Former Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake has dismissed former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s potential presidential ambitions, saying that it is “laughable” to believe her fellow Republican could “contribute to our country.”
During a speech in New Hampshire earlier this week, Christie told Republicans to “please not nominate Kari Lake for anything again,” while arguing that the party had “made a strategic error in 2016” by supporting former President Donald Trump. Although Christie has not officially announced his candidacy, there has been some speculation that he could challenge Trump for the GOP nomination in 2024.
Lake, a staunch Trump supporter who continues to baselessly argue that her defeat to Democratic Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs last year was the result of massive fraud, struck back at Christie in a tweet on Wednesday, pointing out that the former governor had an unusually low approval rating in a poll taken during his last year in office.
Richard Rodriguez/Getty; Alex Wong/Getty
“‘Can we please not nominate Kari Lake for anything?’ says the guy that left office with 15% approval, the lowest ever for any Governor in American history,” Lake tweeted.
“America is done with @GovChristie,” she continued. “The idea that he has anything relevant to contribute to our country is laughable.”
“Can we please not nominate Kari Lake for anything?” says the guy that left office with 15% approval, the lowest ever for any Governor in American history.
America is done with @GovChristie. The idea that he has anything relevant to contribute to our country is laughable. pic.twitter.com/Fc4OG0nQHy
— Kari Lake (@KariLake) March 29, 2023
Christie previously bashed Lake while backing her rival Karrin Taylor Robson in the Arizona GOP gubernatorial primary election last year, tweeting, “you just can’t believe anything Kari Lake says,” while sharing a Robson post challenging the authenticity of Lake’s pro-Trump stance.
The former governor also claimed that Lake was “an actress” during a talk radio interview days before the Arizona primary, which Lake went on to narrowly win over Robson.
“[Lake is] running to be an actress acting as governor, because the things that she’s saying and doing are not consistent with who she’s been,” Christie said on The Mike Broomhead Show.
Christie also explained that his refusal to believe Trump’s false claims about the “rigged” 2020 presidential election had led to him becoming estranged from the former president. Christie supported Trump in 2016 after ending his own GOP primary bid, helping Trump prepare for debates with then-future President Joe Biden in 2020.
While it remains unclear whether he will challenge Trump again in 2024, Christie has repeatedly attacked the former president since their relationship became strained.
During an appearance on ABC’s This Week earlier in the month, Christie argued that the former president “only profits and does well in chaos and turmoil” and attempts to “create the chaos and turmoil on his terms.”
Newsweek has reached out via email to Christie’s representative for comment.
