus would specifically help her."

Lewis adds, "Unlike Ron DeSantis, whose voters probably go to Trump, Christie's voters would likely go disproportionately to Haley…. It's not hard to see how a Christie exodus could boost Haley's competitive edge in the race for the Granite State."

Florida Gov. DeSantis has been in second place in most GOP presidential primary polls, but an Emerson College poll released on November 22 finds Haley in second place and DeSantis in third. That poll, however, finds Trump with a 55 percent lead in the primary and with a 4 percent lead over Biden in a hypothetical matchup.

"I am grateful for Christie's contribution to the 2020 race," Lewis writes, "and I'm hopeful he won't undermine it by overstaying his welcome. Thank you for your service, Chris Christie, from an appreciative cohort of Republicans who desperately want the party to move on from Trump. Now, drop out of the race."

READ MORE: Nikki Haley-Ron DeSantis feud escalates as she catches up to him in polls

Matt Lewis' full Daily Beast column is available at this link (subscription required).