Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie let fellow White House hopeful Nikki Haley know that it’s safe to say former President Donald Trump’s name.
“I just said his name out loud and lightning did not strike me. I did not fall dead of a heart attack. I have not been poisoned by a member of his staff,” he said at a campaign event in Concord, New Hampshire. “But you would think when you look at the rest of the folks in this race that they fear that’s what would happen if they said his name.”
The former New Jersey governor has been the most outspoken candidate when it comes to criticizing Mr. Trump, and he has called out his fellow GOP hopefuls for not doing the same.
Mr. Christie faulted Ms. Haley, a former South Carolina governor, for not using Mr. Trump’s name in her campaign’s first TV ad of the race, which aired Thursday. He questioned what she meant when she said in the ad, “We have to leave behind the chaos and drama of the past.”
“What’s that mean exactly, governor? Why not say it? He’s not Voldemort from the Harry Potter books. He’s not he who shall not be named,” Mr. Christie said, referring to the fictional evil wizard also known as the “Dark Lord.”
In response to a request for comment, Ms. Haley’s campaign shared several examples of her criticizing Mr. Trump by name.
At a tele-town hall with Iowa voters Thursday, Ms. Haley said, “The problem with President Trump, rightly or wrongly, chaos follows him. Everyone knows I’m right on that.”
On Fox News, she answered questions Wednesday about a recent endorsement by saying: “Look, President Trump would have loved to have [Americans For Prosperity’s] endorsement.”
She also criticized Mr. Trump for not attending the debates.
“I am running against President Trump, I’m waiting for him to get on the debate stage,” she said. “He can’t keep hiding the way he’s hiding. He can’t start acting like President Biden. He needs to get on the debate stage, he needs to confront us, he needs to let us, you know, talk about the differences and go forward.”
Mr. Christie argued that she is “trying to have it both ways.”
“She doesn’t want to offend people who have supported Donald Trump, so she says things like in South Carolina three days ago, ‘He was the right president at the right time, but for some reason, drama and chaos follow him wherever he goes.’ As if he is an innocent victim,” he said.
Ms. Haley, who served as ambassador to the U.N. in the Trump administration, has been rising in the polls and vying for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for the second place spot behind Mr. Trump. She has recently grabbed support from notable players such as JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon and Americans for Prosperity Action, the conservative political network led by billionaire Charles Koch.
• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.
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