New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie says he does not think he’s directly competing with Donald Trump for the GOP presidential nomination.
Christie told conservative media personality Laura Ingraham who he thinks represents his top opposition.
“I think you’ve got a group of folks like Jeb Bush and John Kasich and Marco Rubio who are the people that I’m really competing against in New Hampshire,” Christie said. “I don’t feel at the moment directly in competition with Donald Trump on these things.”
Christie also trashed Rubio’s candidacy, in response to multiple questions from Ingraham about the Florida senator.
“First off, he doesn’t have the experience to do it,” Christie said. “The fact is that he’s a first-term senator who’s never had to make any significant decisions in his career. That’s not the kind of on-the-job training that we need for the White House. The fact is what we need is somebody who’s made these decisions. I’ve been making them and being held accountable for them for 13 years.”
Alex Conant, a spokesman for the Rubio campaign, said he had not heard Christie’s comments but responded in a statement:
“Marco is running for president because nobody better understands the challenges and opportunities of the 21st Century. He is a next-generation conservative who can unite our party and inspire the country.”
Christie has made clear that his path to victory goes through New Hampshire, where Christie trails Trump, Rubio, Kasich, and Bush in RealClearPolitics’ average of Granite State polls. Christie ranks fourth in the Washington Examiner‘s newest GOP presidential power rankings.
